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Post by Hohn on Oct 30, 2007 1:32:35 GMT -7
I got mine to 5/64th and it's plenty playable, but I can't go any lower because I'm ham-handed and pick too hard. If I go lower, the strings will hit the frets upon pick release and I lose a good bit of the initial note attack.
I found that if I played lightly and didn't bend in the upper register, I could setup my Zions at 3/64ths and they'd play like buttah all day with no buzzes. Pretty cool. Unfortunately, I'm much more of a chisel than a scalpel when it comes to playing, so I have to crank up the action. At 5/64ths, I can pick HARD and not lose any attack and do 3-fret bends without fretting out or choking the sustain.
I noticed that I seem to have better setup with less neck relief and more string height. I was tending to have excessive relief in the neck and then lower the saddles to bring em down a bit.
Where is your action set? I measure at the 12th fret..
I have about .020" relief at the 6th fret when I fret 1st and 22nd frets.
Thanks for any setup advice you can offer.
Justin
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Post by groovergeorge on Oct 30, 2007 4:04:07 GMT -7
I too have a fairly high action. I play 11-48's on both my strats and tele's and because of the 7 1/4 inch radius on my boards as well as my hard picking and aggressive attack I just can't get away with anything other than a high action. Whenever I pick up some kids Ibanez with a really flat board and light guage strings it's as if I am playing a whole new instrument. I'm just lost.I think in the end you just get used to something and comfortable with it. I myself have a few instruments but always end up coming back to my fenders. I love a pail or a 335 every now and then but just seem to gravitate back before too long. To me the Gibson seem to suit a lower action with lighter strings and they kind of force you to play them differently.It's almost as if the action on your instruments shape the way you play and thereby affect your tone and style. There is certainly something to be said for this. SRV was a major exponent of very heavy string as a very high action and his tone is famous. It seems if you are looking for great blues with a strat,with heavier gauge strings and high action just seem to work best.
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Post by zdogma on Oct 30, 2007 5:41:32 GMT -7
It varies a lot for me. I use 10-46 strings most times, right now I have 11-49 on my Les Paul and American standard tele.
My Les Paul is about 4/64ths bass side and 3/64ths treble and plays well everywhere on the neck. Neck relief is close to 0 at the 7th fret (maybe 0.05 or a bit less). The les Pauls are always a bit lower for me.
My american standard tele is 5/64th bass and treble and 0.10 at the 7th fret.
my 52 reissue tele (7 1/4 radius) is a bit over 5/64th bass and treble and 0.12 neck relief at the 7th fret. It will fret out a bit in the higher registers.
I think you could do with less relief, and adujust the string height until its comfortable with less buzz.
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Post by frank4001 on Oct 30, 2007 6:26:19 GMT -7
My scientific set up is straight neck, low as I can go at the nut... height of a nickle at the 12th fret...
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Post by dixiechicken on Oct 30, 2007 7:01:43 GMT -7
As low as I can get it without fretting out and loosing sustain. I play 10,13,17,26,36,46 both on the Tele & Lester.
The Paul is/was a Gold Top 69 The Warmoth Tele has Compund neck radius 10-16".
Cheers: Dixiechicken!
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Post by zgrip on Oct 30, 2007 8:52:16 GMT -7
My strats have what would be considered medium action, I never actually measure, just go by feel.
My #1 recommendation is to always get the guitar a PLEK set up. The computer looks at vibrating strings, can account for your playing style/attack, analyzes neck relief etc. then files the frets perfectly. Once you try it, nothing else will do. Find your nearest Plek service center and bring it in.
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Post by billyguitar on Oct 30, 2007 10:00:56 GMT -7
I like very little relief and as low as possible at the nut. Then I raise each string until it stops slapping or choking much on bends. I end up with a flatter bridge radius than the neck. I use .011 thru .052s on my 25.5" guitars.
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Post by Hohn on Oct 30, 2007 10:26:02 GMT -7
The nut slots are cut fairly deep. I don't even need to fret 1st position chords-- they play themselves using Vulcan Mind Melding.
I'll take a hair more relief out of it and see if I can't get it a little lower.
The initial setup on this guitar was super-duper low (with 9s) and I couldn't play that. A better (gentler) player could have, but not me.
Justin
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Post by (8^D) on Oct 30, 2007 11:21:21 GMT -7
Really depends on the guitar and what I use it for.
Shreddy stuff gets as low as possible w/a little fret buzz - as long as it doesn't fret out on bends. Fairly flat relief. More about the weeedly-weeedly-weeee than the tone
Pickin' stuff gets higher for really clean tones - no buzz. Typically close to manufacturer suggestions...maybe 1/16th-32nd lower on each side and a touch flatter relief. I usually play slide on those guitars as well and the higher action helps. Plus it's nice to fight the strings a bit and dig in for the really great tones.
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Post by Hohn on Nov 2, 2007 1:16:58 GMT -7
Score! I got the neck a little flatter with just a tiny bit of relief and raised the string height a touch to compensate. Result? Overall lower action and no buzz/fret out.
These 11s play like butter.
Oddly enough, the tone is better too-- almost like the neck is more resonant with more truss rod tension... weird, eh?
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Post by billyguitar on Nov 2, 2007 9:28:50 GMT -7
I've read that a neck sounds better under compression than when being pulled up by a loose truss rod.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2007 18:45:06 GMT -7
I have a Grosh Retro Classic and Don recommneds 5/64 height at the 21st or 22nd fret. Some who play my guitar think it's high, but it works for me - especially because I have more of an aggressive touch
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Post by Hohn on Nov 8, 2007 23:42:06 GMT -7
I've read that a neck sounds better under compression than when being pulled up by a loose truss rod. I think there's something to that. The neck seems to transfer resonance more when the rod is a little tighter. When I cranked my rod a little tighter (almost 1/4 turn!) I noticed more sustain and other indicators of better resonance-- it just felt more "alive" in my hands. Justin
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arthur
Junior Member
Posts: 85
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Post by arthur on Nov 29, 2007 22:21:14 GMT -7
My Warmouth strat has 5 or 6/64, and has slight buzzes. I think a refret is the only way I can get that lower. My 335 is probably at 5/64 and my 175 can tolerate 4/64.
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dave
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by dave on Dec 12, 2007 11:23:18 GMT -7
5/64ths with 10's on the Lenz, no buzzes or fret out when stetching. Years ago I would have judged this a high action but I prefer it now, much better tone and more control on bends. I have set it lower, but gone back to 5/16 for tone and playability.
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Post by billyguitar on Dec 12, 2007 12:08:32 GMT -7
I recently sent my Lentz back to have Scott put a 12" radius, medium jumbo fret, neck on my DL90. Scott actually had the action lower than I could use it, even with .011s. I guess I pick too hard. I end up with the action almost as high as I would an acoustic. I play very clean and don't care for much slapping.
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