HIND Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Hello everyone, First of all i'd like to apologise for my English, i'm from Russia I bought my new Gibson SG Gothic Morte two weeks ago and i'm so much happy with it. This is my first electric guitar, i used to play an acoustic (i'm a beginner though). The factory settings seem a bit uncofortable to me. For instance the strings height is about 3,2mm so i decided to lower it up to approximately 2mm (measurments are taken on the 12 fret). After the adjustment i found that the strings buzz a little starting from the 10 or 11 fret. Is it a normal situation or should i make any other adjustments?
strat-o-steve Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 If you are buzzing on the higher frets like that, you have too much neck relief. Tighten the truss rod about a 1/8 th turn, to straighten the neck a little. Then set your strings at 2 mm and see if there is an improvement. :) If there is improvement, keep adjusting the truss rod a LITTLE at a time, and playing with string height until the guitar seems to feel and respond the best.
HIND Posted January 12, 2012 Author Posted January 12, 2012 Thank you! Yes, my guitar buzzes on the higher frets. I'll try to tighten the truss rod just a little.
HIND Posted January 12, 2012 Author Posted January 12, 2012 Thank you for the response. I've studied some material concerning truss rod adjustment but still i'm afraid to make changes. So i haven't touched anything yet and i'm thinking of taking the guitar to a real tech... Can you tell me something about these measurements: if i put the capo on the first fret and my finger on the last fret the space between the 10 fret and the string is 1,1mm. It seems to be too much, am i right?
hilm3 Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I check with a 24" (about 61 cm) long x 1/4" wide (6.4mm) inspection grade straight edge that covers the entire length of the fretboard, so from the first to the last fret. Most people check with a capo behind the first fret and a finger on the where the neck joins the body of the guitar. Your measurement of 1.1mm is excessive to say the least. 0.25 mm is about average for a guitar with level frets and properly adjusted slot depths at the nut. There is no ideal setting - it depends on the instrument, average humidity where you live, your picking style, type of strings you use, and countless other things. My Gibson SG is set at 0.15 mm, but it's been PLEK'd, so the frets are near perfect. My Epiphone Casino I've got at 0.28mm. I haven't leveled the frets yet, but they are not far off. Project for one of these weekends. Level frets will help me to lower the gap a little bit more, like how I like it. Taking yours to a tech for the first set up is a good idea if you do not have experience.
HIND Posted January 13, 2012 Author Posted January 13, 2012 Thank you for this information! I managed to consul a guitar tech yesterday and he told me the following: New Gibson guitars the same as the majority of modern instruments need a much more complicated adjustment than simply truss rod, strings height and intonation adjustment. His experience confirms that it will need individual frets adjustment and a complete setup. (perhaps I misused some words, but the idea is correct). I just wonder whether he is really telling the truth or maybe trying to get more money?
HIND Posted January 13, 2012 Author Posted January 13, 2012 Yes, I feel the same way. Well, actually he has never seen my guitar, that was a phone call. But, nevertheless he told me the price for the complete set up immediately and it is high I must say. I'll have to try it myself or visit my friend who is not very experienced but at least knows a bit more than I do.
EVOL! Posted January 13, 2012 Posted January 13, 2012 (Where's that thread that talked about a so-called tech who drove a nail under the nut?) You say that like it is a bad thing ;)
HIND Posted January 15, 2012 Author Posted January 15, 2012 I've managed to adjust the truss rod and lowered the strings to desirable ~2,1mm without any buzz She's a beauty, I can't help posting a photo) Could you probably help me with one more question? I wonder how the stopbar should be set up in relation to the bridge? I've attached the second photo in case of misunderstandings.
ZuWa Posted January 15, 2012 Posted January 15, 2012 I've managed to adjust the truss rod and lowered the strings to desirable ~2,1mm without any buzz She's a beauty, I can't help posting a photo) Could you probably help me with one more question? I wonder how the stopbar should be set up in relation to the bridge? I've attached the second photo in case of misunderstandings. There is an active thread on stopbar adjustment you should check out. Popular opinion is to lower the stopbar until the strings hit the back of the bridge, then raise it slightly so the strings just clear it. This is you final setup adjustment after adjusting the neck, setting the action, and intonating the bridge. Some folks wrap the strings over the stopbar so they can lower the stopbar all the way to the body. Some feel there is more sustain this way.
HIND Posted January 16, 2012 Author Posted January 16, 2012 Thanks! Unfortunately I didn't manage to settle the stopbar so that the strings wouldn't touch the back of the bridge how many advice. The only way is to put it reaaly high just like at the photo above and I really worry about that.
pfox14 Posted January 16, 2012 Posted January 16, 2012 If I bought a brand new SG and it needed fret work, I'd take it straight back to the store. No reason that adjusting the TR and/or bridge couldn't fix the issue. That's fairly normal for any electric guitar.
