Luke III setup question

[markus506]

Hi gang,

So, I had setup my Luke III to about 3 semitones pull-up, and had the relief set to between .008 and .010". I was pretty happy. Action was around 1.75 mm (give or take). I put new Elixir nano web .009 on there. Now, this is a 2014 model that I recently bought used, and this is my first time putting new strings on it. Long story short, once I got it tuned up, I found that the action was now slightly over 2 mm! I was a bit confused by this, but knowing that I didn't change anything mechanically, I tightened the truss rod a bit to get the relief back to where it was. This lowered the action to about where I had it before, however, now the D string has a bunch of buzz down lower on the neck (i.e. a symptom of not enough relief). I am a bit confused by this. Can this happen with a change of string brand? Should I just let it settle for a day and go back to it tomorrow? I am by no means a luthier and am really only getting into setting up my own guitars, but this is leaving me a bit stumped. Thanks for any input!

-Mark

 

[luiscesaripad]

Yes, strings brand differences will affect the setup for sure. Even being same gauge. Try always to use same strings brand, and not changes will be need.

 

[DrKev]

Different brands can have different tension for the same gauge. That may be what has happened here. If the elixirs have higher tension, they are pulling the bridge further forward, which raises the action. Tighten the spring claw in the trem cavity so that you get the appropriate amount of up-pull (the gap at the back of the plate will be in the 3mm region, see photo below). You may have to adjust-retune-test a few times to get it right

And yes, the neck relief may have changed a little too but my guess is that bridge raising will account for most of the change in action (when adjusting neck relief, the string action changes by approximately the same amount as the change in neck relief, .i.e. small). Once the is bridge/claw is dialed in, adjust the neck relief to taste.

 

[markus506]

Thanks a bunch, lads. I'm going to go investigate now and report later with the results.

 

[markus506]

Ok, I am happy to report that it was the bridge angle that had changed. I was able to pull up from G to about Bb, plus another 1/4 tone. Once I messed with the claw a bit and got it to pull-up to Bb, I was able to change the relief to about 0.008-.009". That set the action back to where it was. Thanks again for the responses. This is a terrific forum, for sure! I never realized that different brand strings would change tensions like that. I always figured 9's were 9's. Anyway, great info to have for sure!

-Mark

 

[DrKev]