Majesty action height- please help

[Rick C]

I just got my Majesty. All's good except for the action; way too high on the higher strings. I've bounced around the forum and can't find a clear answer for a Petrucci set-up. The 010 top E is also making things a little uncomfortable as I've always used 008s.

I asked this question on another, associated thread but thought it would be better to start a new post.

For reference, my low E is about 5/64" at the 16th fret but the high E is higher at 7/64", clearly wrong. Assuming I can find the right size Allen key I plan to drop saddles tomorrow but it would be great to know what Pettruci's specifications are.

Thanks in advance.

Rick

 

[mikeller]

Rick - advise I will get you is don't worry about John Petrucci's set up - set it up for Rick's preference.

All my MM guitars (see signature) are set up where I like them (approx 4/64 on the wound and 3/64" on the plain, tweaked to feel....

 

[Vadauco]

it would be great to know what Pettruci's specifications are.

About 1mm (never exact) between the fret and the string, at the 12h fret, both high E and low E strings. Neck almost 100% straight. And, as Maddi himself (JP's tech) said, there's always some string buzz that can't be avoided. There are plenty interviews with Maddi on YouTube.

JP uses 010 nowadays (009 in the past), which vibrates less thus resulting in less string buzz. However, I myself use 007 gauge (like Billy Gibbons, that's lighter than your 008), and I also setup my action very low. And yes, there's some fretbuzz, that I trade for comfort and playability... because there's no free lunch.

 

[Rick C]

Thanks guys! I asked about the Petrucci set-up as I can't believe my guitar, as set-up by the factory, is anywhere near close. As Mike states, I'll set it up for myself anyhow. I also used to use 007s a long time ago (20 years) but they became harder to find. I used Picato and Rotosound 007s but neither supply them anymore. Those Billy Gibbons Rev. Willy's are not in any of the local music stores. Maybe I'll order a set and give them a try.

That's quite the collection Mike. I'll add my collection to my signature once I've worked out how.

 

[JamieCrain]

Between 1mm and 1.5mm at the 12 fret should be low enough without too much buzz. Any lower and you'll run probably into problems: buzz, low sustain, or even dead notes. Experiment, see what sounds and feels good, but after each adjustment you need to test every note on the neck. And make sure you have the guitar plugged in when you test the frets, you may get away with slightly more buzz or conversely the pickups may deaden the sound.
In terms of playability, 009s feel better IMO, but 010s are better for tuning stability and piezo sound.

 

[Rick C]

Thanks Jamie: I've always set my old Les Paul Custom really low with Super Slinkies and it doesn't buzz at all. I'm traveling this week but my plan is to try a set of lighter strings at the weekend and double check neck relief (I think it's fine based on a quickie first fret capo test) then drop the saddles. I'll report back.

 

[Rick C]

Hi folks, back from travels and moving home so I finally got around with playing with the action. I simply dropped the top four saddles (high E to D) and all is well. I had a set of Super Slinkys ready to replace the much thicker, factory Regular Slinkys but found it unnecessary once the action was where it should have been. The guitar now plays just fine with no buzzing.

 

[Rick C]

An update! After playing for over a month I decided the Regular Slinky strings were just too thick for me so I put on a set of Super Slinky strings today and the guitar feels much better for me. I've never had to go through such an effort simply changing strings; I had to take out one tremolo spring (3 to 2) and make a small adjustment to the tremolo spring bar screws to get the tremolo to lie flat with the lighter strings and play with the saddle height just a little on three or four strings to stop buzzing. All is now very well. A great guitar.

 

[Julio Barros]

About 1mm (never exact) between the fret and the string, at the 12h fret, both high E and low E strings. Neck almost 100% straight. And, as Maddi himself (JP's tech) said, there's always some string buzz that can't be avoided. There are plenty interviews with Maddi on YouTube.

JP uses 010 nowadays (009 in the past), which vibrates less thus resulting in less string buzz. However, I myself use 007 gauge (like Billy Gibbons, that's lighter than your 008), and I also setup my action very low. And yes, there's some fretbuzz, that I trade for comfort and playability... because there's no free lunch.

Hello all, my first post. I own a 6 string Majesty Artisan and I love it. I’m also on JP’s philosophy that the instrument should be tuned to give max performance, like a F1 car.
I have been trying to get JP’s action to see how it feels and sounds. However, so far I can’t seem to properly setup the neck to get all strings in all frets to sound decent. Definitely, a straighter neck is better, but the low 6 has too much fret buzz between the 1st and 7th fret.
The way I set the neck was to have the smallest relief when pressing the low E on the 1st and 24th frets. This is not what Music-man’s FAQ mentions. For all the guys here who have low action, how do you setup the neck.

Cheers

 

[beej]

It's not an exact science. Using the string as a straight-edge is a good way to do it (I use 1-17th fret for the measurement, same deal). You'll need a bit of relief in there.

In general, if you're getting buzzing on the lower frets, you need more relief. Buzzing on the higher frets, higher saddles.

With super-low action, you're going to get some fret buzz, that's just the nature of the beast.

 

[Etudica]

As Beej said it's not an exact science. I tend to follow the same procedure for the neck relief, although I typically rely on checking from 1st fret to wherever the neck meets the body. If I recall correctly there was something on the setup FAQ at one point saying the string height in between those two points should be about the thickness of a business card, but I tend to go even straighter until the point where tapping slightly still 'pings' and isn't dead.

Also, in regards to the lower string buzz, if the other strings are playing fine then don't hesitate to adjust the saddles for only the affected strings. I still try to maintain the same radius as the fretboard when it comes to saddle adjustments, but my low E (or B) strings are raised slightly higher and then I taper the radius the rest of the way to meet the unwound strings. Trial and error until you figure out what works for you. Changing saddle height may affect intonation (and bridge level) so prepare to readjust those as well.

When I got my first music man I was petrified to touch the saddles, but it is necessary to make the instrument truly fit your style in the end.

 

[Shadow1psc]

An update! After playing for over a month I decided the Regular Slinky strings were just too thick for me so I put on a set of Super Slinky strings today and the guitar feels much better for me. I've never had to go through such an effort simply changing strings; I had to take out one tremolo spring (3 to 2) and make a small adjustment to the tremolo spring bar screws to get the tremolo to lie flat with the lighter strings and play with the saddle height just a little on three or four strings to stop buzzing. All is now very well. A great guitar.

Going from 10s to 9s or 8s is a huge change in the tension to the guitar, so it makes sense that you would have to remove a spring, bridge and saddles. I went from standard 10s to the new Ultra Slinky set, changing from E to Eb and had to adjust my bridge on both sides. Someone mentioned JP's quote about tuning the guitar like an F1 car - it's absolutely true. These are highly tuned, expensive, professional grade instruments that require a lot of care and you shouldn't take shortcuts when making modifications (not saying you took any).

Treat the instrument well and it will in turn provide stellar performance.