My classical hurts

Yes, they demand higher action than steel strings - the lower string tension requires it. And yes, yours is a bit high.

At the 12th fret, most classicals will go from 2mm (high E string) to about 3.5 mm (low E string) for a low action... high action will be about 1.5-2mm more than that.

I know I prefer a high action on a classical. Hard to believe, but I've never measured mine - until right now! Mine's 4.5mm on the bass side.

I can see why you have a hard time with chords. Asuming your neck isn't bowed, and the bridge is secure, you could probably just swap out the saddle and make it a lot more playable.

Hey Noteboat,
Thanks for your advice. but can you please tell me how exactly i can lower the action down.I play a yamaha C-70 guitar and i play left handed.How do i remove the saddle and then what to do.Please clarify.Or if its not adjustable can i still play good guitar in sometime(hav been playing since 5 months ).thanks again 8)

And also since your a great classical guitar teacher i suppose can you tell me which book shall i buy to learn the guitar.I am not positive if i can get your book in my place.

Take your strings off (or loosen them if you can get away with it) and just take the saddle out (it shouldn't be glued) and then you have two options. You could either buy a smaller one (to "lower" the action) or sand the bottom of the one you have. The only problem with doing it yourself is, you might not sand it level, therefore having one side higher than the other will be a problem.

Take your strings off (or loosen them if you can get away with it) and just take the saddle out (it shouldn't be glued) and then you have two options. You could either buy a smaller one (to "lower" the action) or sand the bottom of the one you have. The only problem with doing it yourself is, you might not sand it level, therefore having one side higher than the other will be a problem.

My saddle looks as if it is fixed with the wood permanently , how do i take it out .?i dont want to hammer it out or break my guitar :?

The saddle is the white or off-white piece that is in the bridge.

Yea its inside only , BUT , it is fixed there so well that i don't know what i will have to do to take it out.What tools i mean.Hammer it out or what.It won't come out by just pulling it.

If you are uncomfortable doing it, take it to a tech but, if and ONLY IF you feel comfortable doing this.

You can use a pair of pliers NOT a hammer.

Now, please put the hammer down!, you are starting scare your guitar.
:lol:

I'm by no means a great classical guitar teacher... I'm a great general guitar teacher, though :)

By the time my classical students reach intermediate stage, they're ready for someone who specializes in classical guitar. Classical is about 25% of my personal practice, less than 5% of my performance, and about 10% of my students. There are lots of folks who make a life out of it.

The majority of my classical students already have a book or two, and have tried learning on their own. I use whatever books they have - all the method books I've seen (Noad, Parkening, etc.) are good. I have one current student who didn't have books... and when I asked him to pick out one he was comfortable with, he brought in a book of scale studies for his second lesson. I'll be making a trip to the music store tomorrow to see what I can find for him that looks good for next week - this week I ended up writing out exercises for him.

As Tracker pointed out, the saddle is the white piece set in the bridge. Your strings will come off the bridge block (where they're tied on) and angle up to the saddle - from there it's a straight shot to the nut.

Your saddle should be angled slightly; you'll want more clearance for the bass strings by about 1-1/2 to 2mm. If you decide to try sanding yours yourself, first see if your saddle is compensated (if there are little angled bits where the strings rest). If it is, make sure it's oriented right - the peak of the angles should be farthest from the nut on the bass string side.

Most compensated saddles are shaped so they'll only fit into the bridge one way. If yours is oriented the wrong way, that means buying a new one. If the orientation is ok, or if it's not compensated, you can try to sand it yourself.

Put your sand paper on a flat surface that's bigger than the saddle. Make some marks on the side of the saddle for how much you need to take off - it'll be a little different for the treble and bass sides. Bear in mind that to lower the action by 1mm, you'll need to remove 2mm from the saddle... but go slow. Keep the base of the saddle FLAT against the sandpaper while you work it back and forth to remove material - you don't want to get any high spots in the bottom, or it'll 'rock' in place, and the results will be uncertain.

Take off a bit, test fit it, take off a bit more... repeat until you're satisfied. If you take off too much, there's no putting it back on though - so do it a little at a time.

Noteboat (aka Tom Serb)

Thanks again for your advice.I believe i would like to go to a professional guitar shop in the city and then check out what can be done.I can't really play with my guitar.Its my first and only i know how i got it here :) .What about sending the guitar to yamaha workshop and let them see.I think the action would be covered in warranty. :!:

Also do you mean that if i take out all the strings the saddle will automatically come out without much trouble?

Thanks to tracker too (i don't even have a hammer in my house , its in the outhouse & i would hammer myself and anybody else before even touching it with a HAMMER :lol: :lol: :lol: )

Most classical saddles are 'friction fit' - they're made really close to the size of the slot and pressed into place. Every once in a while you'll find one that's glued, but that's probably not the case with a Yamaha (just the real cheapies or ones that have been 'fixed' by owners who didn't know it's supposed to be loose)

If you're taking it to a shop, they may also do some nut work, especially if the guitar was originally right-handed and it just had the strings swapped around. Shouldn't be terribly expensive, though.