KVR Audio

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Sat Aug 07, 2021 7:50 pm

don't know why you quoted me hink but yes feeler gauges are great and needed to be real accurate. myself i use paper business cards lol... gives me probably a little more than a 1/32nd at the 12th fret. it'll almost play itself lol. i also use a Quarter and a Nickel (US coins) to adjust pickup to string height lol. learned that one from Bill Lawerance RIP when he made me some L90's years back.

cheers

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Sat Aug 07, 2021 10:28 pm

MadDogE134 wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 7:50 pm don't know why you quoted me hink but yes feeler gauges are great and needed to be real accurate. myself i use paper business cards lol... gives me probably a little more than a 1/32nd at the 12th fret. it'll almost play itself lol. i also use a Quarter and a Nickel (US coins) to adjust pickup to string height lol. learned that one from Bill Lawerance RIP when he made me some L90's years back.

cheers

because I wanted to expand on your good advice

...I use feeler gauges actually because it was suggested by suziwong (member here) years ago and it was brilliant. I used a machinist scale (General brand) for years because that's what I went to school for, I am quite use to them and I carry a scale everywhere like a pen...but feelers have sizes and now I got quite a few guitars and they are all different, they work great.

A lot of people are frightened by trussrods, in the day it made sense but the internet has given us great resources

For the OP, that video is by who you got the guitar from...

donkey tugger · Post by **donkey tugger** » Sat Aug 07, 2021 10:34 pm

Hink wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 10:28 pm

A lot of people are frightened by trussrods,

When I bought my Ibanez Guitar Multitool (marvellous thing) I had it delivered to my work, and when I was unwrapping it one of my colleagues said, "why have you bought a penknife? Are you going to stab me?" To which I replied, "No, I'm going to adjust your truss rod. It will be infinitely more painful.."

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:18 pm

lol donkey

yeah the trepidation with the truss rod is... 1) you can't see the dang thing lol and 2) if you mess up you could destroy the guitar. sad thing is i have seen truss rods that are opposite... in other words they don't ALL tighten turning right or loosen turning left lol. you have to 'feel' what it is doing. 99% of the time you can tell as you turn the adjustment if it is getting tight or loosening up. for the most part it is somewhat standard that clockwise tightens and counter clockwise loosens but beware.

one thing people don't realize that if you loosen that rod too much the nut can come off the threads and you have basically no way of getting it back on other that tearing the board off

and of course if you tighten too much you can crack or crush the neck (broken)... and not to mention stripping the threads... they don't always use the best steel in those rods. so great care should be used when mucking about with the truss but you have to learn somewhere. sadly we do not learn that much by doing things right... we learn mostly by doing things wrong. lol

cheers

p.s. thank goodness you rarely have to mess with the truss. it is mostly set and forget unless you notice something awry or you leave the bloody thing out in the weather lol

Scrubbing Monkeys · Post by **Scrubbing Monkeys** » Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:44 pm

It is a good idea to research a bit and learn the details of a guitar setup. It is not a one time procedure. As weather and moisture change in your area so will your guitar. A few quick adjustments saves a trip. Time at the shop and money spent. You can do it.

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:57 pm

MadDogE134 wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:18 pm lol donkey

yeah the trepidation with the truss rod is... 1) you can't see the dang thing lol and 2) if you mess up you could destroy the guitar. sad thing is i have seen truss rods that are opposite... in other words they don't ALL tighten turning right or loosen turning left lol. you have to 'feel' what it is doing. 99% of the time you can tell as you turn the adjustment if it is getting tight or loosening up. for the most part it is somewhat standard that clockwise tightens and counter clockwise loosens but beware.

one thing people don't realize that if you loosen that rod too much the nut can come off the threads and you have basically no way of getting it back on other that tearing the board off and of course if you tighten too much you can crack or crush the neck (broken)... and not to mention stripping the threads... they don't always use the best steel in those rods. so great care should be used when mucking about with the truss but you have to learn somewhere. sadly we do not learn that much by doing things right... we learn mostly by doing things wrong. lol

cheers

p.s. thank goodness you rarely have to mess with the truss. it is mostly set and forget unless you notice something awry or you leave the bloody thing out in the weather lol

this is why I was shocked in another thread by someone saying they dont look at truss rods when choosing necks...I have two Warmoth necks, one old enough to drink

that double truss

and the wizard profile on my strat

...never touched the truss, which is good because yah gotta take the neck off to to do so...and I live in New England...this summer I HAVE run my ac and heat on the same day

My other Warmoth neck is a Baritone conversion so I couldn't do the wizard profile but I got the double truss...my baritone is one sweet baritone

