scbryan7 Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 Hey folks. So I got my dream guitar, THE classic heritage cherry gibson sg standard. Now, I am completely new to this style guitar as I previously owned a Jackson in my metal days before I discovered Rock n Roll and the Blues. Naturally, I've got some questions and curiosities and hope some nice people can provide me with the knowledge I need. 1) I got it brand spankin new and the neck is slightly warped. The strings buzz especially on the lower strings. Now is this a problem that I can have an experienced guitar tech setup and cure or is it something that is part of the guitar due to its production and I should exchange it? 2) Also, I left the thing in it's case in my van over night and the next day when I went to play it there was condensation on the pickups. Why does this happen? Is it significantly bad for the guitar? 3) And then I noticed that the fretboard has tiny cracks in the mahogany all the way down. I can't remember if they were there before or not. Is it from leaving it in the van with the temperature change? Is it just normal breaking in for this instrument? Or, do they come that way and I'm being completely paranoid? Thank you in advance for any help I recieve. Your efforts are much appreciated, as is any other info a new SG owner needs to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 Did you try the guitar before buying ? Did you notice any buzzing on the strings ? String buzz can be caused by many things - and in most cases is easily rectified. How low did the temperature drop overnight ? It's always a good idea with any instrument to avoid extremes of temperature and humidity - and to avoid rapid changes. The rosewood fretboard will not have a perfectly smooth surface. Post some pictures - including macros of the fretboard if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonesullivan Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 If it's cold outside, NEVER LEAVE YOUR GUITAR IN YOUR VAN! That's also a great recipe for getting it stolen. Keeping it inside is safer for it. The condensation happens because you didn't give the guitar in the case time to equalize temperatures. It was cold, so water condensed on the pickups, inside the pickups, etc. Also might have effected the electronics. In general it's not a good thing to do. Now, you said the neck is "warped"? did you sight down the neck or measure it with a feeler gauge and/or straight edge? How low is the action? is there any relief in the neck? The fretboard is made of rosewood, not mahogany. When you say "all the way down" are you just talking about the open grain of rosewood, or can you actually see down to the glue joint with the neck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbryan7 Posted November 26, 2009 Author Share Posted November 26, 2009 Now' date=' you said the neck is "warped"? did you sight down the neck or measure it with a feeler gauge and/or straight edge? How low is the action? is there any relief in the neck? The fretboard is made of rosewood, not mahogany. When you say "all the way down" are you just talking about the open grain of rosewood, or can you actually see down to the glue joint with the neck?[/quote'] I have not measured it but the warp is visible looking down the neck. What do you mean by "relief" in the neck? And I believe it is just the open grain of the rosewood that is visible. I certainly cannot see to the glue joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbryan7 Posted November 26, 2009 Author Share Posted November 26, 2009 Did you try the guitar before buying ? Did you notice any buzzing on the strings ? String buzz can be caused by many things - and in most cases is easily rectified. I had to drive miles to get it and was in a rush so I didn't have enough time to try it out very thoroughly in the shop so I took it home and tried it out when I had time. What are the different things that can cause string buzz. I know the action could be adjusted, although I am not entirely sure how to do that myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbryan7 Posted November 26, 2009 Author Share Posted November 26, 2009 Also- Can someone tell me how to change the damn switch washer on this thing? Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildobbin Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 Take it to a guitar tech to get it set up. Usually entails just a tweak of the truss rod, fret stone, intonation nudge & a new set of strings. Should cost about $80. Also, as said before, never, ever, ever leave your baby in the motor. She'll either run off with someone else or go bad on you ;-)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 It is normal to need some adjustment of the action and neck relief (truss rod). You can do this yourself, raise the string height a little with the thumb screws on the bridge, tune the guitar, remove the truss rod cover, get the Gibson rod tool or use a nut driver, to slowly turn the rod about a quarter turn and look at the neck to see which way it moves and then slowly adjust until correct. If you are not comfortable with this get a tech to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dickey Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 Relief means a veeeeerrrrry slight warp in the neck,which most people seem to think is the way a guitar should be set up, but I believe that a neck should be perfectly straight. Only then can you achieve optimum action & no buzzing. If you are not experienced with adjusting a truss rod, DO NOT