bluefoxicy Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Well the intonation's mostly right on my Special II now, but it kind of buzzes a bit. This thing has pretty high frets compared to dad's Teisco, but I hardly think 2/3 of the metal on EVERY FRET needs to be filed down. The relief at fret 9 is about 4mm if I press down on fret 1 and below the last fret to hold the string down; at fret 7 it seems to be about 3mm. Should I be tapping frets with a hammer, or does this warrant just a simple truss rod adjustment? I get buzz on the low E string when fretted, even if I press REALLY HARD and fret right behind the fret (not a mm behind it, but finger actually against it on the fret board). Mind you, if I fret right, I need to pick pretty hard with a 1.0mm delron pick; but that's not really that difficult, clean sound sounds like crap coming out of my amp if I'm playing chords. No issues unfretted (my action's raised 7mm from the lowest fret! I set it high! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerxst1281733995 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 You don't need to go hammering any frets, unless they're loose... Sounds like you need some relief in the neck.. And any string will buzz if you pick it hard enough.. Regardless of set-up... I think you'll find, if you have adequate relief in the neck, your action won't have to be that high... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 So nudge the truss rod a bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerxst1281733995 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 So nudge the truss rod a bit? Well, first check the relief.. Is there back-bow in the neck? You can check the relief 2 ways.. If you have a long, metal, straightedge, place the edge of it on the fret-board running down the length of the neck... You should see a gap between the frets and the straight-edge between the frets that makes contact with the ends of the straight edge.. The other way is to hold the low E string at the first tand 17th frets, and check it that way... If there is no gap, you have no relief... To get relief in the neck,loosen the strings and turn the truss rod counter-clockwise, thus loosening the truss rod.. Don't turn it much... Maybe an eighth of a turn.. Then tune it back up again and check it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerxst1281733995 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I usually like to let the the guitar set for a little bit to let the neck "settle in" under full string tension before making any further adjustments.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 If I fret the strings, the low E touches against the 16th. Finger as close to the 17th fret as possible. The neck bows away from the strings (proper) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slagg Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 go to stewartmacdonald.com(free info)good tips on setup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerxst1281733995 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Yeah, I can't tell you anything unless I can actually see what's going on here... All I can give you are general guidelines... If it looks like there isn't enough relief, then loosen the truss-rod (counter-clockwise).. If there's too much, then tighten (clock-wise) it.. Just go in small increments.. You'll also have to adjust bridge hight accordingly... By the time you're done messing with this, you might have to set your intonation again.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickblues1 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Try this web site. Gives some good basic setup info for solid body guitars. http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/pro1.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 http://www.gibson.com/magazines/amplifier/1997/10/tipfile.html THESE action adjustments work wonders. Gibson electric specifications are: 1st fret- treble side - 1/64" 1st fret- bass side - 2/64" 12th fret- treble side - 3/64" 12th fret - bass side - 5/64" That's 1.98mm low E on the 12th fret, and 1.19mm high e' on the 12th fret. I used two 1mm Dunlop Tortex picks (delron yay!) to space the low E and adjusted 'til flat, and used two 0.6mm to measure the high e'. Truss rod adjustment from there. Good, I still have a tiny bit of buzz (I could raise the action a LITTLE more) but now I've got the action at less than half of what it was at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickblues1 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Others like the strings set to 2mm all the way across. You can use a dime as a gauge it's about 2mm thick. Measured at the 12th fret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 I'm still amazed this didn't knock my intonation off (actually, the intonation seems almost dead on now, measured electronically). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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