Help! JP6 Action/Truss Rod Adjustment

[AgustinJP50]

Hi all, I have a question about the action of my JP6... The thing is, I set it up following the guide in the Music Man F.A.Q., but when I get to this point: 'If a string buzzes on an open string to the 5th fret and no higher, more relief is needed. If there is more buzz from the 5th to the 12th fret, the neck needs to be straighter.' I find that the G, D, A and E strings start buzzing from the 12th fret upwards, but there's no buzz whatsoever until the 12th fret. Do you know what could be wrong? My guess is the neck should have a bit more relief, but I'm not sure.
Thanks very much.

 

[Tung]

This is totally normal. the majority of the times, buzzing and frettting out will happen from the 12th fret up. Get your neck totally straight with adjusting the truss rod, make sure you's not getting a back bow. After this, if you still want to go lower, you can adjust the height of the bridge, and then zoom in on each individual strings with the saddle height adjustment.
After this whole process, and you still want to get the action lower or still getting buzzes, a fret dress by a good luthier will take care of these issues.

 

[AgustinJP50]

Thanks very much! So the buzzes are due to a back bow? And how can I make sure the neck is totally straight? Because in the guide it says that you should put your finger on the 2nd and 12th frets and make sure the gap around the 7th fret is no thicker than a business card... But when I do that the gap is minimal, I mean, there is a gap but you can barely see it.

 

[Tung]

Thanks very much! So the buzzes are due to a back bow? And how can I make sure the neck is totally straight? Because in the guide it says that you should put your finger on the 2nd and 12th frets and make sure the gap around the 7th fret is no thicker than a business card... But when I do that the gap is minimal, I mean, there is a gap but you can barely see it.

You're doing it right. I also sight the neck's straightness by holding down further, like from the 7th to the 22nd fret, to zoom in more on the upper frets area, it all depends on the area of the neck you want to check. Buzzing does not necessarily mean that it's from a back bow, not always. sometimes it can be from uneven frets, you may have some higher frets that can cause buzzing when the action is lowered.

 

[AgustinJP50]

So, the neck is completely straight when the gap is, like in my case, minimal, right?
And thanks for the tip on the frets, the thing is the guitar is pretty new and the frets haven't really wore down yet.

 

[Tung]

So, the neck is completely straight when the gap is, like in my case, minimal, right?
And thanks for the tip on the frets, the thing is the guitar is pretty new and the frets haven't really wore down yet.

Just because the guitar is new, that doesn't mean anything, you can still have uneven frets. The best way is to have a good tech check it out. I get my tech to do a fret dress on every new guitar I purchased. You'll be surprised how many really high end guitars I've owned came with mediocre fret jobs, especially guitars from companies that start with an F and a G.

 

[AgustinJP50]

Hahahahaha, yeah, those issues are getting more frequent with those companies nowadays... Besides... EBMM's quality/price relationship is way better than theirs...
I checked the gap between the 7th and the 22nd fret and it's the same as the one from the mid-point between the 2nd and 12th fret, minimal, so I guess the neck is totally straight... A fret dress is due then.
Thanks a lot Tung!