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Gibson sg Setup questions?


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Hey,

 

I have a Gibson Sg that I'm currently setting up. I originally had it setup for high action for slide playing similar to Derek Trucks. I now want to just get it down to standard specs by Gibson. I changed the strings, checked the neck which I had to add a bit of relief to the truss rod. Next I checked the action as it was higher than normal. I brought the low E string high down to 1.98mm or rather just 2mm. Got it as close as I could. For the high e string the height was just above 2mm as well which is fairly high. The issue I'm having is that there's already fret buzz/rattle above the 12th fret, more above the 15th fret but can act up below that as well. So if I were to lower my action anymore then I would assume I'd get even more buzz/rattle. Also, if I bend just a whole tone it's pretty stiff and difficult. I have 10-46 on my sg. With 9's I break them too easily. Right now almost all the strings are just a hair or 2 above the back of the bridge. I had the high e and b strings really pressed against it, so I raised the saddle just a bit. Should I give the truss rod a 1/4 turn more of relief? Or is it more do do with the action/bridge?

 

Thanks

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hopefully you've solved this problem as the post is month old. But if not I would tend to think that there is too much relief in the neck, and you need to make the neck straighter (flatter) - this will make the strings more parallel to the neck all the way from nut to bridge and prevent the buzzing.

 

Gibson's set up specs say to get the fingerboard completely straight then back off the truss rod nut 1/8th of a turn for slight relief. (always loosen truss rod nut first then adjust back to where you want it).

 

I don't have metric measurements, but their specs say string height at the 12th fret should be about 3/64 in. for high E and 5/64 in. for low E. These are from top of the fret to bottom of the string.

 

As to the strings touching the back of the bridge - don't move the bridge saddles up and down, move the stopbar up to get the strings away from the bridge (assuming it's a Nashville bridge). If you have an ABR-1 bridge the strings will clear with the stopbar all the way down to the body.

 

Hope that helps.

Edited by Twang Gang
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  • 1 month later...

I set mine up like the manual calls for to show clearance on the 9th fret when pressing the 14th fret if my memory is correct. I think that is about the neck being in a known position since many don't have a neck straight edge. If its too high e to e I loosen the strings and try lowering the bridge. After all that I shoot for around .060 on the low E at the 12th fret and .040 to .050 on the high e at the 12th fret. I find decimal measurements easier to work with and more accurate. This has worked for me on anything that has a good neck and decent frets.

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  • 7 months later...
  • 1 month later...

I would change the brand of strings u are using as well.  I don't understand people breaking strings as I can replace strings on my sg, 335, or les paul and not break one for a year and I play pretty hard with a .88mm tortex flat pick.

You definitely need to adjust your truss rod but try some gibson brand strings.

Everyone raves about Ernie balls and d'addarios but in my experience, gibson strings are the best you can get, they are nickel wound and don't corrode

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  • 3 weeks later...

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