String action on Epi Casino

[newlife15]

Hi guys,

I finished doing a setup on my Epi Casino ( I am a beginner on setups) and I must say I did a decent job. The only area I seemed to have a small issue is with the string height. I like my action low but when I set the action at 2mm I got quite a bit of buzzing so I settled on 2.5mm action (at 17th fret)

Which is fine. But my guitar tech seems to be able to get my Epi sheri at 2mm without the buzzing.

How's he do that?

Any thoughts comments suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Newlife.

[Deacon Blue]

possibly the nut is a bit higher on the sheri.

[RaSTuS]

Also the amount of relief the fretboard has will make a huge difference.

[mgrmatt]

There's alot of good diy stuff on these boards and youtube. With that said I do my measurements in 64th's, the nut height is 2/64th Bass E @ the first fret on the bass sid and 1/64th on treble side, I measure the neck relief @ the 7th fret, I like to get mine at .010 at the 7th but this like string height can depnd on your preference or style of playing. I measure string height on Epi/Gibsons @ the 12th fret, the factory settings for Epi's are 6/64ths on the bass side and 4/64ths on the treble, provided your frets are level I like 5/64 on the bass side and 3/64 on the treble side. It a process of several steps that get you low action without fret buzz and I'm sure there are people here that can explain it better than I have. Good lick be patient and you'll get it where you want it!

[Whitmore Willy]

All insights so far are very good and all are very real possibilities. (Lordy I love this forum)

Another insight:

You can use a new credit card as a fret rocker to check for high frets.

Although it should be done with the neck perfectly straight, .010" is so slight over the length of the neck that it can give you some indication even with strings on and relief in the neck.

 

You just might have a high fret or two. Could be fret seating or fret height.

 

 

Just don't ruin your frets trying to adjust them if you don't know what you are doing!

 

 

 

Willy

[rolling56]

With very little relief in the neck the action is a balance of nut slot depth and saddle height...if the frets are level.

 

Also check the radius of the fretboard and match it to the strings at the saddles as close as you can.

[newlife15]

Thanks for all the input. I will keep you posted as to how my quest for Lisa action without frettbuzz goes.

[RaSTuS]

To check nut height (slot depth):

Fret the low E string between the 2nd and 3rd frets, there should be a gap of 0.15mm and 0.20mm (0.006" and 0.008") between the bottom of the string and the top of the 1st fret, repeat on the high E, you should only need to check the E strings on a pre-cut nut.

 

To check neck relief:

Put a capo on the 1st fret, then fret on the fret one past the neck/body join, there should be a gap of between 0.40mm and 0.50mm (0.015" and 0.020"), about the thickness of a business card, between the bottom of the string and the top of the fret at the half way point between these two fretted points, check the low E, you can also check the high E to check for a twisted neck, both E's should be the same.

 

If both the above check out then it's just a matter of adjusting the bridge height just high enough to eliminate the fret buzz.

 

These measurements are my personal preference, but using them you should be able to get a nice low buzz free action. Also I didn't give fret numbers for the neck/body join and the halfway point as this will vary from model to model, and this method should be transferable to any model electric guitar.