Let's talk Telecasters/Partscasters

50/1000" ~ 60/1000" is a good action but don't press the string down at the first fret to measure it. When you play you feel the action as is not with it pressed down at fret one. Action is about feel at the end of the set up and many things play a part and directly affect the hight of the strings. Relief and nut hight need to be right ,in fact the relief needs to be right BEFORE you cut the nut slot depth. So string it up set the truss rod, cut the nut to the right depth THEN set the saddles to the hight 50~60 1/1000" then intonate 3rd to 15th fret fretted notes and if your guitar has NO issues it should be good to go. The tighter the radius the more perfect everything needs to be to work at this setting and you may need slightly straighter neck (almost perfectly flat) to be able to get a three semitone bend on the high E. Or a higher action just to get the same next fret clearance. A big mistake many make is to increase the relief if it buzzes because all you are doing is moving the buzz. In terms of geometry for the guitar perfectly flat fingerboard is best and everything gets worse as you add to the radius. The flatter the board always improves the next fret clearance at the same action with everything else set the same. The effect of this can be a low action on a 20" radius allows the same amplitude as a medium high one on a 7.25".
@Andy Eagle I read that a "compound" radius neck using the same ratio as the string width at the nut to the string width at the bridge (which I assume really means the nut to string-width-at-end-of-fretboard) yields the most consistent action across all strings and during a bend. Agree? Disagree?
 
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50/1000" ~ 60/1000" is a good action but don't press the string down at the first fret to measure it. When you play you feel the action as is not with it pressed down at fret one. Action is about feel at the end of the set up and many things play a part and directly affect the hight of the strings. Relief and nut hight need to be right ,in fact the relief needs to be right BEFORE you cut the nut slot depth. So string it up set the truss rod, cut the nut to the right depth THEN set the saddles to the hight 50~60 1/1000" then intonate 3rd to 15th fret fretted notes and if your guitar has NO issues it should be good to go. The tighter the radius the more perfect everything needs to be to work at this setting and you may need slightly straighter neck (almost perfectly flat) to be able to get a three semitone bend on the high E. Or a higher action just to get the same next fret clearance. A big mistake many make is to increase the relief if it buzzes because all you are doing is moving the buzz. In terms of geometry for the guitar perfectly flat fingerboard is best and everything gets worse as you add to the radius. The flatter the board always improves the next fret clearance at the same action with everything else set the same. The effect of this can be a low action on a 20" radius allows the same amplitude as a medium high one on a 7.25".
I just measured my action and its currently at 70/1000 so I'm going to lower it a tad. Nut is great along with intonation and neck relief. It's now right inbetween 50/1000 - 60/1000' amazing what a difference that makes. its so buttery now. bends with ease
 
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I just measured my action and its currently at 70/1000 so I'm going to lower it a tad. Nut is great along with intonation and neck relief. It's now right inbetween 50/1000 - 60/1000' amazing what a difference that makes. its so buttery now. bends with ease
If everything is good that's the sweet spot for ease of playing with enough room for the strings to move.
 
@Andy Eagle I read that a "compound" radius neck using the same ratio as the string width at the nut to the string width at the bridge (which I assume really means the nut to string-width-at-end-of-fretboard) yields the most consistent action across all strings and during a bend. Agree? Disagree?
No that is nonsense . Think about it, when you bend a string you change the angle that presents to the frets. The more you bend the more the angle. In order for that to be true the ratio of the cone (compound radius) would have to change as you bend a string . The ONLY way for the string axis and the fingerboard plain not to come in to conflict at all is a dead flat (no radius ) fingerboard. If you add radius the more you add the worse it gets.
The statement you make above would only be true if you never bent a stringed in this case your next fret clearance would be exactly the same as a flat fingerboard ie the best possible geometry. Bend strings though and everything goes out of the window.
Radiused fingerboards are about perceived comfort although I am not convinced that they are in any way more ergonomic than totally flat ones. The only electric guitar with a flat fingerboard is about the easiest to play on the planet
The Vigier Shawn Lane.
vigier_Flatfretboard.jpg
 
Looks good, keep us posted on how it turns out.
Turned out beyond all expectations really. Has that vintage look and sound, but a modern feeling neck with medium jumbo frets. I'm all for the vintage tones and look with modern playability. As an added bonus, it was stringed with 14-68 strings in C standard, which I'm really loving at the moment.
 
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