New to EBMM and the Forums....EBMM JP Tremolo Question!!

[Random Hero]

First post here, hey guys

I recently purchased an EBMM John Petrucci 6 string model, in White Sparkle, from a private seller, in absolutely amazing condition, such a steal. I have to say, I am very very impressed with Ernie Ball Music Man Guitars!!

It has the most birdseye i've ever seen on any neck of any guitar!!

Anyway, to my question...

The previous owner set up the guitar for me with 9-46 hybrids, however the action was pretty high, but I played on with it for a week until the strings went kinda gummy, and so I decided to make the switch to 9s. I did this last night, and decided to address the problem of the action.
I browsed here for a while looking for what to do, and the general idea seemed to be to adjust the truss rod. I turned it clockwise, and kept checking, until I got kind of satisfied with my action, with very minimal fret buzz. It was then I noticed that the trem wasnt quite sitting flush with the body. Its around 2mm from sitting flush to the body.
I'm starting to think that lowering the trem to flush would sort out my problem.

I've posted a picture, and am looking for any sort of help anyone can give me!

 

[Zophixan]

Well I can't really help, as I haven't got my jp7 yet, but I can say, on a normal guitar, you just adjust the bridge downwards. To be honest with you, looking at your action, if thats high action..then I dont' know what my guitars have!

 

[Jimi D]

I'm not a Pet player, but I do know that setting up a guitar properly, especially if you like really low action, is never a simple matter. A proper setup is a delicate balance between the bridge and saddle height, neck relief, neck angle and the nut, so saying it's "just x" or "simply y" is - ime - a gross and erroneous over-simplification. There are some good tips on this site, as well as a number of other sites out there that offer more comprehensive advice on guitar setups, but I personally relied on two indespensible resources when learning how to work on my own guitars - a local, professional guitar tech with a great rep, who I used to irritate to no end with my endless questions, and the books of Dan Erlewine, one of the industry's pre-eminant luthiers and teachers.

 

[Random Hero]

someone on another forum, said that my neck looked bowed? but... the action was way higher before I messed with the truss, so as far as I can see, I improved the action...

 

[Random Hero]

I'm not a Pet player, but I do know that setting up a guitar properly, especially if you like really low action, is never a simple matter. A proper setup is a delicate balance between the bridge and saddle height, neck relief, neck angle and the nut, so saying it's "just x" or "simply y" is - ime - a gross and erroneous over-simplification. There are some good tips on this site, as well as a number of other sites out there that offer more comprehensive advice on guitar setups, but I personally relied on two indespensible resources when learning how to work on my own guitars - a local, professional guitar tech with a great rep, who I used to irritate to no end with my endless questions, and the books of Dan Erlewine, one of the industry's pre-eminant luthiers and teachers.

So you're not of the school of ''dont ever touch your truss rod! its bad!!'' kinda **** ?

I hear some people say 'keep tweaking, you'll get there in the end'.

Someone on another forum was saying how if the action being high is due to me messing with the rod, then I need to get the bow sorted asap, as it isnt good.

However, the action was WAY higher before I moved the rod, so surely i've counteracted any sort of bow?

 

[ripley]

I;m right there with you man. the guy who works on my guitars says my prefered action "goes against the laws of classical phsyics" - sorry about spelling errors - if I can pass a business card flar between the strings and fretboard; the action may be too high....

it took a load of work to get my jp6 set up the way I wanted it. I did have to adjust the bridge downward. try that. & I've never had a problem adjusting my axis SSs' truss rods too low or too high. the JP was the same.

 

[OrangeChannel]

Keep in mind the Truss Rod isn't there to adjust your action perse....that's what the bridge saddles are for...the truss rod allows you to adjust how striaght the neck is...or how much it bows....remember lefty loosey righty tighty and to tweak in 1/4 turns..you only need a small amount of adjustment to get big differences....

 

[jongitarz]

For low action, the straighter the neck the better. get the relief where it should be, then adjust the saddles to get the string height where you want it. There is lots of good set up onfo in the FAQ section of this website.

 

[Raz]

I must say those pictures are fantastic, the best closeups I've ever seen...so there you have it, that's as close to a JP as I'll ever get

 

[Random Hero]

For low action, the straighter the neck the better. get the relief where it should be, then adjust the saddles to get the string height where you want it. There is lots of good set up onfo in the FAQ section of this website.

so, the tighter it is, the straighter it is?

I've gotten advice from the Harmony Central forums to check the relief by capoing at the first, then fretting where the neck meets the body (I assume this means up around the 14th /15th fret kind of area, wherever it meets the body), then checking the relief from there, before lowering the bridge. He said it should be around .4mm. From there, lower the bridge down to about 1/16 at the 12th. After that I should recheck the relief, and get it to about the thickness of a business card. (Is that the correct amount of 'bow' to have?)

If I follow these steps should I be about right to get a good low action?

 

[Random Hero]

SO I got the action down real low, down to 1/16, and now the trem seems to have lost some of its smoothness, ie, it seems much tighter. to get the action this low, i've had to lower the trem down to about flush, maybe a tiny little bit lower than flush to the body, so, this is getting annoying

Any tips?