set-up question very high action

[blues]

This seams like it got a litte worse over the last 2 days. The action was high when I got it and it sounds gread and rings like a bell. I do my own set-ups. Im a little hesitent but I wanted to run this by everyone. 1 Im going to lower the bridge. 2 tweak the truss rod. This. This may be do to weather change from FL to PA. It was shipped with the strings loosend. Here are some pics.

 

 

 

[blues]

One more

 

[TalismanRich]

How's the humidity in the house? If you are not running a humifier, it's likely to be in the 10-20% range which is VERY low. I'm guessing that in Florida, it would have been closer to 50% which is ideal. When the heat is running, it's not unusual to drink up 3-5 gallons of water a day.

 

If you feel the fret tangs on the edge, the wood is drying out too much.

 

I have a Peavey bass that moves a ton when the humidity changes. I can feel the top of my Taylor and tell when the humidity is getting too dry. It loses the "crown" of the top, and the finish starts to feel rough.

[blues]

Not sure about the humidity. Cant feel the tangs. Its about 20 outside and about 67 in the house. The nut slot on the low E looks like it may have to be filed. Im going to low the bridge now. The bow in the neck looks it be a bit to much. When the guitar came I let it in the case for 5 hours before I opened it.

[blues]

Not sure about the humidity. Cant feel the tangs. Its about 20 outside and about 67 in the house. The nut slot on the low E looks like it may have to be filed. Im going to low the bridge now. The bow in the neck looks it be a bit to much. When the guitar came I let it in the case for 5 hours before I opened it.

sorry about the above pics

 

[SouthpawGuy]

Guitars that are shipped to me in Ireland take a while to settle down. They are shipped with the string tension released and some take a couple of weeks to get here. The last to arrive, the 96 535, the action was very low when I tuned it up, ten days or so later the action has raised a bit. I usually leave them for a week or two before I adjust anything as I'd be afraid to over adjust and start a see-saw effect where the action would be too low, then too high etc.

 

I find that set neck guitars are more prone to this than bolt ons, several G&Ls have been bang on straight out of the box, I just tuned them up and had no adjustments to make.

[blues]

My concern is how high the strings are. Ive never saw anything like it. Im afraid the neck may twist. I did not work on it,I dont have an allen wrench small enough, or my truss rod wrench. Btw,its from a gibson. Does anyone know if it will fit on the heritage ?

[blues]

sorry double post

[SouthpawGuy]

My concern is how high the strings are. Ive never saw anything like it. Im afraid the neck may twist. I did not work on it,I dont have an allen wrench small enough, or my truss rod wrench. Btw,its from a gibson. Does anyone know if it will fit on the heritage ?

 

Yes the truss rod wrench will fit.

[blues]

Thanks

[Spectrum13]

Blue

 

Your 137 was (factory) setup to be setup.

 

The nuts come cut high cause you can always cut them lower and that one looks high.

 

The neck needs to be straight as you know.

 

Check out the fit of the bridge into the bridge posts. My 137 came with that same stoptail and I replaced it. I thought it was junk or needed locking posts be stable. Jay had pigtails put on more than a few 137s and I did notice a large gap allowing the bridge to slant on mine. You did not provide a shot of the bridge but I suggest to look there. You will find lots of different designed stoptails and post systems.

 

You 137DC needs a setup. Everything is part of a system. This is normal and she will play even better when all is done.

[FredZepp]

Im going to low the bridge now. The bow in the neck looks it be a bit to much. When the guitar came I let it in the case for 5 hours before I opened it.

After it settles down, I would check out the bow in the neck.

What I do is to fret the bottom E string at the first fret __and at the fret where it meets the body. ( you may need to use a capo )

And then check in the middle of the two. ( the string is now your straight edge )

It should have the smallest of gaps, barely off of the neck is how I like them set. (less that the diameter of the string )

 

It sounds like you aren't too familiar with setting it up and in that case you should spend a little and have someone do it right.

You mentioned lowering the bridge, that may be all that it needs if the truss rod is set correct, did you do that?

[pegleg32]

I would agree with all the advice above, but I would add, just take your time. Make small adjustments, let the wood do it's thing, and then adjust again. If you take it to a professional then can anticipate what is going to happen with the neck and make their adjustments rather quickly, but at home doing your own, there is no big hurry. I usually put on the strings I want to use first, then get it to a place where I can at least play it, and then tweak and play, tweak and play. Remember to tweak on the intonation as you are adjusting.

