Neck Relief

[Sitedrifter]

I have noticed that even with the action on my J200 a hair high, there was some fret buzz especially on the E,A,D strings on the first 3 frets.

I read alot about what the cause might be and all my research points to neck relief being off (not enough). I used my Capo on the first fret and pressed down the E string on the 14th fret and measured the 7th fret wire (6th wire was the same measurement)to the bottom of the low E string and it was .005 . I read that anywhere from .007 to .012 is recommended depending on the manufacturer or professionals you check with. I knew the .005 was too little so I added some relief (1/8 turn counter clockwise) and it now measures .009 at the 7th fret and the buzz is a thing of the past.

 

Does anyone know if Gibson has technical documents on guitar setups like Taylor and PRS do?

[BigKahune]

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Sounds to me like you did a good job.

 

Gibson basic guitar setup - http://www2.gibson.com/Support/Tech-Tips/Basic-Guitar-Setup.aspx

 

 

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[Sitedrifter]

I took the action (saddle) down a bit more to 7/64 LowE and 5/64 HighE which is very nice for me. Funny thing is, looking at the Gibson page that is the recommended action level. In any case, I needed to add a little more relief to get to .010 which removes the buzz from lowering the action. She plays real nice now!

[RusRob]

Some guitars move a lot with the seasonal changes. You may want to make up another saddle so you have one for winter months and one for summer. I have done that for a couple of my clients and it works out really well for them. When the action changes they just slip in their second saddle and off they go. Since you are already adjusting the one on the guitar I would order another one and when spring comes around and your action changes back, set it up with your new one.

 

You will pobably still have to adjust the truss rod but it is a much quicker process if you have 2 saddles.

[Sitedrifter]

Some guitars move a lot with the seasonal changes. You may want to make up another saddle so you have one for winter months and one for summer. I have done that for a couple of my clients and it works out really well for them. When the action changes they just slip in their second saddle and off they go. Since you are already adjusting the one on the guitar I would order another one and when spring comes around and your action changes back, set it up with your new one.

 

You will pobably still have to adjust the truss rod but it is a much quicker process if you have 2 saddles.

 

Great idea!

 

Off to Bob's website