NGD: AL HH Turquoise Pearl

[FantasyMetal]

Hello everyone!
Just picked up this bad mother yesterday at my local GC. Pics don't really do it justice, but it's crazy nice. Only thing I've noticed so far is that by comparison, it has much higher action than my JP6, and that is after correcting the massive neck bow that it had when I picked it up from the store. Anyways, pics!

 

[mtrejo]

Beauty! Congrats

 

[TSHOW]

Beautiful....Congrats. ...I love that color.......

 

[Benji Peterson]

Nice pair! Don't be afraid to dial in the action of the Al to your liking. Then you'll really love it!

 

[Spudmurphy]

Great stuff!! Get the saddles adjusted and I'm sure you'll deck the action!!

 

[FantasyMetal]

Thanks for all the replies! However, as this is my first AL, I'm not too sure about adjusting the saddles. I'm guessing that I need to take the radius of the neck into account? Also, the action is only about 5/64" (bass side) which is what Music Man recommends, so I'm not sure that I should lower it. I knew the action on my JP6 was low, but when I measured it, its only like 3/64" (bass side), which of course gives me a fair bit of buzz (which I'm okay with as long as it doesn't bleed through the amp), but makes it practically play itself.

The other thing I've noticed is that the AL sounds much thicker and more aggressive than my JP6, which of course makes me think that maybe the low action on the JP6 is strangling the sound a bit.

 

[coldsummer]

Looks great, congratulations!

 

[jzeijen]

Nice one! Great pair you've got there.

 

[mikeller]

Killer - congrats!!!

 

[brasco68]

Beautiful color...congrats!

 

[Capelo]

Beautiful guitar!! I do miss my AL HH quite a bit, definitely my favorite EBMM guitar bar my Axis tribute. Enjoy!!

 

[Tollywood]

The other thing I've noticed is that the AL sounds much thicker and more aggressive than my JP6, which of course makes me think that maybe the low action on the JP6 is strangling the sound a bit.

I love the turquoise pearl and the sky blue together - nice pair. Why not raise your action on the JP a quarter turn? I would if there is a fair amount of buzz. I love it low, but there is such a thing as too low. Good luck...

 

[FantasyMetal]

I love the turquoise pearl and the sky blue together - nice pair. Why not raise your action on the JP a quarter turn? I would if there is a fair amount of buzz. I love it low, but there is such a thing as too low. Good luck...

That's certainly a thought, but I'm wondering if maybe the AL is just going to sound thicker because of the mahogany/rosewood neck combo. Also, 3/64" is crazy low. I can't believe it came from GC that way. I burst out laughing like a maniac when I measured it because it was so low, and I had never seen action that low on other guitars without it choking all of the sound out. My wife thought I'd had a stroke standing there measuring the action on my guitar laughing out loud.

 

[GWDavis28]

Dude, nice score!!!! Congrats!!!!

Glenn |B)

 

[ozzyrules]

Thanks for all the replies! However, as this is my first AL, I'm not too sure about adjusting the saddles. I'm guessing that I need to take the radius of the neck into account?.

Beauty! Yes, Stewart McDonald sells a kit that includes radius tools. I had to do my own setup on one that I bought from GC. I had never done it before and it was easy. Hope this helps.

 

[FantasyMetal]

Thanks ozzyrules! I can't straighten the neck any further (well I can but I have the curvature of the neck perfect right now), so I'll have to adjust the saddle height. My father has a set of radius tools, so I will just have to hijack those before I mess with the saddles. I was thinking that if I just turned the saddles a quarter turn for all of them then the radius would be same, but with the tool I can be absolutely certain.

 

[ozzyrules]

Yep, use the tool & adjust to these specks(10 " neck radius):

Albert Lee