[smurph1]

The fact that the guitar came from a warm humid place to a cold dry place probably is causing some of the problems..Just give it time to adjust,a nd if you can't get it to your satisfaction take it to a professional..(Someone you trust)..they can get you squared away..Here's an example of what heat and low humidity can do to a guitar..I was playing my 140 last week, it was perfectly in tune and sounding great..My furnace kicked on and in the space of five minutes I had to completely retune it..Just that quick..So i went and turned the furnace down a bit, re-tuned and she stayed right in there..wierd but that's what happens sometimes..I need to get a house humidifier, but can't really afford it..

[TalismanRich]

I find that set neck guitars are more prone to this than bolt ons, several G&Ls have been bang on straight out of the box, I just tuned them up and had no adjustments to make.

 

I wonder if that is a difference between maple and mahogany. My G&Ls don't seem to move much either. When I leave town, I put the acoustics, the 535 and Milli upstairs in the hall and fill the humidifier, set it on medium so it lasts about 4 days.

[pro-fusion]

Mahogany is softer than maple, and so is more likely to require a truss-rod adjustment periodically.

 

For the most part, all guitars require a truss-rod adjustment when they "change homes". Different humidity, different temperature, etc. It's not that big a deal, and something that every guitarist should learn to do themselves. Turn it toward the bass strings to tighten it (straightening the neck). Never turn more than about a 1/4 turn at a time. Do the "first and last fret" visual test, and then readjust as necessary. I like my necks very straight, but that's a matter of personal taste. If you mostly play the lower frets or lots of ringing chords, you'll probably want more relief in the neck than I like.

 

That guitar will almost certainly need to have the bridge lowered to be used as anything more than a slide guitar, IMHO. That should also be fairly easy, though I don't know much about the wraparound bridges.

[blues]

Thanks guys. I set up guitars before. It just threw me off a bit,I never saw the action that high. Ive been doing just what was mentioned. Small adjustments. Turns out I did have to lower the bridge some and tweak the truss rod too,like I thought. My buddy had the right wrench for the truss rod. I will keep an eye on it over the next few days.

[yoslate]

Everyone hits the right licks above. Remember: it's wood, it's a living organism. You've got to negotiate with it...repeatedly. All of my guitars "move" all winter (less, the maple necks), once the heater starts to run.

[pro-fusion]

Thanks guys. I set up guitars before. It just threw me off a bit,I never saw the action that high. Ive been doing just what was mentioned. Small adjustments. Turns out I did have to lower the bridge some and tweak the truss rod too,like I thought. My buddy had the right wrench for the truss rod. I will keep an eye on it over the next few days.

 

Yeah, you'll probably have to adjust it several times over the next few days/weeks.

 

Heck, living in the Mid-Atlantic region, I have to adjust most of my guitars several times a year. One reason I love my Modulus Graphite bass is that the neck never goes out of adjustment. It will still be in perfect tune after months of not being played. If graphite-necked guitars sounded good, I'd probably just have a bunch of those.

[blues]

So far my 137dc is ok. I think im good for a while. Sorry about the pics,I add some new pics and got rid of the others that were in my photobucket. I was messing around with editing my pics. Im not sure if I should post the here or in my other thread that I have 2 older pics.

[FredZepp]

So far my 137dc is ok. I think im good for a while. Sorry about the pics,I add some new pics and got rid of the others that were in my photobucket. I was messing around with editing my pics. Im not sure if I should post the here or in my other thread that I have 2 older pics.

Either place is good... I would maybe do the other thread as the title tells what it is... and maybe post them also in the gallery section, if you feel like it.

[blues]

Fred I posted 3 pics,I started an album. I just made a post,I can only upload 3 picks.After that the screen go blank when I try to upload more.

[FredZepp]

Fred I posted 3 pics,I started an album. I just made a post,I can only upload 3 picks.After that the screen go blank when I try to upload more.

That kind of thing generally magically fixes itself after a short delay.... If not, Mars can fix it.. just give it a short time.

 

Hey, Nice pics... I just love that finish over mahogany.... It looks like you took some nice pics there....

[blues]

Thanks Fred. I used a kodak program that came with my camera. Thats how a got the shadows. I got better shots of the wood grain too. I had to put my original purple plexi lovepedal in there.