Aymara Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Hi, I thought the following guide might be helpful for the not so technically experienced players and for those, who don't know a good (!) guitar tech: Les Paul Setup Guide ( <- click ) BTW ... it's also worth to read the comments below the article. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Sutherland Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Hi, I thought the following guide might be helpful for the not so technically experienced players and for those, who don't know a good (!) guitar tech: Les Paul Setup Guide ( <- click ) BTW ... it's also worth to read the comments below the article. Thanks for posting, this is always good information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aymara Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 Thanks for posting, ... You're welcome ... I thought, some people might never have done it themselfes or it's so long ago, that they don't remember the details ... as it was in my case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbrenn01 Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Thank you! The instructions were clear and easy to follow. Just set up my new Epiphone Les Paul Ultra PRO, and lowered the action to playability with the proper intonation. The neck was (thank you, God!) nice and straight so I didn't need to do the truss rod. So now the strings are closer to the fretboard, the strings don't buzz and the 12th fret notes are right on the dot when compared to the strings when played open. . I would've never tried to do with without a digital chromatic tuner, no way!! . Thanks again!! . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aymara Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 Thank you! You're welcome ... nice to see, that this thread still is found and of help. I would've never tried to do with without a digital chromatic tuner, no way!! I myself prefer an analog display for intonation checking. I use a Boss TU-12EX. But tastes are different ;-) Nice to see, you got it nicely setup. Regarding your fear about trussrod adjustments ... even that is no problem, if done properly: First of all never use more than a quarter turn at once. After every turn wait an hour, that the wood can settle and do a final check the next day. And most important: If the trussrod doesn't move or makes noise, visit a good guitar luthier or an experienced guitar tech! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Great article. The only thing I would add is when you tighten the trussrod, it's good to loosen the strings temporarily just while you're tightening the trussrod and then bring the strings back up to tension. That way the trussrod nut won't be so stressed while it's being tightened. If you need to loosen the trussrod, then leaving the strings tensioned will help make it easier to loosen the nut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundMaster Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Thank you for sharing that, Aymara... Due to your much appreciated link, I've learned of yet another way to measure neck relief! Here is another link - I am now aware of four (!) methods to check neck relief. They all have one thing in common: fretting both E strings at the 1st fret. Otherwise, well here we go... 1. Depress strings on the neck, beyond the 22nd fret. Check gap at 12th fret. 2. Same as 1., but check gap at the 8th fret. 3. According to a final inspector at Memphis, depress strings at 15th fret and check gap at 7th fret. 4. In the Gibson User Manual (2012), it says to depress strings at 14th fret and check gap at 9th fret. I use the 4th method - but for kicks I then use the other three, to see differences in gap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aymara Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 That's a very long video, Haph. But I saw something, that's worth some critique: One should never lower the tailpiece all the way down to the body. I discussed this last year with my master luthier and he recommended to adjust the tailpiece to the same angle than the bridge and to take care, that the string angle between bridge and tailpiece is not too extreme, which causes higher tension and the risk of string breakage by bendings even if the strings don't touch the bridge body, which can cause buzzing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundMaster Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 That's a very long video, Haph. But I saw something, that's worth some critique: One should never lower the tailpiece all the way down to the body. I discussed this last year with my master luthier and he recommended to adjust the tailpiece to the same angle than the bridge and to take care, that the string angle between bridge and tailpiece is not too extreme, which causes higher tension and the risk of string breakage by bendings even if the strings don't touch the bridge body, which can cause buzzing. I know, Ay !!! I've mentioned that several times on this board. I firmly believe that the risk of headstock breakage increases as well. I don't recall Mr. Bradford explicitly mentioning the tailpiece; but I too noticed it was waaay too low. I'm glad the 'big guns' of this forum agree with me on this subject! As a side note, I've never broken a string, bending is easier and I get zero buzzing - all due to the 'raised tailpiece'. I am contemplating starting a topic to explain why I feel 'Modern Weight Relief' S*CKS!!! Warm Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aymara Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 Hi again! I firmly believe that the risk of headstock breakage increases as well. With standard gauges between .10-.11 I don't think so. With heavy gauges especially used for drop tuning ... maybe. As a side note, I've never broken a string, bending is easier and I get zero buzzing - all due to the 'raised tailpiece'. Lower tension, easier bendings ;-) And the critic, that a raised tailpiece will reduce sustain and sound quality is nonsense. But a tailpiece with locking screws like the Tonepros can be a big improvement, which I learned after upgrading my Epi Tribute 1960's bridge and tailpiece. I am contemplating starting a topic to explain why I feel 'Modern Weight Relief' S*CKS!!! Since I got my Signature T I no longer believe this, but that's a different story and too off-topic here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundMaster Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Since I got my Signature T I no longer believe this, but that's a different story and too off-topic here. Hmmm...interesting. And yes, too off-topic. Let's stick to Setups here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osk Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 (edited) This is an old post but shows up high in searches, so I figured it would be useful to include a link to this Basic Guitar Setup guide available on Gibson's site. http://legacy.gibson.com/Support/Tech-Tips/Basic-Guitar-Setup.aspx That guide is part of the Tech Tips sectionhttp://legacy.gibson.com/Support/Tech-Tips.aspx Even when findable through Google, I got those resources from calling Gibson's Customer Service on the phone. Edited October 14, 2019 by Osk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.