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So all of my guitars are whacked now requiring set up beyond adjusting the bridge, ie truss rod adjustment.
That at is one thing I don't so and won't do. Looks like I'm gonna take Em in for a basic setup.
is there a good explanation about necks, how you can tell which way they may get out of shape, and what that means for truss rod adjustment?
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11-27-2013 09:46 PM
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I don't know, but are you keeping the guitars at a fair and constant relative humidity level like 50% or so? The air gets dry when it gets colder, especially with indoor heating which drops the relative humidity, and this dry air can wreak havoc on guitars causing the wood to bend and warp temporarily. I ask because you say all your guitars are out of whack so that might be an indicator that the air is too dry (or wet, but probably dry in the cooler Midwestern area)
I recently had to adjust the truss on my strat 'cause the dry air caused the neck to banana (i.e. excess neck relief) a bit too much to be playable.
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Its just gotten cold here. I've been lax in not keeping Em in their cases. I don't have climate controlled humidifiers. Has anyone used those small tubes you fill with water and keep them in the f holes? How do those work? Well? Waste of money?
Originally Posted by jckoto3
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For my acoustic-type guitars I use an old 35mm film can with some holes poked in it filled with a damp sponge. This unit is tucked between the D and G strings. For other guitars I use a damp sponge in one of those plastic soap-bar containers with holes poked in it placed somewhere in the case where it won't bang around, like the headstock comp't.
Those guitar-specific humidifiers work fine but you gotta make sure they won't drip into the guitar.
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OK I was that guy... for years. I'd pay $75-$100 to change strings.
Here's the long and the short of it...
You need a straight edge:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/St...ightedges.html
A feeler gauge set:
http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G9616-...r+feeler+gauge
If you're paranoid, a string height guide:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/St...&xst=3&xsr=993
A tuner and an assortment of allen wrenches and screw drivers.
It's this easy...
Set the straight edge on the frets. At the 12th, the 0.10 should sneak under, the 0.15 shouldn't. Twist the truss rod until this is the case. If it feels like you're pressing too dang hard, go to a tech.
Measure the string height at the high E and low E to 0.70ish depending on your feel (or just go at it by hand until things feel right or stop buzzing).
That's it.
Watch Dave on youtube.com
Save a ton.
Learn about the instrument you play.
Good times!
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NSJ,
You have a Solomon and a Sadowsky and you're not taking them to a luthier at least twice a year, for an "oil, lube and filter"!!
You don't have a humidifier?
Man, we live in the hemisphere where good guitars come to die!
Seriously. Take care of those puppies!
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I almost forgot, you still may need to reset the truss rod, but I'd work with getting the wood to a decent humidity level first since this can change a lot about the instrument. It's not rocket science, just a couple of days with something damp in the case to redistribute some moisture within the wood would be fine.
heh, "wood would"...
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I'm not sure I would recommend this to someone who has never done it before... at least not when we're looking at guitars at this price level.
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Nav, please please get a small room humidifier from Sears or online... It's gonna save you so much grief! Don't dick around with sponges and stuff. I keep my guitars hanging on the wall in a room with 40-45% RH year round. And 10 of them are solid wood acoustic guitars.
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There was a thread not too long ago (might have been started by 2bornot2bop) with a lot of good videos and explanations. Just my opinion, but if you are capable of using a screwdriver and an Allen wrench and following straightforward directions, you are capable of doing your own setups; I don't care how expensive the instrument is. My Peerless was 2K (a lot for me to spend as I'm a cheap mofo) but it adjusted just like my Squire Tele. And if I ever buy that "retirement" Comins 7th Ave (although 15K+ is hard to wrap my head around) I will take that truss rod cover off and do the first setup it needs. I would expect the truss rod in a high end guitar to be unbound and quite easy turning compared to a production line Squire. There's no magic here. If the rod is bound up or the nut seems "frozen", take it to your luthier and have him show you how to unbind it; then you'll know. Or ask your luthier to teach you to do the setup in the first place; I can't imagine him saying no.
A small room humidifier is a good idea for winter if your humidity fluctuates a lot. My experience with the in-case tubes, sponges, whatevers is that they are toys, but again, just my experience. Some of my instruments always need seasonal adjustments, others don't.
Again, just my opinion.
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Get the humidifier! My guitars have moved to our bedroom, where it's a lovely 45% humidity, thanks to a small frog shaped humidifier we bought for our son (he ended up with a much nicer model that makes less noise in his room, we get the noisy frog)
For kicks, I took my little battery powered humidity gauge down to my t.v. room the other day...21% humidity! If you wear corduroy you can start a fire!
