Cactus Jack
Senior Member
- Messages
- 484
I'm embarrassed to admit how many HOURS I've spent so far...but I'm making progress!
Thanks to everyone here I've been able to get my guitar close to dialed in. I still need to set pickup height, and I've decided to replace all the elctronics. I currently have a decent harness, which includes to push pulls for coil splits. However, I don't like the feel of the pots, Bournes which feel too loose, and have decided I'm not a push pull guy. Instead I'm going to wire up a set of Triple Shots and switch to CTS pots and 50's style wiring.
Here's my progress so far.
Relief: Using the notched straight edge as a guide and feeler gauges for measurements I was able to set the relief to .005". It took several minute truss rod tweaks and a whole lot of patience, but I got there.
Action: After getting the neck adjusted I was able to adjust the string height down to a buzz free 1/64" on the treble side, and 2/64" on the bass.
Nut: After measuring the nut it was apparent it was cut too low. I couldn't balance the relief and action the way I wanted. As such, I've ordered a new Graph Tech nut and will get that installed asap. The old one is plastic so it was time to go anyway. In the meantime, I shimmed the nut with a thin slice of business card. It's a bit high, but pretty darn close and zero buzz which is nice.
Other: Thank god for real tools! No way I could get this dialed by eye. I knew something was wrong with the original setup, but no idea how to fix it. Also, I've decided to replace the tuners. If I put in this much work to get the setup right, I might as well make sure tuning is as good at it can be.
A few quick pics:
Original:
Adjusted:
A bit more relief on the treble side, but darn near .005" across the neck.
1/64th on the treble side...pic turned out blurry...
Original bass string action:
Adjusted:
May not look like much, but I've been able to drop the bridge by about 1.5 turns
Original:
Adjusted: I have not adjusted pickup height yet
Original:
Adjusted:
Original:
Adjusted: Bad pic...
My new best friends:
Thanks to everyone here I've been able to get my guitar close to dialed in. I still need to set pickup height, and I've decided to replace all the elctronics. I currently have a decent harness, which includes to push pulls for coil splits. However, I don't like the feel of the pots, Bournes which feel too loose, and have decided I'm not a push pull guy. Instead I'm going to wire up a set of Triple Shots and switch to CTS pots and 50's style wiring.
Here's my progress so far.
Relief: Using the notched straight edge as a guide and feeler gauges for measurements I was able to set the relief to .005". It took several minute truss rod tweaks and a whole lot of patience, but I got there.
Action: After getting the neck adjusted I was able to adjust the string height down to a buzz free 1/64" on the treble side, and 2/64" on the bass.
Nut: After measuring the nut it was apparent it was cut too low. I couldn't balance the relief and action the way I wanted. As such, I've ordered a new Graph Tech nut and will get that installed asap. The old one is plastic so it was time to go anyway. In the meantime, I shimmed the nut with a thin slice of business card. It's a bit high, but pretty darn close and zero buzz which is nice.
Other: Thank god for real tools! No way I could get this dialed by eye. I knew something was wrong with the original setup, but no idea how to fix it. Also, I've decided to replace the tuners. If I put in this much work to get the setup right, I might as well make sure tuning is as good at it can be.
A few quick pics:
Original:
Adjusted:
A bit more relief on the treble side, but darn near .005" across the neck.
1/64th on the treble side...pic turned out blurry...
Original bass string action:
Adjusted:
May not look like much, but I've been able to drop the bridge by about 1.5 turns
Original:
Adjusted: I have not adjusted pickup height yet
Original:
Adjusted:
Original:
Adjusted: Bad pic...
My new best friends:
ccasion14: