EJ 200 CE help

[joe67]

Hi Folks,

 

Am a new boy to the site. I bought an Epiphone EJ-200-CE about three years ago. It had a set of 12's on it from the factory fit but it was cutting my fingers off and I play quite a bit. I tried to persevere with it but eventually put a set of 10's on it and it made a massive difference but didn't have quite the same depth of tone.

 

Is it worth getting someone to file the bridge down? I am scared to mess with the action in case I ruin the guitar. Any advice appreciated.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Joe.

[Bookkeeper's Son]

Bridge saddle adjustments (usually by sanding) are quite routine, and pretty inexpensive (approx. $20 US). If your action is too high, it'll make a big difference. The nut height should be checked, too - with the strings depressed between frets 2 and 3, the clearance at the first fret should be no more than .015", about the thickness of a standard business card.

 

Have you measured the string clearances (both E strings) at the 12th fret? If the low E is over 7/64" and/or the high E is over 4/64", it would be considered high by most players.

 

Saddle sanding is often a DIY job - worst that can happen is sanding too much, which can be remedied with homemade shims, or a new saddle (about 10 bucks).

 

Hope all of this is helpful!

[joe67]

Bridge saddle adjustments (usually by sanding) are quite routine, and pretty inexpensive (approx. $20 US). If your action is too high, it'll make a big difference. The nut height should be checked, too - with the strings depressed between frets 2 and 3, the clearance at the first fret should be no more than .015", about the thickness of a standard business card.

 

Have you measured the string clearances (both E strings) at the 12th fret? If the low E is over 7/64" and/or the high E is over 4/64", it would be considered high by most players.

 

Saddle sanding is often a DIY job - worst that can happen is sanding too much, which can be remedied with homemade shims, or a new saddle (about 10 bucks).

 

Hope all of this is helpful!

 

Thanks very much for that. I don't think I would try it myself, will take it into my local shop as you have explained it as straightforward and not a major job. Thanks again

[TommyK]

Just take it to a competent luthier or guitar tech to have it set up. Gibson/Epiphones are known for having the action a tad high from the factory. The mind set is that it's easier, and cheaper, to have the action lowered, than raised.

[dubstar]

you went from .012 to .010...what happened to .011?

 

you might want to try a set of custom lights

 

EXP13

 

80/20

 

.011

.015

.022

.032

.042

.052

[joe67]

Just take it to a competent luthier or guitar tech to have it set up. Gibson/Epiphones are known for having the action a tad high from the factory. The mind set is that it's easier, and cheaper, to have the action lowered, than raised.

Thanks Tommy, will do

[joe67]

you went from .012 to .010...what happened to .011?

 

you might want to try a set of custom lights

 

EXP13

 

80/20

 

.011

.015

.022

.032

.042

.052

Thanks Dubstar, I've got 11's on one of my first guitars, a Crafter D7N and I was never really happy with the tone. May have just been the guitar though so I will give your suggestion a go. Would you recommend a specific brand, I usually use Martin strings on my acoustics.

[adok]

IMHO, 11 strings will give much more sound than 10.

 

BTW, you'll surely will set new strings BEFORE you let any adjustment done on bridge saddle and/or truss rod.

Different string gauge will change action and neck relief. Notice that same gauge, different brand, may do too.

 

If you like Martin bronze, you'll probably like D'Addario EXP bronze 80/20.

11-52 gauge set is reference EXP13, called custom-light.

EXP strings are real bright sounding and last extremely long on my guitars. Just give them a little cotton clothe rub after playing.