attempt this. Have an experienced tech do it--you can do everything else yourself;action,intonation,pickup height,string installation. Put on the guage strings you want, then tell the tech to adjust the truss rod so the neck is perfectly straight. Then adjust your thumbwheels until the action is where you want it. BTW on one of my first attempts to adjust a truss rod back in the 70's,I snapped it,turning a late 60's SG into firewood. An expensive lesson,but I do all my own setups now, & my friends & bandmates love the way my guitars play so much that I have to do theirs,too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Leave the truss rod alone - things can get rapidly worse if you don't know what you are doing. A perfectly straight neck would be fine if strings vibrated in straight lines - they don't. Strings vibrate in an elliptical pattern, and when the neck is adjusted to match, you have the lowest buzz-free action. With a straight neck, some players prefer the feel of the action, but in order to reduce string buzz the bridge has to be adjusted fractionally higher than it would otherwise be. But... this fractionally higher action up the neck then gives a better feel when bending strings for some people. It's very much down to personal taste. As I recall, the smallest amount of relief in Gibson specs is .004" / 0.1mm I never turn the truss rod more than one eighth of a turn at once. Adjust - allow time for the neck to move - then measure carefully. Mahogany necks tend to move quite easily, but if you are adjusting a thick maple neck you might not see the full change for around 24 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Aa quick note on intonation. You won't be able to adjust it very well without a good tuner; something that is accurate down to 1/1000th of a semitone. Based on your comments, I would take your new SG into a tech and have her set up correctly. You'll be amazed at how sweet it is to play a well setup instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yew Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 i wouldnt worry about the condensation on the pickups. angus youngs pickups often get full of sweat, so his tech has to let them dry out for a few days, also the wire is enamel coated and way potted, so it *shouldnt* cause any decay of the pickup (and the covers are nickelsilver, so no problems there) But next time, put it under your bed, with the code lock set to 666 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonesullivan Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 relief is not a "warp" in the neck, it is a curve in the neck. when someone says a neck is warped that means it is twisted or has a "hump" in it, not just a front or back bow. anyway, get it set up. Also remember that it will have to get used to your house in terms of temperature and humidity. Also, rapid temperature changes are a good recipe for nitrocellulose checking/cracking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 I read that a while ago Gibson changed the formula of the finish to make it virtually impervious to checking. Still highly recommended to keep it protected from extremes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yew Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 do as phildobbin says, as otherwise the pickups in your guitar make a black hole, and you can see from his avatar what happens =P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 do as phildobbin says' date=' as otherwise the pickups in your guitar make a black hole, and you can see from his avatar what happens =P[/quote'] Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbryan7 Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 Thank you all very much for your help. It is very much appreciated. So from everyone's input I am starting to see that the problems with the instrument are entirely expected and can be set-up by a guiter tech. I will have him set it up and if everything feels good, I will keep it. I still have the ability to exchange it, so that is why I am trying to determine if these problems are easily curable or i should go ahead and exchange it. I hear some models just aren't produced as well as others. Something else I noticed was that the tuners absoultely SUCK. Especially on the D and G strings. THey seem to very easily go out of tune every 5 minutes or so. Now once again, is this a normal probelm, or did I get a dud SG? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 It is the nut being a little tight causing some binding, the set up should address it. I have no problems with my stock Gibson tuners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildobbin Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Something else I noticed was that the tuners absoultely SUCK. Especially on the D and G strings. THey seem to very easily go out of tune every 5 minutes or so. Now once again' date=' is this a normal probelm, or did I get a dud SG? [/quote'] That's probably because the nut hasn't been cut in yet: the tech'll do that for you. If you get a pencil & run it along the nut slot on those strings that'll cure it temporarily... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildobbin Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 do as phildobbin says' date=' as otherwise the pickups in your guitar make a black hole, and you can see from his avatar what happens =P[/quote'] That's what happens when you play the Devil's music, mate ;-)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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