ZuWa Posted January 16, 2012 Posted January 16, 2012 Thanks! Unfortunately I didn't manage to settle the stopbar so that the strings wouldn't touch the back of the bridge how many advice. The only way is to put it reaaly high just like at the photo above and I really worry about that. The height of the stoptail doesn't look too high to me. You can only lower it as far as the guitar will allow. Players that like high action raise their bridges and this will cause the tailpiece to be high too. You can always screw it down more (loosen the strings first!) and see if you like it that way. Ideally though the strings should not hit the rear of the bridge. You could also topwrap the bridge - bring the strings over the top of the tailpiece toward the bridge. This should allow you to lower the tailpiece much more into the body. Experiment! Let us know how it turns out.
HIND Posted January 16, 2012 Author Posted January 16, 2012 If I bought a brand new SG and it needed fret work, I'd take it straight back to the store. No reason that adjusting the TR and/or bridge couldn't fix the issue. That's fairly normal for any electric guitar. I am new to electric guitar playing and guess that all problems are due to that. So I can't say whether my guitar needs fret work (I also believe in Gibson quality). Anyway, musical instruments are in category of goods that can not be taken back to the store where I live. The height of the stoptail doesn't look too high to me. You can only lower it as far as the guitar will allow. Players that like high action raise their bridges and this will cause the tailpiece to be high too. You can always screw it down more (loosen the strings first!) and see if you like it that way. Ideally though the strings should not hit the rear of the bridge. You could also topwrap the bridge - bring the strings over the top of the tailpiece toward the bridge. This should allow you to lower the tailpiece much more into the body. Experiment! Let us know how it turns out. I really appreciate your help! I'm a kind of person who finds perfection in every detail and that bothers me often. I'll leave everything as it is and continue evolving my playing skills. Maybe sometime later I'll take the guitar to another store to show it to the technician (who unfortunately may make a profit out of my ignorance).
Hydra26 Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Congratulations on your new guitar. I've also recently got my first SG (although I am not new to electric guitars). It looks like you've gotten good answers, the rest is just learning and practice. Over time you will understand how these adjustments work. Make small adjustments and observe the results.
HIND Posted March 15, 2012 Author Posted March 15, 2012 Hello! I've been enjoying my instrument all this time as I managed to adjust everything properly. But...unfortunately now I got another problem which is quite strange. When I slide on some frets I got not buzzy but very distorted sound. This happens approx. on the 5th and 2nd fret, D,G,B,E strings. I checked everythig but there's enough space for strings to vibrate. No buzz on unplugged guitar at all. The sound can also be heard in clean channel...not so obvious though. Strings are 2,5 months old. It may be difficult to get whan I mean, so I tried to make a short exemplary movie. I don't explain in English there but the problem is understandable. So if there's possibility please watch it. http://www.mediafire.com/?wb8tzw6mfdt6umu
HIND Posted March 17, 2012 Author Posted March 17, 2012 I have just changed strings and...its all the same(( Please, anyone :unsure:
John Rutherford Posted March 17, 2012 Posted March 17, 2012 We'll need some figures. What's the neck relief now ? And the action ? I've found the factory set-up on my 3 2011 Gibson SGs to be perfect. No adjustment was necessary and the neck relief was almost nil.
HIND Posted March 18, 2012 Author Posted March 18, 2012 The neck is almost straight, the height of the strings is approximately 1,8mm on the 6th string and 1,2 on the 1st (measurments are taken on the 12th fret). Now I see where the problem is but have no idea how to fix it. If I insert a thick card between the neck and strings to mute them and play notes, they all sound clean. As soon as I take it away, I get distorted sound on some frets. When I pluck G string for instance I notice a small vibration of A and D. How can this happen
stein Posted March 18, 2012 Posted March 18, 2012 I tried to watch the vid but there is nothing on the link for me to watch. I don't understand the problem you are describing.
HIND Posted March 18, 2012 Author Posted March 18, 2012 I only mean that plucking one string makes others vibrate. This causes unwanted distorted sound. Can the problem be fixed or it depends only on playings skills and I must practice muting more?
stein Posted March 18, 2012 Posted March 18, 2012 I only mean that plucking one string makes others vibrate. This causes unwanted distorted sound. Can the problem be fixed or it depends only on playings skills and I must practice muting more? You are right on with that. The more 'resonant' a guitar is, the more it will have a tendancy to want to vibrate. Most would see that as a good thing. But, regardless of the particular guitar, there is no way to stop it completely. A player HAS to be able to have a mute on the strings he doesn't want to vibrate to be able to control his own sound. It is a skill. The fact you are aware of it and can hear it in your own playing is a good thing.
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