Setup on BB King Lucille Model

[the5thfret]

I have a Gibson BB King Lucille which I dearly love. It needs a real good setup though and in my part of the country there is nobody that can do that. The first thing they want to do is start crankin' on the truss rod and not do anything else.

 

I like my guitar to play like a hot knife going through butter. I like the action to be real close with NO fret buzz. How do I do a setup and what is the perfect height for the pups and how do I adjust them? Help appreciated. Thanks

[Dynadude]

If you want your strings really low, then you'd best find a good tech to do the work. It actually takes some experience, and you don't want to start with that guitar. A busted truss rod, or even just a ruined nut would be bad news.

 

But, if you insist on trying it yourself, I'd suggest you check your local book stores, or the Internet, for a good book on maintaining/building guitars.

 

I doubt you will find anyone here with the time to walk you through this kind of thing. There are many decisions to be made along the way, and some delicate measurements to take.

[Old Deadhead]

I have a Gibson BB King Lucille which I dearly love. It needs a real good setup though and in my part of the country there is nobody that can do that. The first thing they want to do is start crankin' on the truss rod and not do anything else.

 

I like my guitar to play like a hot knife going through butter. I like the action to be real close with NO fret buzz. How do I do a setup and what is the perfect height for the pups and how do I adjust them? Help appreciated. Thanks

Not recommended. Real low action will probably require truss rod and fret work.Not something for the inexperienced to try, especially on a high end guitar like a Lucille. Seeing you're from Illinois, you probably aren't more than an hour or two from either Chicago or St Louis. You should be able to find a qualified tech in one of those towns to do a proper set up. However, if you are intent on trying, get one of Dan Erlewine's set up books from www.StewMac.com.

[Bluemoon]

Where in Illinois do you live

[80LPC]

I think you need to gain experience before tackling a set-up on this guitar. A slight mistake working on your Lucille could be very costly. Work on cheap guitars until you fully understand all the principles. If you can turn a piece of junk into a sweet player, it's a start....

[Murph]

If you're in Northern Illinois, there are Gibson dealers up there.

 

If you're in Southern Illinois, take a day trip to Nashville if you're afraid to do it, Opry Mills, Gruhns, ect.

 

I go to Gruhns all the time just for kicks. Cost me several thousand dollars this year.........

 

Best to ya.

 

Murph.

[Homz]

Congrats on getting such a beautiful guitar, Lucille. That is a great sounding guitar. What kind of pick ups are in it?