Manual for NS X-175 ?

JohnW63

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I was trying to look up the owners manual for this guitar. I want to verify the proper string to pickup height. I have given the bridge a few turns, to slightly raise the action, since I was getting string buzz at the 7th fret. I know it's very dry here, and I figured the top had sunk a little due to low humidity. I try to keep sponges in soap cases damp, in the case, but sometimes I forget to check them. My issue now is the bridge pickup is quite a bit less strong than the neck pickup. I wasn't sure how sensitive they were to string height.
 

txbumper57

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Any pickup is sensitive to string height and even 1/16 of an inch can make a discernible difference. Is there any way to adjust the pickup height or do you have to adjust the poles individually?
 

MichelP

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I have had an NS X175 for about a year and a half. A few months ago I realised that the action was higher than it should or needed to be. One local luthier couldn't lower it without running into string buzz round about the 9th fret on the lower strings, or getting harsh notes on the trebles around the 10th fret. So I took the guitar to Ivor Mairants in central London (UK) where their brilliant luthier identified that the frets were uneven around the 10th fret, and needed redressing, but also that the neck pickup was too high on the body, which was preventing further lowering of the action, and so itself needed to be lowered. These changes were a great improvement, but do also suggest that the initial set up on the guitar was not as good as it should have been.

So you may want to compare the pick up heights on your X-175.

By the way, and this is a message to everybody here, this forum is the most helpful and polite I have come across on the internet. Thanks to all.
 

SFIV1967

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John,
to raise dog-ear pickups you probably have to use thin wooden shims under them to raise the whole pickup. Otherwise try adjusting the pole pieces.
Also when measuring string height over the pickups you should fret the string at the last fret of the neck. (that's how manufacturers give the distance from under the string to the pickup polepieces). I didn't find values for P-90 style dog ear pickups.

Here are pictures of a NS X-175 neck and bridge pickup with "factory" setup view. (just to get a feeling). So they had the pole pieces flush with the cover and relatively low space between pickups and strings.

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Ralf
 

JohnW63

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I found the biggest issue was... <facepalm>... the volume on that pickup was turned down ... </facepalm> . I normally keep the volume all the way up on both, as well as tone pots, so I didn't check until I started doing some bridge adjustments. Still, it does seem that the bridge is a bit quieter.
 

Guildadelphia

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It appears that the Franz repros on the NS X175's, Aristocrats, etc have the same output on both neck and bridge pu's....which means all things being equal, the neck pu is going to be louder. My tech guy did a great job dialing the pu's in. He dropped the poles on the neck pu down flush with the cover, then only raised any poles just enough to get volume balance between the strings. He basically did the same with the bridge pu, but instead of dropping the poles flush with the cover, they are slightly higher at the lowest point and then slightly raised to attain string volume balance. That gets them very close and simply setting the volume on the bridge pu a half step higher than the neck pu creates a perfect balance. I was fortunate that the fret crowns were all level on the guitar. However, the nut slots were a bit high and needed attention to gain maximum playability. The guitar is strung with DR Blues Pure Nickels 10-46's, with the action set at 4/64ths on the low E @ the 12th fret and a hair lower on the the high E @ the 12th fret with just a slight amount of relief. Even with 10-46's, I can hit the strings pretty hard without buzz or rattle.
 

JohnW63

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That's interesting. I was going to assume that the tighter vibrations of the string at the bridge would cause a lower output. At the neck, the larger amplitude of the string vibrations would induce a higher output.
 

SFIV1967

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I was going to assume that the tighter vibrations of the string at the bridge would cause a lower output. At the neck, the larger amplitude of the string vibrations would induce a higher output.
Yes, correct, and that was said here:
...have the same output on both neck and bridge pu's....which means all things being equal, the neck pu is going to be louder.
Ralf
 
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