Pinch Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 I have been doing my neck adjustments for a very very long time, with many different brands. Gibson necks, in general, are one of the best for out of the box factory guitars requiring very little adjustment. Amen to that. My Gibsons can have lots of relief or no relief, and either way, zero buzz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Bill 212 Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 Thanks for the feedback, I've tried taking it to a tech but they usually adjust the neck to have way more relief than i prefer. But does anyone know what a "normal" setup would be? Im trying to get better at setting it up myself and i wanna have a baseline to go back to when it changes with the seasons. Thanks for the help. Although there is no 'NORMAL'... I really must say that most GIBSON Electrics (IMO and for the way I play) seem to play their crispest sharpest best when they have .004"-.006"(+/- .002") Neck Relief at the 7TH Fret via Notched Straightedge measurement method. After tuning to pitch and setting the Neck's RELIEF, set the string action at the 12TH Fret.....Raising both Bass & Treble sides until buzzing just about disappears and that usually begins to happen @ 5/64TH's & 3/64TH's Bass across to Treble sides....... Now, after saying there is no 'NORMAL' I can say this: I've been setting up GIBSON Electrics like I just mentioned (I did not mention intonation purposely) for decades and this will produce a satisfactory playing Guitar every time, and most times a SUPERIOR playing instrument......it has never failed me....... When it comes to SET-UP's, IMO, a player should learn to do his/her own work. It is not rocket science and there is really not much to it. It reminds me of doing a TUNE-UP on a GM/FORD Car (Big Block V-8 427 C.I.) back when they had Ignition Points instead of Electronic Ignitions. It took a minor amount of skill but when you got the points set right, and BING...one tap on the ignition key and the car kicked right over.....VROOM !! GIBSON SET-Up's= EZ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 Although there is no 'NORMAL'... I really must say that most GIBSON Electrics (IMO and for the way I play) seem to play their crispest sharpest best when they have .004"-.006"(+/- .002") Neck Relief at the 7TH Fret via Notched Straightedge measurement method. After tuning to pitch and setting the Neck's RELIEF, set the string action at the 12TH Fret.....Raising both Bass & Treble sides until buzzing just about disappears and that usually begins to happen @ 5/64TH's & 3/64TH's Bass across to Treble sides....... Now, after saying there is no 'NORMAL' I can say this: I've been setting up GIBSON Electrics like I just mentioned (I did not mention intonation purposely) for decades and this will produce a satisfactory playing Guitar every time, and most times a SUPERIOR playing instrument......it has never failed me....... When it comes to SET-UP's, IMO, a player should learn to do his/her own work. It is not rocket science and there is really not much to it. It reminds me of doing a TUNE-UP on a GM/FORD Car (Big Block V-8 427 C.I.) back when they had Ignition Points instead of Electronic Ignitions. It took a minor amount of skill but when you got the points set right, and BING...one tap on the ignition key and the car kicked right over.....VROOM !! GIBSON SET-Up's= EZ...... I started Setting Up my Guitars myself a couple years ago. I have too many to have someone else do it. It would be too costly & time consuming. I Set up all my Gibsons & Epiphones the way as Wild Bill... I agree about Tune ups on Vintage Cars.... Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamval Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Ive had my les paul tribute for a while, and after about a year now i found that the frets buzz quite a bit. Im no expert, so im not sure if this is a "normal" amount of buzz, but it seems like i need to give it a lot of relief for the buzz to go away. Right now it's set up with the relief about the width of a business card (don't know the exact measurement) with the action set at a little over 2 mm. The buzz is noticeable as i can hear it through the clean channel on my amp, but again, not sure. A little over 2mm is quite high for a Les Paul. It should be around 150mm , which is closer to 5/64 at the 12th fret. Unless of course you like your action higher? A business card might work to determine the neck relief of another guitar but never a Les Paul or a SG in my opinion. Have you made the common mistake of attempting to "bolt" your tailpiece to the guitars body by screwing it all the way down? If so loosen it a little bit, it'll ease tension on the strings which may reduce and even eliminate any perceived "fret buzz". Especially if you like your action low. It'll improve tuning too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 A little over 2mm is quite high for a Les Paul. It should be around 150mm , which is closer to 5/64 at the 12th fret. Unless of course you like your action higher? A business card might work to determine the neck relief of another guitar but never a Les Paul or a SG in my opinion. Have you made the common mistake of attempting to "bolt" your tailpiece to the guitars body by screwing it all the way down? If so loosen it a little bit, it'll ease tension on the strings which may reduce and even eliminate any perceived "fret buzz". Especially if you like your action low. It'll improve tuning too. So 2 mm is higher than 150 mm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 So 2 mm is higher than 150 mm? Possibly not if one uses an Imperial Ruler.... Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamval Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 So 2 mm is higher than 150 mm? lol well spotted, my bad for replying on my phone. He should try measuring in at around 1.50 if he has a string action ruler. Not 150mm!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamval Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Your action at the 12th fret should look like this. https://www.12fret.com/wp-content/gallery/5-64ths/dynamic/5-64ths_crop2.jpg-nggid047200-ngg0dyn-845x0x100-00f0w010c010r110f110r010t010.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Bridge setups are easy.. You don't need a ruler or to know what the height is.. If you want low action you simply lower the bridge till it starts buzzing and then raise it a bit till it stops... Really doesn't need to be more complicated than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Bridge setups are easy.. You don't need a ruler or to know what the height is.. If you want low action you simply lower the bridge till it starts buzzing and then raise it a bit till it stops... Really doesn't need to be more complicated than that. You must be from Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 You must be from Europe. Not for much longer... Haven't you heard? Ok.. don't answer that :unsure: :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Not for much longer... Haven't you heard? Ok.. don't answer that :unsure: :) Nice one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 You must be from Europe... Not for much longer... Is Mrs. May including being part of a different continent in her Brexit negotiations!?!?!....................No wonder things aren't going too smoothly. Hey! I vote we become part of Australasia! Then we might get better weather!............ Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Is Mrs. May including being part of a different continent in her Brexit negotiations!?!?!....................No wonder things aren't going too smoothly. Hey! I vote we become part of Australasia! Then we might get better weather!............ Pip. Yeah, but then you'll get snakes, crocodiles and great white sharks.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chezpop13 Posted March 14, 2019 Author Share Posted March 14, 2019 wow, I guess I never looked at these. thanks for all the replies. the setup specs I use right now are: Relief= about .010¨ low E height= 6/64¨ (yes I got proper measuring tools) high e= 4/64¨ I Looked around for specs and found that these specs were very common for les pauls, however, setting it up like this still makes the treble strings buzz and sort of fret out, as well as on the low strings, (especially the E) buzz to the point where they do not sustain, on frets 12 and up. I´m pretty sure of the specs i´m using, and I don´t know why the guitar is doing this as it seems set up to (or at least close to) factory specs. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 wow, I guess I never looked at these. thanks for all the replies. the setup specs I use right now are: Relief= about .010¨ low E height= 6/64¨ (yes I got proper measuring tools) high e= 4/64¨ I Looked around for specs and found that these specs were very common for les pauls, however, setting it up like this still makes the treble strings buzz and sort of fret out, as well as on the low strings, (especially the E) buzz to the point where they do not sustain, on frets 12 and up. I´m pretty sure of the specs i´m using, and I don´t know why the guitar is doing this as it seems set up to (or at least close to) factory specs. thanks! Well, you seem to have your bases covered... Maybe have someone look first-hand at your issue and see what they think. It could be any number of things going on. The way I go about this is to simply start at the baseline specs and see what's going on there. Only if things are panning out, then I will see what I can get away with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 It's not a bad idea to get a SET-UP from a Luthier/Pro, but I am a big believer in Player's setting up their own Guitars. What I say ? Get yourself the necessary tools (String Action Gauge, Truss-Rod Wrench, Notched Straightedge, Feeler Gauges, Capo and a couple small screw drivers:Flat & Philips head) and Do-It-Yourself. You will get a lot of satisfaction out of setting the Guitar up the way YOU want it set up and you can try different relief's, String Height's etc etc without shelling out $50 every time you want something tweaked on your Axe. YOUTUBE has video's of all you will need to know about what is necessary. HAVE FUN !!! I agree.. I used to have all my Guitars Set up by a Pro... But, sometimes adjustments were needed right now. I decided to buy the Tools & Learned to do it myself... Factory Specs for most Guitars are available online or came with your Guitar when you bought it new. You Tube was my Teacher... Tons of great Videos... All I can say is I'm glad I learned how to do it & if I can do it anyone can....... L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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