JP6 Woes

[Kenji20022]

So I just got my first ball, and I've had it for some time now. I made a thread a little while ago prior to getting it. And sadly it hasn't been the greatest of experiences, I got it used from a friend of mine and he had set it up to proper string action without buzzing and for the tremolo to stay in tune properly while taking a bit of abuse.

For some reason, the neck is shifting whenever I don't play it. That's the first thing I noticed, the action grows noticeably more and more with each day. At first it was set up at 1.7mm, and 1.3 for the high strings which was alright but too low for my tastes. It played alright for the first few days and eventually it rose to a 2.2mm x 1.9mm which I noticed the moment I picked it up, it wasn't enough to deter me from playing. But the tremolo was thrown out of it's set up. Mind you it has a Tremolno installed, but it's perfect with it in there at least when I first got it. I tried tinkering a bit with the tremolo plate and screws to see if I could at least get the trem to stay in tune, which it did. But sadly it wouldn't, at this point I just took it to my tech who congratulated me for finally achieving this goal of mine haha, and set it up for me.

Now the guitar was set up exactly to my tastes with 2.0mm low, and 1.5mm for the high strings, and the tremolo was still giving me trouble. No big deal, I locked it down with the tremolno, played the rest of the night and took it in the next morning. The action rose slightly, about +0.1 on the low and +0.2 on the high. After he spent a couple of hours tinkering and us just chatting it seemed to be where I liked it. So I took it home. I haven't played in two days, it's been sitting in it's case without being touched for these past days.

I came back home from my work today, and opened the case up to jam a bit and play. These are the exact measurements I took.

Low = 2.2mm, High =2.05

And the guitar that was tuned to pitch was down a bout a quarter step for all the strings, I tuned up once more to Standard and didn't really focus on the action too much. The tremolo is still not staying in tune, which is just annoying at this point especially when there are videos like this floating around... and the thing is I'm not really asking for something to abuse, even a slight vibrato or a bit of flutter causes the strings to sharpen and flatten like crazy.

demo.flv video by NorrinRadd1 - Photobucket

So to recap what I've said.
- When I received this guitar all was well (Trem stayed in tune alright)
- I've had this guitar set up twice
- Either the truss or the neck is shifting itself quite often
- and also, another point, me and my tech have actually tried installing the original trem claws on and using it strictly in full floating mode without the tremolno, no dice.

I really want to like and enjoy this guitar, since it's been a goal for me to own one, but it's pretty disheartening when something as simple as stability for the trem and tuning isn't achieved.

I'm bringing it to my tech again tomorrow with a fresh set of strings and we're going to check out what a fresh set up will do. Has anyone had any similar problems?

Thanks again everyone!

 

[beej]

It sounds to me like your neck is adjusting to the changing climate, as unfinished necks tend to do (some more than others).

Rather than measure string height, what you should be looking at is neck relief. An easy way to do that is fret the guitar at the 1st and 15th frets, and look for the gap between the string and the 7-9th frets. Should be a very small gap. If it's too large, use the truss rod to dial in some backbow and straighten the neck, that's what it's there for. You can also encourage the neck to settle, post adjustment, by pulling slightly on the back of the headstock, in the direction the truss rod is acting. Neck changes are normal, as the humidity changes. I tweak some of mine regularly, some don't require any tweaking. Just depends on the guitar.

If you're not comfortable doing this, or if the issue is more substantial you need to contact the EBMM customer service dept (closed Fridays btw). They will help you, and your neck, get straightened out.

 

[DR5Guy]

It sounds to me like your neck is adjusting to the changing climate, as unfinished necks tend to do (some more than others).

That is an excellent point. It probably makes sense to get a digital hygrometer and keep it close to the guitar for some time, while monitoring the humidity. If it turns out there are wide variations in humidity, you may consider getting a dehumidifier with humidistat.

 

[Kenji20022]

Thanks for the information guys! No internet until thursday, since I just moved! I just came back home from dropping it off at my Tech's shop, told him what you guys have said so far and he's taking a look at it and putting on some fresh strings to see if a new setup will do anything to it. There was a weird indentation on the strings when he detuned them, not where it would bend at the bridge but 2 inches farther down so maybe it was the strings.

Okay that's been waiting to be sent for the past 2 days ^

In the last few days, I left it at my friend Luigi's house and we jammed and he worked on it a bit. We added a bit of relief to the neck. And now the action's pretty much exactly where I like it 2.0mm-2.1mm and 1.5-1.7mm on the higher side. Got rid of that nasty buzz on the 3rd fret by doing that. And I found out my tech made a mistake during the set up, his tuner must have been set to 443hz because when I got home from his shop 3 days ago it was set up in 443hz! He's out of town for a bit, so I made some adjustments to the claw and set it up in 440hz standard. I'm extremely happy with it now, the trem stays in tune for what I need which is just a light vibrato and the neck hasn't moved or shifted in the last few days. It goes a bit out every now and then but that's completely fine with me not a big deal.

Thanks for the honest replies guys, I really appreciate it and I'm glad to be enjoying my first Ball!

 

[guitarp77]

Glad to hear you got it sorted out!

Enjoy the JP. They´re amazing beasts