The truss coming unthreaded is so common, I worked in a small music store just outside of Boston (Somerville, Davis Sq)...so many times it would happen (I did a lot of repairs and put a ton of batteries in mouse amps), I could do a lot but I didnt have the tools to remove a fingerboard and wouldn't try...in fact that is where my Warmoth Strat came from...a couple kids came in with the parts, I bought it with store money (this was 1999), my boss flipped out and said if it didnt sell I was buying it...I gave the kids 75 bux, he sent it to 4 stores (he was a small chain) he put 400 bux on it

...I got for 75 bux, put a pair of EMGs in it (81 and 89), built a stratoblaster (from ggg) for it and never in my life have I held or played a sweeter guitar...and what a deal

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 12:10 am

did not say it is a one time affair... i adjust all mine if need be when i get them... old or new. i just don't check it afterwards... it will show itself. also i stated 'unless you leave it out in the weather'... where i live it is pretty stable year round... hot and humid lol tbh i did have to adjust some people's when i lived up north for a decade. all kinds of moisture and temp ranges in ohio compared to middle georgia. was just trying to state i rarely have to adjust mine but 90% of my necks are all maple and inho maple necks don't need adjustment half as much as mahogany necks. (if you keep them in a case) the two woods are like apples and oranges

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 12:35 am

my warmoth strat is birsdeye maple with rosewood (would have preferred maple fingerboard)...maple on maple (cut from same piece) on the baritone...my other guitars do not require much either tbh, I did a few years ago (before I moved to Maine) tweak the truss on my Jackson Kelly, it was in the case for quite a while and came out terrible...I dont play it much because it's more of a stage guitar, it's as big as the baritone. I have a an Ibanez Prestige I got in '11, the only thing I ever did to it was change the strings...in 50 years it is the only guitar I have owned I can say that about

I honestly prefer hanging stands or hanging the guitar from the wall in my studio, I think it just makes sense

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 12:41 am

yeah gravity helps

imrae · Post by **imrae** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 8:53 am

Bombadil wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 10:37 am Unless I knew a qualified tech, I'd send it back.

I can't imagine buying any mail-order guitar and expecting it to arrive with a perfect setup. Arranging a local setup (or doing it yourself) should be a given for any guitar that comes in a cardboard box.

Setups are not only for new guitars. If somebody plays guitar, doesn't want to do their own setup, and doesn't know where to have it serviced... the answer is to find a tech, not quit guitar.

Bombadil · Post by **Bombadil** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 9:58 am

imrae wrote: Sun Aug 08, 2021 8:53 am
Bombadil wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 10:37 am Unless I knew a qualified tech, I'd send it back.
I can't imagine buying any mail-order guitar and expecting it to arrive with a perfect setup. Arranging a local setup (or doing it yourself) should be a given for any guitar that comes in a cardboard box.

Setups are not only for new guitars. If somebody plays guitar, doesn't want to do their own setup, and doesn't know where to have it serviced... the answer is to find a tech, not quit guitar.

That is implied by my statement. I've bought many guitars online. Why? Because I know an actual luthier. With a 30 day money back guarantee, it is usually a relatively easy process of shipping the guitar back to Thomann. They even pay for it in the EU. So, with the 30 day guarantee and knowing a qualified person to fix what needs fixing, I've ordered online with relative confidence. The problem the OP describes is not one for DIY fixing. I've been there. I never said anything about 'quitting guitar.' That's silly. What the OP can do is send the guitar back and ask for another. A bit of a PITA, but keeping a faulty instrument is even moreso.

imrae · Post by **imrae** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 10:46 am

Maybe I'm missing something. Was it advertised that these guitars will arrive with a good setup? It would be unusual.

Bombadil · Post by **Bombadil** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 11:59 am

No. It's kind of a lottery thing. Some things are easier to fix than others. A warped fretboard is unfixable. If this were a relief issue, the buzzing would be in specific places.

MadDogE134 · Post by **MadDogE134** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 7:12 pm

look down the fretboard is the first thing i do lol... as you said... about the only thing you can do theoretically to a warped neck is put in a heated press and even then it may not work. warped (twisted) neck is basically unfixable.

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 7:36 pm

Bombadil wrote: Sun Aug 08, 2021 11:59 am No. It's kind of a lottery thing. Some things are easier to fix than others. A warped fretboard is unfixable. If this were a relief issue, the buzzing would be in specific places.

yeah, I'm thinking that because it's two strings and the length though I would be looking at the relief from both sides for consistency*. The question is what really is going on, no offense to the OP but what is acceptable height for him? If the relief is the same on both sides it was planed well and the frets should be fine. The frets are Jumbo, it's a wizard III profile and typically Ibanez necks are pretty good.

If not, I hate returning, I would spend hours slowly and evenly filing/shaping the frets with my big bausch and laumb magnifying goggles on...until I nailed it...be better to send it back and not void the warranty or at least maybe take it to a local shop so someone can put eyes on it.

*a scale is awesome for this because they are broken down so fine

so easy just to do a quick, accurate and objective inspection of string height at each fret, even each string at each fret...

Fret buzz on new electric guitar?