How to Lower the Action on your Donner HUSH-I 

Might be worth waiting for the replacement saddle. If you don’t like the action after sanding down the new saddle, you can replace the original saddle and send the guitar back.

Thank you for making this comment. I’m a noob, so I’ve read the action on acoustic guitars is higher for a variety of reasons, including the more aggressive playing that may apply to some volume/ tonal effects. Are persons lowering the action on these Donners to turn them into a sort of electric guitar?

Donner just solved this issue...they launched am electric version, the Hush X...😉

​@@barmarcelo *******I have one. Love it...HOWEVER it has WAY to much relief (forward bow). I get No assistance on what PROPER size the hex key is for the Truss Rod. None of my Stew Mac, my Music Nomad nor my shop Allen/Hex keys Snug fit the Truss nut located under logo plate on the body near the neck end heel. This was a Gift from my brother and I have multiple mods including expanding the hex hole entry closer to the logo plates screw hole. This HAD to be done to even be able to access head of the hex nut. Further inspection under magnification shows alot of glued paper like material attached around the length of the nut to which I had to Surgically Remove and Oil around it's perimeter. Story is I need this Truss Loose and manageable before I can use light heat bed and neck straighteng apparatus. IF ANYONE, INCLUDING DONNER could tell me What Hex key Will PROPERLY Fit would be Appreciated. I build, mod, fret dress and setup guitars but, this one has me worried of stripping that God awful Hex Nut. May even have to take it to someone professional that will assume the liability and replace that nut with a better more functional Truss Nut!!!******* It's got me in a pissy mindset!

Many thanks.

Did you share your 3D print files anywhere ? Would be useful to others. Thanks.

Yes can u please share

i too would like the cad file if possible please

Same question

I purchased 2 saddles and tried sanding one of them down to lower the action, but the new saddle was way too wide, so I also had to sand down the sides as well. Once I did that, I was able to remove the saddle the guitar came with and put in the one I sanded, but the B string was way louder that the rest and I wasn't happy with that, so, I replaced the original saddle back in for now. I'm hoping that there's another way to fix this problem. I already contacted Donner to see if they could sell me a saddle that was lower but they don't have that option available. @@timothycarter6140

Thanks for the heads-up!

Just got my Donner Hush today. Thanks for the tip. Worked a treat, now my fingers don't need to take a taxi from the strings to the fretboard. 👍

How do u like so far? Is it worth it ?

@@muhammedalzoubi I do like it. I bot mine refurbished on E...so yes , very much worth the price I paid.

​@@flppr1 the refurb price is outrageous. I bought one yesterday...

It came with a 2-yr extended warranty. It was worth it. I upgraded to a hush -x electric recently.

The electric strings make the guitar sound and feel more like an electric to me although the piezo pickup still gives it an acoustic type sound. I don’t get any buzzing at the new string height and I did not need to adjust the truss rod. I used 9’s on my guitar.

@@martinjazzwebster I bit the bullet and fitted Elexir electric 10s and it has transformed the guitar. Whilst the acoustic sound doesnt quite sound as good its still good but I can now play solos and bend the strings much better. I love it now! Cheers

​@@bigalfrompenfolddid you adjust the saddle as well or only changed the strings?

My long haul trip is not until next year so I haven't had a chance to travel with it yet. The HUSH-1 case is well padded and very sturdy, much better than a regular gig bag. It measures 85cm x 17cm x 9cm. My understanding of most of the airlines is that you can take 1 piece of hand luggage onboard the aircraft. I intend to take the HUSH-1 as my hand luggage (which will fit in the overhead luggage). I have heard that some airlines allow musical instruments to be taken on board in addition to the 1 piece of hand luggage. Anyone know if this is true?

This is true in my experience traveling a few times with my Les Paul. I was able to bring it in addation to a personal item. That was traveling with Air Canada so you may want to check with your airline for musical instrument polices. I just purchased one of these to really reduce the concern of it being an issue for my travel tomorrow. Now to adjust the action in just a few short hours 😬😅

How does it sound with electric guitar strings? Any issues? I'm planning to do the same.

@@flppr1 The guitar sounds great with electric strings. No issues.

I bought a cheap no-name acoustic guitar compensated saddle from eBay and put a set of 009 electric guitar strings on my Hush-1. I don't think the choice of wood will make much difference to the sound of the Hush-1 but I agree with you that mahogany usually has a darker sound. Thanks for watching the video.

Here's the ebay description of the saddle: Compensated acoustic guitar saddles - cream ABS Size: 71.7mm x 9.2mm x 2.98mm

@@martinjazzwebster I thought saddles were sized also by radius of the neck. Maybe I am over thinking this lol. Thank you.

@@blueeyedsoulman My eBay generic saddle cost only £1.47 and the radius was the same as the factory fitted one. I think most acoustic saddles have a similar radius (unlike electric guitar bridges) but I could be wrong. Also buying a cheap saddle means you have little to loose if it is not suitable. I would recommend buying a saddle that is the correct thickness of 2.98mm, the depth and width can be modified by sanding down.

@@martinjazzwebster 71.7 is too long. Did you have to shorten the length?

I'm in the UK and here's the ebay link. I choose the 71.7mm x 9.2mm x 2.98mm size. Please note you will need to alter the saddle size to fit correctly. www.ebay.com/itm/185750286277?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=yAquxsn7TUi&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=H0UGT-vYQCC&var=693689377925&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

How does it need to be altered?

@@flppr1 Buy a replacement saddle and sand the bottom of the saddle to reduce the saddle height. The video describes how this is done.

@@martinjazzwebster Thanks! By how much did you lower the saddle height? I'm planning to modify mine with the same action height and replace the acoustic strings with electrics just as you did.

@@flppr1 I can’t give you an exact amount because each guitar is different and the process involves repeatedly sanding and refitting the saddle until you get the action you want. I’d suggest sanding the new saddle to be identical to the original and then mark a line on the new saddle with roughly the desired reduction in height and go from there. Hope this helps.

The guitar is not silent because you can hear the sound of the metal strings which is the same as any unplugged electric guitar. However it is very quiet and your neighbours won’t hear you playing it.

I don't think this would work. The nut end of the neck is designed to use metal strings with a ball end, although putting a knot in the nylon string might work. Secondly the tuner posts are small. Perhaps someone else has tried fitting nylon strings and will let us know in a comment?

It works! I used ball-end Martin strings and they went on without any issues. I DID tweak the truss rod to get the right relief, but nothing major.

No it comes with metal acoustic guitar strings.

It's very good but does have the acoustic piezo sound.