Majesty setup tips for noob

[salty dog]

Hi All,

Have finally got my dream guitar, (Majesty Monarchy 7).

Was hoping people could help me to try & work out how I like it to be set up & the best/most systematic way to get a consistent result when adjusting the set up.

Neck relief:
Not sure how I am supposed to adjust it. If I look down with my guitar in playing position, if I have a tool inserted in the truss rod wheel & I pull it up towards my nose, am I adding relief or taking it away?

Was thinking that using a straight edge might be good for a noob like myself. Any tips for using a straight edge?

From what I have read, Mr Petrucci prefers a very flat neck. I am sure there are others out there that prefer varying degrees of neck relief. Any possible advantages/disadvantages that I should look out for while trying to work out what I prefer?

Saddle height/radius:
From what I have read, I am pretty happy that adjusting the saddle height is easy enough to do but how do you guys account for the radius of the neck when adjusting saddle height?

Do you just measure fret height across each string to make sure it is consistent or is there some other trick?

Also wondering how it works if I find I prefer the height of the string a bit higher from the fretboard on my low B as opposed to my high E.

Was reading that Mr Petrucci likes his action crazily low - 1mm (sorry US guys, being from Australia, I think in metric). I can't imagine I could stand the fret buzz I would get when playing unplugged with it that low.

Adjusting tremolo angle & intonation seems pretty self-explanatory from what I have read but if there are any gotchas to watch out for in aspect of setting up these guitars, I am happy to get any advice that is out there.

Sorry about the dumb questions. Just looking to try & set my guitar up as well as I can for myself so that setup is not a distraction from learning to play, (as well as I may be able at any rate).

Thanks in advance to the EBMM brains trust.

All the best, Salty.

 

[jones4tone]

I can't address all of your questions, but will help where I can.

Neck relief:
Not sure how I am supposed to adjust it. If I look down with my guitar in playing position, if I have a tool inserted in the truss rod wheel & I pull it up towards my nose, am I adding relief or taking it away?

Assuming you're playing a righty guitar, pulling the lever toward your face will add relief to the neck.

Was thinking that using a straight edge might be good for a noob like myself. Any tips for using a straight edge?

From what I have read, Mr Petrucci prefers a very flat neck. I am sure there are others out there that prefer varying degrees of neck relief. Any possible advantages/disadvantages that I should look out for while trying to work out what I prefer?

A straight edge is very useful. Thankfully, you can use your strings if you don't have a purpose-built tool. Place a capo on the first fret, and then fret a string higher up the fretboard (12th-14th fret) and you can then see how much relief there is.

Generally, less relief means you can fret notes with less effort, but also makes fret buzz more likely, so it's just finding the right balance for your own preferences and comfort.

Saddle height/radius:
From what I have read, I am pretty happy that adjusting the saddle height is easy enough to do but how do you guys account for the radius of the neck when adjusting saddle height?

Do you just measure fret height across each string to make sure it is consistent or is there some other trick?

You can get radius gauges which can help ensure that your saddles are adjusted in line with the fretboard radius. If you know the guitar was set-up correctly when you started, you can adjust each saddle adjustment screw by the same fraction of a turn and pretty well keep the radius, but that does require some care. When using a gauge, each string should be touching the arc of the gauge when gently pressed to the strings.

Good luck, congrats, and enjoy the new guitar!

 

[salty dog]

I can't address all of your questions, but will help where I can.



Assuming you're playing a righty guitar, pulling the lever toward your face will add relief to the neck.



A straight edge is very useful. Thankfully, you can use your strings if you don't have a purpose-built tool. Place a capo on the first fret, and then fret a string higher up the fretboard (12th-14th fret) and you can then see how much relief there is.

Generally, less relief means you can fret notes with less effort, but also makes fret buzz more likely, so it's just finding the right balance for your own preferences and comfort.



You can get radius gauges which can help ensure that your saddles are adjusted in line with the fretboard radius. If you know the guitar was set-up correctly when you started, you can adjust each saddle adjustment screw by the same fraction of a turn and pretty well keep the radius, but that does require some care. When using a gauge, each string should be touching the arc of the gauge when gently pressed to the strings.

Good luck, congrats, and enjoy the new guitar!

Thanks Jones4tone.

 

[mikeller]

I can tell you - with the Majesty and neck thru body, I found it easier to check relief with a metal straight-edge. I have an 18" graphics arts ruler that works perfect. Those necks need very little relief, if you adjust do it is small increments and wait a while for to settle and re-check.

Jones4tone is correct - the string height should follow the radius of the neck. I use a 64th scale ruler to check/set mine.

 

[tbonesullivan]

I check relief by fingering the 1st and 13th frets. I usually want about an index card width at the 5th fret or less. Too much relief and you can have fretting out on the higher frets, as you'll need to lower the bridge a lot.

As long as you do not change the bridge height, you should really only need to adjust the truss rod to get your action back to where you like it.

 

[salty dog]

Thanks guys. So without a fancy radius tool, you just measure string height from the fret for each string to make sure it is similar? Is that right?

P.S. Liking how accessible everything is for adjustments on the Majesty. Was a bit surprised that I didn't get any tools with the guitar but luckily my Ibanez tools fit.

 

[salty dog]

Just checked what a radius tool is/what it looks like. It was a minor epiphany for me. So simple & makes so much sense now that I have seen it but I have been living in ignorance all this time. Thanks again Jones4tone. I will definitely have to pick one up.

 

[Daniel]

Hi Salty Dog,
Great question! Have you seen our FAQ on the Ernie Ball Music Man page? There is a section titled "How do I set up my John Petrucci guitar?". That would be a great place for you to start, you can find it here: FAQ | Ernie Ball Music Man
To answer some of your other questions:
- If you are right-handed and holding your guitar, turning the truss rod wheel away from you will tighten the neck and give you less relief.
- If you measure each string from the 12th fret to the bottom of each string, that will account for the radius of the neck.
- You can set your string heights to whatever works best for you. The low B on the Majesty comes from the factory at 3/32nds off of the 12th fret. So, It's already a bit higher.

My name is Daniel and I'm the Customer Experience Coordinator at EBMM. Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.

 

[spychocyco]

My favorite trick for remembering how to adjust the neck is one I learned here. Holding the guitar in playing position, if you want to raise the strings (more relief), you turn it upward. If you want to lower the strings (less relief) you turn downward. I had to look it up every time until I found that gem of wisdom.

 

[GWDavis28]

My favorite trick for remembering how to adjust the neck is one I learned here. Holding the guitar in playing position, if you want to raise the strings (more relief), you turn it upward. If you want to lower the strings (less relief) you turn downward. I had to look it up every time until I found that gem of wisdom.

Spy, nice trick and easy to remember, more up, less down.

Glenn |B)

 

[salty dog]

Hey Daniel,

Thanks for the info. I did have a look at the Ernie Ball FAQ before posting. There was some good info there but being new to setting guitars up but wanting to be thorough about doing it, I didn't get all the answers I was after. I think if I was already experienced, I the FAQ would have been enough for me.

 

[salty dog]

My favorite trick for remembering how to adjust the neck is one I learned here. Holding the guitar in playing position, if you want to raise the strings (more relief), you turn it upward. If you want to lower the strings (less relief) you turn downward. I had to look it up every time until I found that gem of wisdom.

Thanks for that tip Spy.

 

[Daniel]

Sorry to hear that. If you need further assistance please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] at any time. We'd be happy to help in any way we can!