I've had my AJ-45 for a few months now, and it also arrived with the action set very low. It was about half the height of factory recommended settings. Great for fingerstyle, but sounded "jangly" when strummed even lightly. Replaced the saddle with a Tusq saddle (GraphTech PQ-9272-CO - requires some sanding) and set the action to the factory recommended specs. Sounds much better now. More volume, bass and generally cleaner. As for the pickguard, I read that they changed it beginning in 2016 so that it would not cover up so much of the rosette.
Masterbilt AJ-45 pickguard question
in Epiphone Acoustics
Posted
I've had my AJ-45 for a few months now, and it also arrived with the action set very low. It was about half the height of factory recommended settings. Great for fingerstyle, but sounded "jangly" when strummed even lightly. Replaced the saddle with a Tusq saddle (GraphTech PQ-9272-CO - requires some sanding) and set the action to the factory recommended specs. Sounds much better now. More volume, bass and generally cleaner. As for the pickguard, I read that they changed it beginning in 2016 so that it would not cover up so much of the rosette.