Hello folks!

My first post here, so thank you all in advance for any assistance with what may be some rudimentary questions.

I refer to myself as a 'Reborn Newbie' as I have just recently pulled out my Stick (that I purchased 25 years ago) something i have been meaning to do for years. In those last 25 years I have briefly messed about on it but have never truly devoted the serious concentration that is required to excel and grow on this fantastic instrument. Until now that is!

First off...how did we get along prior to YouTube?

Anyway - here are a few initial questions that I have after messing about over the last 3 weeks. Perhaps I need to point out that mine is a 1986 Brazilian Ironwood (#1671) with no adjustable truss rod. I am employing the traditional tuning (melody in perfect 4ths, bass in perfect 5ths) and am using what I suppose is a light gauge of strings which I am slowly replacing (more on that below).

1) I have seen the use of tape as what would appear to be a fret markers. Can someone offer advice or a quick tutorial for employing these? It looks as if this is a helpful visual tool that helps promote fretboard mobility / note recognition, something that I have had issues with in the past.

2) Regarding string gauges: I saw someone post what was thought to be the original recommended (light) string gauge for these earlier models, said to have been taken from page 3 of "Free Hands": Melody: 0.008, 0.009, 0.011, 0.014, 0.022w; Bass: 0.101w, 0.065w, 0.040w, 0.022w, 0.013. However, just today I unearthed my copy of "Free Hands" (what I believe is the fourth edition) and my page 3 indicates that the gauges are similar yet are even lighter with the highest string a .007 and the lowest string is listed at .95. My question then: using a .101 instead of a .95 matter or cause damage to my Stick? I don't think a .008 instead of a .007 will have any bearing, but I am a little nervous about the gauge variations on the lowest strings.

3) I don't believe I have any intonation issues as the fretboard seems to be rather 'true', but if I do discover that I am in need of a minor tweak, I ask: is there anyway of adjusting intonation on these older instruments (that have no adjustable truss rod) by adjusting string height?

Thanks to anyone who would care to spend anytime addressing my questions. I am quite happy to be tapping again and finally spending the time truly learning this instrument (something I wish I would have done years ago).

Cheers; I greatly appreciate any guidance!!

Welcome back.
Is your bridge a “fixed peg” type or adjustable saddles? I assume it’s the fixed peg type. I also assume Emmett had the math worked out on these older instruments such that if you use the recommended gauges, the intonation would be fine forever.

Guys are using violin tape for linear markers these days. I couldn’t get my hands on that stuff so I used automobile pinstriping which can be found at car detailing shops or parts stores. It works great.

Cheers,
Kev

Thanks for the reply, Kevin!

My saddles appear to be adjustable as they are threaded like screws. And I am happy to report that the intonation seems to be fine as is.

Regarding the tape: any recommendations as to which frets? My inclination would be to mark the 4th fret, the 9th, the 13th, etc. Of course I have inlays but I have never really been able to effectively use these for refenece.

Again, thanks for the reply!

Put the tape where the inlays lie. Make the tape span across the entire fretboard from your highest to lowest string.

As for your saddles, I’m still a bit confused......older sticks just have screw type saddles that go into the wood and are only adjustable in a vertical plane, not a linear plane.
Which do you have? Without seeing a picture I can’t be sure.

Raising or lowering those old type saddles will have a negligible effect on intonation. Intonation is a function of shortening or lengthening your string which can only be accomplished by linear movement of the saddles themselves (ergo, a modern style bridge)

Hope that helps bro.

Cheers,
Kev

Does your bridge look like this?

Or this?

I want to stress again,,,,put the pinstripe tape where your current inlays are. There’s a company called inlaystickers.com if you want something cooler like this....

Cheers,
Kev

Ps.
Email, or call Stick Enterprises and tell them the vintage. They’ll set you up with a new set of strings. Trust me, a new set will sound like heaven.

Kev

Again, thank you for your assistance.

Mine is indeed the first of those bridges, complete with only saddles that only adjust vertically, and not linearly.

And yes, most definitely: I would not be able to achieve any sort of major intonation change with raising or lowering strings, but perhaps the slightest (cents) of change. At least that is my experience when raising string height on any of my bass guitars.

I guess my rhetorical question is: how the heck does this instrument seemingly stay so well-intonated? Perhaps your suggestion - that Emmett's math makes it so - is the answer.

As far as string replacement goes, I couldn't agree more: a change in strings is staggering. My impatience had me head to a local music store to purchase individual strings rather than wait for a shipment to come from California. I think the prudent answer is to order from straight from the source.

Thanks again, Kev!

I would also suggest that if you find yourself really getting back into playing (this thing is super rewarding) you may want to take the plunge and buy a new instrument from Emmett. The tech has really improved over the years, truss rods, adjustable bridges, railboards, etc...

The new railboards are simply amazing with the extreme low action and beautiful construction. A myriad of colours and configurations.

Check them out on Stick.com if you haven’t already.

Cheers,
Kev