Adjusting the Action

[ibanezrocker03]

So I received my fully loaded Petrucci 7-String today... and it rocks the house.

BUT

The string height is just a bit too high. I noticed the allen wrench slots on the bridge, but I don't wanna mess with anything yet...

To lower the action, should I use those allen key bridge adjustments, or should I open up the back panel and perform surgery?

Thanks a lot,

-Dave

 

[Big Poppa]

Jon...help this guy.....


I think that you should tighten the truss rod just a hair........dont mess with the bridge if you straigten the neck love will be in the air

 

[ibanezrocker03]

Yeah, Help me!!

Hmm... so to do truss rod work, do i have to open the back panel?

For whatever reason, it didn't come with any diagrams or manuals about the guitar, only the pickup configurations... that's why I'm a bit hesitant to do work on it.

 

[jongitarz]

Alrighty....BP is right. I would adjust the truss rod just a bit. Hold the guitar as if you were playing it, and find an allen wrench or something like it that will fit in the truss rod wheel at the base of the neck. There are 8 holes in the wheel. Turn it away from you(down) an 8th of a turn. Check your action, and play every note on the neck. No buzzing? congrats. Buzzing? post again and let me know.

 

[ibanezrocker03]

Ah ha! Now why didn't I notice that little wheel earlier... Thanks guys.

I turned it an 8th, then went for a 1/4 turn. It's better with no buzzing, but I like my strings kissing the frets

Are there any other methods I could try other than adjusting the truss rod?

...Sorry to be a bother

 

[jongitarz]

No bother at all. The next thing I would do is lower the saddles a bit. If you have a 6" steel ruler, measure the string height at the 12th fret and lower the saddles evenly just a bit at a time. Use the ruler so you can lower the strings equally. Play and repeat as needed...Post your results please.

 

[ibanezrocker03]

Would you mind posting quick instructions on lowering the saddles?

I dunno, this guitar is too important for me to mess around with and **** something up on it.

 

[koogie2k]

Gotta love the ease of adjusting your own axe. It took several IM's to OC before I would even think of it.....BTW, thanks OC.

Jon is simply the MAN here. So, if he tells you to throw holy water on the axe, do it. If he doesn't know what to do with a guitar, you might as well throw it in the fireplace.

Believe me, I know, he fixed one of my Pets that had some major boo boo's!

 

[ibanezrocker03]

Yeah, I've done all the work on my other guitars on my own. I've dealt with the Floyd rose on my Ibanez and the TonePros on my ESP, but I don't wanna do anything wrong on my brand new JP!

 

[koogie2k]

Don't blame you. However, once you get used to the JP, you will see it is as sweet as potato pie!

 

[OrangeChannel]

Thanks Koogs!


Woot!

 

[ibanezrocker03]

Hmm... just noticing some slight buzz on the D and G string at 7th fret... I'll just take back some of the truss adjusting I did earlier..

But I don't want my request getting lost in the thread, so could you give me some quick instructions on lowering the saddles please?

All your help is greatly appreciated

 

[GWDavis28]

Gotta love the ease of adjusting your own axe. It took several IM's to OC before I would even think of it.....BTW, thanks OC.

Koogie, I have to agree with you here 100% man, OC ROCKS!! He helps me make the adjustments to get rid of some fret buzz on my AL. I was terrified, but I IM's him and he straightened me right out. He's the man #2.

Jon is simply the MAN here. So, if he tells you to throw holy water on the axe, do it. If he doesn't know what to do with a guitar, you might as well throw it in the fireplace.

Jon, Pimped my AL which needed much attention and this guitar is solid!!! Glad to see that EBMM thinks so highly of him, I know I do. He's the man #1.

Glenn |B)

 

[GWDavis28]

But I don't want my request getting lost in the thread, so could you give me some quick instructions on lowering the saddles please?

Dude, did you check out the FAQ's??? Look there first.

Glenn |B)

 

[ibanezrocker03]

K, well the FAQ is about general things to do on a vBulletin message board... and not how to adjust the action on my JP7. Unless you'd like to link me to a page in the faq where it describes that..

 

[blackspy]

K, well the FAQ is about general things to do on a vBulletin message board... and not how to adjust the action on my JP7. Unless you'd like to link me to a page in the faq where it describes that..

This one.
http://www.ernieball.com/site/faq_guitar.php

 

[ibanezrocker03]

Yeah, I just figured that out.... Sorry for jumping at you there, GW.

 

[GWDavis28]

NP Bud.

Glenn |B)

 

[MikeVt]

Yeah, I've done all the work on my other guitars on my own. I've dealt with the Floyd rose on my Ibanez and the TonePros on my ESP, but I don't wanna do anything wrong on my brand new JP!

As a guy who recently learned to do his own setups from the pros here, I'll add a few comments too. The design of the JP is was what inspired me to try learning to do my own work. I now do all my others too - stop tail, floyd, etc. I can't tell you how many times before I got my JP I looked at my floyd and wondered what they were thinking when it came to adjustment. Geez. The JP is THE example of how a guitar should be designed.

If you can do your others, you'll LOVE doing the JP....

MikeVt

 

[ibanezrocker03]

I absolutely LOVE the fact that the intonation can be adjusted simply by taking a little screwdriver to the back screws of the saddles.