JP6 BFR Low Action Setup HELP.

[EddieVH]

Ok so i got my guitar some days ago but i cant seem to get the action right for the feel i like, i like low action and ive heard from someone that John Petrucci tech setups his guitars 1.6mm LoW E and 0.8mm High E at 12th fret and id like to try to go that low.

Heres the problem, when i turn the tremolo screws to lower it, it touches the wood on the backside of the tremolo when i go lower then 1.5mm.

Only way to go lower is to lower the saddles? how? havnt done that before. Do they need to be exactly the same curve as the neck?

I also lowered my neck relief to .010mm trying to get the action lower.

Someone help me please.

 

[Lou]

Hi. There is plenty of room to adjust at the saddles. Readjust your trem height at the posts so the plate is even with the top of the guitar. Make sure the trem is level by adjusting the springs if necessary. Then set your neck relief with the truss rod wheel. Once you have all that squared away, then lower the saddles to get the action where you want it. And yes, you can try to get the saddle heights to match the curve of the neck. You may have to cycle through some or all of these steps as you are making adjustments.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Welcome to THE forum.
I personally get the neck set straight as a die - lower the action on the saddles until I get the faintest of fret buzz then I introduce some relief into the neck.

 

[ProtoChicken]

When you lower the saddles adjust them so that each string is the same height from the top of 12 fret to the bottom of the string, a metal ruler that measures in 64ths works best, this will keep the saddle radius the same as the fretboard.

 

[Spudmurphy]

when you lower the saddles adjust them so that each string is the same height from the top of 12 fret to the bottom of the string, a metal ruler that measures in 64ths works best, this will keep the saddle radius the same as the fretboard.

+1 that is a great way to get in the ball park

 

[ProtoChicken]

+1 that is a great way to get in the ball park

I should have added, as Spud alluded to that once you get the saddles set you can fine tune a little bit if you like. In general you'll be able to lower the treble side saddles a bit further, and you may have to raise the bass side saddles just a hair if you don't want any buzzing. Remember, a little buzzing is ok if it doesn't bother you, as it won't come through an amplifier.

 

[ProtoChicken]

One other thing. I just noticed you have your relief set at .010mm. That's most likely not going to work for the type of action you want. My JP's are set at .004 relief at the 7th fret, and my action is just above 1/32 at the 12th fret.

 

[EddieVH]

Thank you for all your answers, ill try lowering the saddles and ill see how it goes. If i screw things up ill just have to turn the guitar to a pro guitar repairman.

 

[ProtoChicken]

Try putting away the micrometer, calipers and feeler gauges and set the guitar up to where it plays well. You might be surprised that you don't really need tone-killing low action to have a very playable guitar.

I've never had low action "kill" my tone. I can think of plenty of amazing players with great tone who keep there action in the 1/32 - 3/64 range. There's nothing wrong with using tools to to achieve the setup you want. They are precise and allow you to achieve the same set up every time once you know what you like.

The whole point of tools is to properly setup your guitar and then tweak to your liking from there. You'd end up with a pretty uncomfortable playing guitar if you didn't keep your bridge saddles at almost the same radius as your neck. The best way to do that would be with tools, a simple ruler or a radius gauge.

 

[ProtoChicken]

As long as you're not just chasing the numbers for the numbers' sake.

Higher gain is more forgiving of low action but it's been my experience that with clean, pushed or medium gain slightly higher action sounds better.

I agree fully with that.

 

[the24thfret]

I agree fully with that.

+ eleventy billion

 

[EddieVH]

I didnt dare to touch the saddles but lowered my relief to around 0.10mm LOW E string but when i check the High E string theres no relief at all, atleast i cant see it. Is that ok? the high strings pull the neck less right?

One more thing ive broke 2 high E strings at the ball end when Bending high notes. GRRrRRR.


My Setup is: LOW E : 160mm / HIGH E : 150mm / Relief LOW E around 0.010mm

09-42 Dadarrio strings

Anyone experienced with this that can help me?

 

[ProtoChicken]

How and where are you measuring your relief?

 

[EddieVH]

i Press down 1th and 17th fret and check the 6th

 

[ProtoChicken]

i Press down 1th and 17th fret and check the 6th

Sorry, I meant are you using a feeler/thickness gauge to measure the relief? Your saying it's set at .010mm so I was assuming you were using a gauge to assess the relief accurately, unless you have enough experience that you can set the relief just by sighting it.

To be honest, I know in general that BP doesn't like us to give out setup advice on the forum as it leads to people screwing up the works and then calling CS with issues. I'm really reluctant to go into detail on setups, especially since you seem rather unfamiliar with them.

There is probably already a wealth of info here if you search for it, but I think your best bet is to ask a local luthier to set it up for you and show you how to do it. You really can't get the type of action you're after with just a trust rod adjustment alone.

 

[EddieVH]

The guitar plays great i love it but the damn high E string breaks at the ball End when bending and Yes im using a feeler/thickness gauge in mm as i live in sweden. its around 0.010mm on the LOW E string, the question is the HIGH E doesnt seem to have any relief at all, is that ok?

 

[ProtoChicken]

The guitar plays great i love it but the damn high E string breaks at the ball End when bending and Yes im using a feeler/thickness gauge in mm as i live in sweden. its around 0.010mm on the LOW E string, the question is the HIGH E doesnt seem to have any relief at all, is that ok?

That should be fine. I'm in the US my feeler gauge has both so I have my Jp's at .004 of an inch or .102 mm, though I capo the 1st fret and push down on the 24th and use the feeler gauge at the 7th fret. But to answer your question, if your relief at the low E is fine then don't worry about it on the high E, especially if it's playing great.

The breaking of strings has nothing to do with your relief, there are a few possible causes and fixes. I think you'll find some recent threads on the subject if you search. Try these for starters.

http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-guitars/42549-john-petrucci-6-high-e-keeps-breaking.html

http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-guitars/33447-string-breakage.html

http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-guitars/33141-strings-issue-my-john-petrucci-luke-guitars.html

 

[Daemon]

How exactly do you adjust(raise/lower) the saddles? I can't figure out how.

 

[Spudmurphy]

The saddles are adjusted using a 1.5 mm Allen key.

 

[Daemon]

Thank you, I just took a look right after posting, and saw the two holes.