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Sooner or later you will get cracks in the top, the frets will poke out, and the top will sink. It only gets worse. Case humidification sucks. Do a room or a closet and keep your guitars there. I learned the hard way with a very nice Brazilian RW Kinscherff. It's with the maker in Texas right now getting restored. It isn't cheap.
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you can just always keep them in their cases. works for me. now and then you may need a slight truss rod adjustment.
I am surprised that it's so dry in Chi town. that lake usually makes things just the opposite doesn't it?
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It gets cold here. Once the temp gets below freezing things really dry up. Forced air heat is pretty common too. Indoor humidity runs around 20-30%. Originally Posted by fumblefingers
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Sure, but how long has it been that cold this season? Long enough to hose up all those guitars? Sounds to me like those guitars have been out of their cases for awhile. It's cold where I am and my heater is on. My guitar room hygrometer reads 42. Not too bad if I keep them in their cases.
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I have an ultrasonic frog too! I totally bought it, for uh, my son. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
I'll just echo the whole room humidifier thing. You don't want to make it very humid in the case, risk mold, and then take it out into a dry room to play. The fluctuations could be worse than just keeping it consistently dry.
Originally Posted by fumblefingers
Originally Posted by fumblefingers
It's the heating that dries things out. You may have a built-in humidifier if you have central gas heating.Last edited by spiral; 11-28-2013 at 01:08 AM.
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Do yourself a huge favor and learn how to tweak the truss rod yourself. You will be amazed how simple this is and you will likely kick yourself for not having taken the time earlier to learn this simple but essential skill. Why should you learn this:
1. Because it is easy. Don't be afraid to try. As long as you don't force anything, nothing can break.
2. Because it will save you money
3. Most importantly and really the reason why you should learn it above all else: only you know what you really like in terms of action and neck relief.
I have an extremely experienced luthier. I trust him totally for repairs. I hate his setups. He has a concept of ideal playability that does not match mine. He will never ever get it totally right. I don't care because I can do it better myself and make small adjustments to compensate for temperature and humidity changes. This is done almost as easily as tuning your guitar.
Buy the Dan Erlewine book "how to make your guitar play great" or something to that effect.
Ps. I also have a Sadowsky JH as well as an L5 and I set them up myself. I have no previous experience in doing this other than reading Erlewine's book and I am also not particularly good at repairing things. It is SIMPLE.
If you screw something up, you can always go back to the way it was. If you still can't, your luthier can.
Worst case, you will have learned all the terminology and understand the basic concept so that you can better explain to your luthier what you like and what you don't like. You will also be able to measure for yourself if he did what you wanted.
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Thanks for the advice. In point of fact, I have a room humidifier and have used it in the past. Got placed in storage like the Ark of the Covenant. I should really go dig it out.
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Guys I dunno what you're on about!
Come to England, its damp everywhere all the time:-)
I do find it strange how few guitarists know how to adjust neck relief. I wasn't happy with work done on my guitars so I found a guy and paid him to teach me, although it really only confirmed what I had read in Erlawine's books.
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Well, yes, but preferences for neck relief varies from one guitarist to the next. It also depends on the use/setup of the guitar. An electric guitar with low action which is played with a delicate touch should have less relief than an acoustic guitar with high action used for powerful big band rhythm playing. IMHO, no guitar should have no relief at all. A guitar with no relief at all is prone to buzz between the fretted note and the nut. Originally Posted by Silentwiz
On my guitars, I use to set the relief so the "buzz threshold" is about the same all the way up the fretboard. That happens to be the relief where the fretting resistance is also about the same all the way up the fretboard. Of course, that's just my personal opinion, and many will beg to differ.
Also, as we are dealing with "living" material - wood - the exact curve of the relief will vary from one guitar to the next, depending on the particular pieces of wood used for the neck and fretboard.
Therefore, dialing in neck relief is not an exact science. I have done it by feel for decades, have not used any gauges etc. I don't find it that hard to do. Just go slow - 1/8 of a turn a time. Often 1/8 to 1/4 turn is enough.
In many places, the humidity level is lower in the winter than in the summer (especially in central heated housings). Since the fretboard wood absorbs moisture to a different degree than the neck wood, the neck relief tends to change with the seasons - more on some guitars than on others, irrespective of brand and model. Thus, on many guitars, the relief has to be adjusted slightly at least twice a year.
BTW, on some archtops, the tops also raise and sink with the seasonal humidity levels, so the action set at the bridge may have to be adjusted from time to time. One of Barry Galbraiths guitars exhibited this trait very much and he jokingly called that guitar his "winter guitar".
+1Learn about the instrument you play.
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