Can I raise my action without increasing saddle height?

[Frank Beard]

The action on my 2 year old HD-28V is very low at 2.8/32 and 1.8/32. It's tolerable since I play mostly fingerstyle, but I can't dig into it w/o fret buzz. I've experimented with the relief and settled on .006" for the best compromise. My problem is that the saddle is already 3/16" tall at the big E, with a 45 degree break angle at the big E, so I hate to increase the height of the saddle.

I have removed the string grooves in the saddle a few times, and that's how the action dropped from the factory setting of 3/32 and 2/32. A straight edge on top of the frets extends to 1/16" above the bridge top, and the string height at the bridge is 9/16". The guitar has been kept humidified and it plays and sounds good.

On one hand, I feel thankful to have a full saddle since I know that it will eventually need to be lowered, as the neck block rotates with age. But for now, my question is this: Is there a way to raise the action just a tad without making a taller saddle? What I need is a little bit of a bridge belly like most Martins, but this one doesn't have one.

I use 13-56 strings and I've pondered stringing it with heavies to see if that would induce a little bridge rise, but I wouldn't want to cause other damage.

Thanks in advance, Frank

[Frank Ford]

Right - I'd expect that saddle is not glued - there'd be no reason to glue. It is routed deeply into the bridge, and it can usually take a small shim without compromising strength. The ends will rise and no longer be level with the curved sections of the bridge, but that's only a cosmetic issue.

You didn't say where on the neck you get the buzzing, but here are a couple of thoughts:

With the straightedge alignment you mention, my first suspicion is that the top has sunk a bit from low humidity. Also, .006 is a very small amount of relief, and I wouldn't hesitate to set it to three times that amount to avoid buzzing in the first position. If you buzzing is up the neck, above the 7th fret, then you won't get any benefit from increasing relief, and you'll need to concentrate on saddle height.

[Frank Beard]

Thanks Frank, and a shim it will be. I know the saddle ends will be slightly proud of the bridge, but in my mind, the geometry is going to improve with string tension and living in my humidified room.

The top very well could be sunken a little bit, and I can see a little rotation of the bridge, but I see a lot of that on Martins. I could try rehydrating it a little quicker with a couple of damp sponges inside, for a few weeks to see if it improves.

The buzzing is well above the 7th fret and like you say, it seems totally due to the low action.

Thanks, Frank

[Frank Beard]

One more question please. When I begin hydrating this guitar, would it be better to leave it strung, or remove the strings. I'll probably start slowly with one sponge inside for a week, then increase to 2 sponges for a couple more weeks and see if there's any change. Thanks again