adjusting the action on my 61 reissue.

[Manubro1]

How do you adjust the action on a 61 reissue SG? I have very little knowledge on how to do repairs and stuff on guitars so id like to know, is it a complicated thing to do? Can someone give me a good, detailed instruction on how to do it? Should I not even attempt it?

 

Thx.

[Sefrez]

You would twist the bridge posts clock-wise. This will bring it down. So no, changing it is not hard. But, you will have to re-intonate it. There are plenty of tutorials on how to do that, but it is debated on whether or not you pick the string normally or pick it with a harmonic on the 12th fret (look at tut's, you will see what I mean).

 

Might would be smart though to measure the height it's currently at, at the 12th fret on both E strings; so just in case you want to put it back as it was without having to intonate back (only if you never intonated after the change).

[ironlung40]

When you adjust the thumbwheels on the bridge to bring the string height down, you may also have to adjust the tailpiece as well. You want the tailpiece to be low enough, so that the strings don't rest on the back of the bridge. You want a small clearance there or string breakage is more likely. Just make sure that the string touches nothing but the saddle part on the bridge before it reaches the tailpiece. If you adjust the tailpiece, put a cloth between the flathead screwdriver and stud piece, or you will damage the chrome finish on it when you turn it, if you're not very careful.

 

Also you'll have to loosen all of the strings to get the tension relieved so that you can turn the thumbwheels and studs. So you'll have to loosen, adjust, re-tune, and see if you like it. If you don't, you'll have to repeat all over, so plan to have a little time and patience. After you get the height where you want it, then worry about the intonation. If you don't know how to adjust that go here:

 

setting up your GEETAR

 

 

it may need a truss rod adjustment as well to get the best setup, but you may achieve what you want without doing that. With SG's though, or gibson's in general, they are a lot more sensitive to string gauge changes. If you put a heavier gauge on it may bow the neck more and thus require a truss rod adjustment, or in some cases even a nut adjustment. The neck bend much more than say on a bolt on fender guitar, which can take more tension. For this reason, I feel it's important to find a guage you like and then stick with it.

 

Sorry, if you know more than I am assuming, but I see guys come into the store all the time, and have no idea what kind of strings they want. They just put whatever is recommended on, and don't know what the guitar had to begin with.

 

 

Anyway, hope this thread is of some help to you and your great guitar

[Manubro1]

When you adjust the thumbwheels on the bridge to bring the string height down' date=' you may also have to adjust the tailpiece as well. You want the tailpiece to be low enough, so that the strings don't rest on the back of the bridge. You want a small clearance there or string breakage is more likely. Just make sure that the string touches nothing but the saddle part on the bridge before it reaches the tailpiece. If you adjust the tailpiece, put a cloth between the flathead screwdriver and stud piece, or you will damage the chrome finish on it when you turn it, if you're not very careful.

 

Also you'll have to loosen all of the strings to get the tension relieved so that you can turn the thumbwheels and studs. So you'll have to loosen, adjust, re-tune, and see if you like it. If you don't, you'll have to repeat all over, so plan to have a little time and patience. After you get the height where you want it, then worry about the intonation. If you don't know how to adjust that go here:

 

setting up your GEETAR

 

 

it may need a truss rod adjustment as well to get the best setup, but you may achieve what you want without doing that. With SG's though, or gibson's in general, they are a lot more sensitive to string gauge changes. If you put a heavier gauge on it may bow the neck more and thus require a truss rod adjustment, or in some cases even a nut adjustment. The neck bend much more than say on a bolt on fender guitar, which can take more tension. For this reason, I feel it's important to find a guage you like and then stick with it.

 

Sorry, if you know more than I am assuming, but I see guys come into the store all the time, and have no idea what kind of strings they want. They just put whatever is recommended on, and don't know what the guitar had to begin with.

 

 

Anyway, hope this thread is of some help to you and your great guitar

 

Thanks for the response.

Will I have to adjust the pickup height after I lower the strings? Is the tailpeice the part where the strings are anchored, like where the ball is? What do you mean by the saddle part of the bridge, what is the saddle? Is there a way to tell what gauge strings I have on at the moment (I havnt changed the strings since I bought the guitar, so im asssuming that whatever strings were on the guitar when it shipped are still on).

[ironlung40]

Thanks for the response.

Will I have to adjust the pickup height after I lower the strings? Is the tailpeice the part where the strings are anchored' date=' like where the ball is? What do you mean by the saddle part of the bridge, what is the saddle? Is there a way to tell what gauge strings I have on at the moment (I havnt changed the strings since I bought the guitar, so im asssuming that whatever strings were on the guitar when it shipped are still on).

[/quote']

 

 

You may have to adjust the pickups after you lower the strings. If they're too close to the strings you may get some buzz when you pick. You don't want the strings to hit the pickups when you pick, especially if you have a heavy hand like me. Also, if the pickups are too close they can exert too much magnetic pull causing the guitar to sound out of tune, and it can affect the resonance of the string. But, a higher pickup will make for a hotter sound too, as a lower one will lower the output some, so this is preference adjustment, just like everything else. After you get the action where you want it, you can plug in and experiment with the sound while adjusting the pickups to get them where you want them.

 

yes, the tailpiece is where the ball of the strings are anchored. It is the chrome bar at the very end with the large flathead slotted screws.

 

The saddle is the small v shaped parts on top of the bridge that the string rests in. These saddles have screws at the rear of the bridge that your adjust for the intonation. The screws move the saddles toward the tailpiece, or toward the fretboard.

 

The only way you can tell for sure what guage the strings are is to measure them with an appropriate scale ruler or a guage. But, I believe most of these guitars shipped out with 0.10-0.46 guage strings. That is what I have on mine. Don't take that for gospel, though. Someone else may know for sure. Did you buy this guitar brand new? If you didn't, don't assume it has the stock strings on it.

 

As far as damaging the guitar, the truss rod is the only part that can severely damage it, if you don't know what your doing. But, if you pull out the screwdriver for the tailpiece and saddle screws, use a cloth like I suggested, and I always lay a cloth under the bridge too to keep from accidentially slipping into the finish. you can damage the nut too, if you put a really heavy gauge string on it...I damaged one on a fender guitar when I was a newbie, by putting some 0.54's on it! There is nothing wrong with using a heavy string, if that is what you prefer, but I'd take it to a tech, and see if the bridge needs slotted, truss rod adjustment, etc. If you decide to do that. If you stick with a string close to the stock ones, you shouldn't have a problem though.

 

If you're having trouble with it though, a good setup is really worth the money paid, as Jocko makes a good point. After it is setup properly, you shouldn't need another one for a long long time, if you use the same gauge strings.

 

Cheers[biggrin]