@rocknroller912

When you’re talking about actions and fretwork you’re in the realm where a few 100ths of a mm can make a difference. 

@jonhodgson

Thanks I’m not a electric player although I’ve re fretted a few.

You'd deepen both E strings the most, then the A & B strings a little less, and leave the D & G slots alone.  

@tej @tv101

It all comes down to the player in the end and how sensitive you are about your setup.

Using a 14” bridge on a 12” board would work of course but you may find it to be a bit flat in the middle.

Let’s say you adjust your bridge and you have the e strings right where you want them. You might notice a bit of a buzz or some choking in the middle or maybe not. The accuracy of your frets plays a part in this too, obviously.

Also the opposite, you adjust to where the middle strings feel right and then your e’s could feel a bit high. 

In my experience matching the radius works best. You could string it up and if it feels and sounds fine, then it’s fine.

However I would stick with the bridge that you have as Gotoh makes great stuff and just try it. If you feel that a 12” would be better then adjust the saddle slots, it’s easy. (See above, tv101 nailed it)

You would do that with your nut files. Take it a little at a time. 

I don’t wanna trip you out so don’t stess about it. If you do decide to adjust them try it first on the high e and b strings. The action typically gets higher towards the low E side and tou may find that’s enough to feel good.

Since you have a wraparound bridge you’ll just have to slacken the string to get it out of the way a take a few swats at it then recheck, it wont take much.

Put a couple of layers of masking tape on the bridge in case of a slip, take your time and you’ll be fine.

I’ve done this on so many guitars it’s ridiculous, even new ones. Those Tuneomatics are never right. They will always have at least one string too high or some too low. The guitar simply plays and feels better when it’s basically the right radius.

In my opinion anyway.

You would do that with your nut files.

@mattbeels given the tiny difference we’re talking certainly nothing to lose by trying it. I don’t have any nut files, they seem to cost a lot, is there a budget option here given how little use they’d likely get, in this instance I could get a new bridge for the same money, in fact I’d get change.

I’m presuming here I also need to decide what gauge strings I’m going to stick with if we’re talking about filing down saddles precisely?

When you’re talking about actions and fretwork you’re in the realm where a few 100ths of a mm can make a difference. 

This is what it comes down to.

I know that the difference between the two are basically nothing, but it all comes down to feel.

It’s amazing how sensitive our hands are when playing the guitar. One neck shape can be perfect and another, almost identical neck can feel different even though they’re basically the same.

The same holds true for your action. A thou or two can make all the difference.

Almost every guitar with a Tuneomatic that I’ve worked on (100’s) has had a collapsed bridge. The string tension on it is enormous especially when players crank the stop tailpiece down to the body, or those with the strings through the body. This collapses the bridge, effectively flattening the radius. I’ve had so many customers tell me that their guitar doesn’t resonate anymore and if it’s a tuneomatic I know immediately what the problem is. I always check them anyway and most of them need to be fixed or replaced. 

Anyway...

Part of it as I recall was that the neck was a 12 inch radius, but the strings were given a 15 inch radius at the bridge.

@jonhodgson

A customer told me about that article but I never read it. Furthermore I never heard of anybody playing a Taylor electric guitar either! 😆😆😆

@tej

unfortunately there’s not really that much choice in the world of nut slotting files from what I’ve seen. The cheaper ones I’ve found weren’t really that much cheaper than the best ones, and the alternatives like using welding cleaning files tend to suck at nut slotting 

@mattbeels

Someone must be playing them, they keep making them.

I imagine their biggest seller is probably the T5 though, which is more of a hybrid, and has a rather natty looking narrow pickup,

@tej

There are several sources for nut slotting files and if you’re going to build a guitar(s) you’ll have to adjust the nut.

The set from Hosco is high quality and will work for 8’s, through 11’s. You don’t need all the different sizes available unless you’re going into the repair business. This basic, workhorse set of three will cover a lot of ground. The published sizes are guidelines really.

The nut slot needs to be a couple of thou wider than the string to avoid pinching. Those files tend to be thinner at the tip and widen out towards the handle. You can also roll the file a bit side to side to widen a slot. 

https://tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/nut-files-set-of-3-electric.html

@jonhodgson I’ll keep an eye out for discounts and hope for the best. It would be nice to be able to make everything myself in time.

The cheaper ones I’ve found weren’t really that much cheaper than the best ones, and the alternatives like using welding cleaning files tend to suck at nut slotting 

Yup, that’s true.

Furthermore I never heard of anybody playing a Taylor electric guitar either!

I had a T3 for a while @mattbeels.  Beautifully made, but just a bit too big in the body to feel comfortable.