I am collecting the dimensions of stock nut rollers for as many PSG brands as possible. You don't need calipers - any good ruler such as a steel tape or carpenters fold-up rule will have markings down to 1/32" and will be adequate for the purpose (and you don't have to take the rollers off the guitar, just hold the rule next to them and eyeball the measurements in-place). Here is the information we need:

Make, model and year of guitar
Number of strings and basic tuning (e.g., 10-E9, 10-C6, 12-E9, 12-universal)
Roller width
Roller diameter
Axle diameter
Whether the rollers are guaged or not.

If the rollers are guaged and you would like to also include the widths of the string grooves and whether the grooves are V-shaped or U-shaped, that would be nice.

I will put them in a table and post them on the Forum so that people who want guaged rollers to prevent string rattle at the first fret can order off-the-shelf guaged rollers from the manufacturers who provide them and whose roller dimensions match.

Some popular brands of PSG do not (or did not) come with guaged rollers (e.g., Carter, Fessenden, Sho-Bud). This is not a big problem for 10-string E9, so many players and manufacturers haven't considered this a problem. Because of the much larger guages on the lowest strings of C6, without guaged rollers with wider and deeper grooves to let the largest wound strings sink lower in the roller, there can be annoying string rattle down around the first fret. But some players may not use the full bar at the first fret much on the C6 neck because the chords there are not too common (how often do you play in the key of C#?). Normal bar pressure will flatten things out above the first fret; however, the extra pressure on the biggest wound strings can increase the "bar whistling" string noise.

The biggest problem is with 12-strings, expecially universals. These have the same fat wound strings as C6, but use the first fret more because a lot of commonly used chords are there (C6, F, Bb, Am, Dm). Possibly for this reason universal players are the main ones who find unguaged rollers intolerable. And because this is a minority of players, some manufactureres have simply ignored this problem.

You can get a machinist to make custom sets of guaged rollers, but it is expensive (around $100), and is complicated enough that it requires some trial and error. It is much cheaper and more convenient to simply order a set of stock rollers from the PSG manufacturers who already have them on the shelf. But you have to find a brand that has rollers of the same width, diameter and axle size as your guitar.

I e-mailed 10 PSG manufacturers for their roller dimensions, and none of them gave me any dimensions. The few who responded simply assumed their rollers were unique and wouldn't fit any other brand. At least some of them are wrong about that. For example, the guaged rollers made for Zums will fit Fessendens. Probably there are other matches. The only way to know is to collect the dimensions from the various brands and put them in a table that will allow you to mix and match.

Therefore, I am asking players to measure their rollers and post them here or send them to me. I will put them in a table, and either post them here or give them to b0b to put in the permanent reference section of the Forum. We are especially interested in the dimensions of guaged sets for currently manufactured guitars that people are happy with (MSA Millenium, Mullens, Zum, Sierra).

Thanks guys, this will greatly help those of us with unguaged rollers.

Here are the measurements we already have:

Fessenden 2000 S12U
roller width 1/8"
roller diam. 5/16"
axle diam. 3/32"
string groove 3/64" (all)

Zum '87 (3 different guages?)
roller width 1/8"
roller diam. 5/16"
axle diam. 3/32"

Williams 400x
roller width 3/16"
roller diam. 3/8"
axle diam. 1/8"

Sierra (Crown or Session?)
roller width 11/64"
roller diam. 5/8"
axle diam. 3/16"

Cougar guaged rollers with V grooves
roller width 0.205" (13/64"?)
roller diam. 0.375" (3/8")
axle diam. 0.125 " (1/8")

Emmons '80s P/P 12-string ext. E9
roller width 1/8"
roler diam. 5/16"
axle diam. 3/32"
string groove 1/32" (1-10), 1/16" (11-12), U-shaped

Sho-Bud professional 10-E9
roller width 3/32"
roller diam. 3/8"
axle diam. 3/32"
string groove 1/16" (all)

Kline '78 s-12, guaged (7 sizes), V groove
roller width 3/16"
roller diam. 3/8"
axle diam. 3/32"

Thanks to those who posted these measurements. Keep them coming.

[This message was edited by David Doggett on 12 May 2003 at 09:24 AM.]

Zum D-10 (don't know the year but at least 5 years old)

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Peter den Hartogh-Fender Artist S10-Remington U12-Hilton Volume Pedal-Gibson BR4 lapsteel-Guya "Stringmaster" Copy-MusicMan112RP-Peavy Rage158- - My Animation College in South Africa

Anybody out there want to give us the Mullen or LeGrand measurements? In a photo at the Mullen web site you can see that the Mullen rollers are unique, with a raised area around the hub, but they still may fit some other brands.

Fulawka rollers are carefully guaged, according to the web site. These dimensions would be of interest.

[This message was edited by David Doggett on 14 May 2003 at 02:53 PM.]

Actually it was only my first step to check out the manufacturers, to see what is just sitting there on the shelf already made. Because that is obviously the cheapest and quickest solution. The next step will be to find out which parts and repair shops can supply guaged rollers, either from off their parts shelves, or as custom made sets. The latter is clearly the most expensive.

By the way, I've bought Sho-Bud parts from you in the past and have been very happy with the service and prices. So since I have your eyes for the moment, can you supply guaged rollers? If not, how would you suggest we go about obtaining them?

David: Anybody got some roller dimensions they can share with me?

Ed: Hey David! How come you didn't ask me??

David: I'm terribly sorry for the oversight, Ed. I didn't mean to slight you. Yes, by all means I'm interested in your roller guages too. Please tell me what the dimensions are. Thank you in advance.

Ed: I'm not telling.

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Did I get that right?