Question For Jon?

[MikeVt]

Well like my sig says 1/16...too me that's like heaven set up base camp on my fretboard

Actually now that I think of it, I probably have less since I can't get a 1.5mm pic under my low E on my SUB 1 and my Pet has way lower action...

Raz, does your Pet have the piezo bridge? If mine didn't, I could probably go slightly lower because the mag pups are less sensitive to fret buzz - ie: I wouldn't hear it through the amp or when recording. The piezo seems to be way more sensitive.

That's kinda why I asked the question - if my JP is normal, maybe JP just accepts more noise through his piezo (or he has his tech or Jon do special fretwork). Of course, if you watch the Bukokan DVD, his intro to 'Hollow Years' sounds a bit buzzy too - so who knows.

MikeVt

 

[Raz]

No no Piezo, yet

 

[MikeVt]

No no Piezo, yet

Hehe....I hear ya. I want more too. This is addictive.

Good luck - I hope you do. The piezo is SWEEEEET, especially when you mix it with the mags - really sparkly! Add a little chorus and delay, and it's heavenly....

Here's an idea for EB. My Boss GT-8 has a feature where you can run two amp models simultaneously, one left, one right. You can also add up to 60ms of delay between them to really fatten up the sound.

How about adding a 4th pot to the piezo board - delay? It would be ultra cool to be able to delay the piezo signal slightly. When running to two amps or a board, I suspect it would add some really cool depth!

MikeVt

 

[Devnor]

JP's strings are at about 1/32 at the 12th fret, and that is REALLY low, and there are no shims or changes in the neck angle on his axes.

That's it! I'm getting a JP6. I'd kill to get action close to that on my EBMMs.

 

[MikeVt]

Devnor - take note. Jon's post was meant to say that the action on John Petrucci's guitars are at 1/32 - not that the action on a standard EBMM JP is at 1/32. As you will see from this thread, they come set at around 2/32, and at least some of us are having trouble getting lower action without fret buzz through the piezo.

But let me tell you, even at 2/32, these guitars are AWESOME. My brother has a cheap Yamaha Pacifica with the action is set lower than my JP and it plays really nice. (Somebody MUST have done fretwork on this guitar, because I find it hard to believe that a cheap $100 guitar can run lower action than my JP without buzzing.) HOWEVER - even my brother admits that my JP plays better. It's worth the investment - take the dive!

MikeVt

 

[Warg Master]

Devnor - take note. Jon's post was meant to say that the action on John Petrucci's guitars are at 1/32 - not that the action on a standard EBMM JP is at 1/32. As you will see from this thread, they come set at around 2/32, and at least some of us are having trouble getting lower action without fret buzz through the piezo.

But let me tell you, even at 2/32, these guitars are AWESOME. My brother has a cheap Yamaha Pacifica with the action is set lower than my JP and it plays really nice. (Somebody MUST have done fretwork on this guitar, because I find it hard to believe that a cheap $100 guitar can run lower action than my JP without buzzing.) HOWEVER - even my brother admits that my JP plays better. It's worth the investment - take the dive!

MikeVt

Agreed.

 

[jongitarz]

Raz, does your Pet have the piezo bridge? If mine didn't, I could probably go slightly lower because the mag pups are less sensitive to fret buzz - ie: I wouldn't hear it through the amp or when recording. The piezo seems to be way more sensitive.

That's kinda why I asked the question - if my JP is normal, maybe JP just accepts more noise through his piezo (or he has his tech or Jon do special fretwork). Of course, if you watch the Bukokan DVD, his intro to 'Hollow Years' sounds a bit buzzy too - so who knows.

MikeVt

Anytime you have strings that low you will get some buzz just because of the fact that the string vibrates. I do the fret work on Jp's guitars and bleeb me it takes work to get a fret job that will allow you to set the action that low.

 

[jazzbo jim]

IMHO, you can always whack a set of strings hard enough to get fret buzz. As Jon ("the Sultan") says, it takes a lot of work to get super low action and not get buzz on the piezos-strings vibrate!
My approach is, I bought the piezo to mimick acoustic guitar parts (ie, not having to switch axes). As a result, the majority of things I play with the piezo are normally no higher than 5th position. In fact, cowboy chords rule with my piezo. I accept piezo buzz 5th position or higher as a tradoff for unusually confortable electric playing everywhere on the same neck.
It's a bit of a compromise, but, where else are you gonna get great tones, great feel, great looks in both acoustic and electric sounds with ONE guitar?
BTW, my buddy plays a parker fly and is blown away by my piezo sound.

 

[tommyindelaware]

Anytime you have strings that low you will get some buzz just because of the fact that the string vibrates. I do the fret work on Jp's guitars and bleeb me it takes work to get a fret job that will allow you to set the action that low.

wax on.......
wax off........

 

[MikeVt]

I do the fret work on Jp's guitars and bleeb me it takes work to get a fret job that will allow you to set the action that low.

Ahah! That's EXACTLY what I needed to hear. Thanks Jon. This tells me 3 things:

1. There's probably nothing wrong with my JP.
2. There's no point in driving myself crazy trying to tweak and re-tweak because I'm probably not going to get the action any lower without custom fret work.
3. I successfully learned to do my own setups! Woohoo!!! And the folks here and my JP helped me do it! 33 years after picking up a guitar, I can now adjust a truss rod!

.....now if I could only play the thing worth spit.

MikeVt

 

[bluebullet]

i know how you feel, the only problem with my guitar set up is the guy playin it.

 

[jongitarz]

3. I successfully learned to do my own setups! Woohoo!!! And the folks here and my JP helped me do it! 33 years after picking up a guitar, I can now adjust a truss rod!

.....now if I could only play the thing worth spit.

MikeVt

Mike...It is awesome that you now can do your own setups, and make your guitar play like YOU want it to play, not some "tech" guys idea of what you want. I am proud of you!

 

[jbert]

I want to jump in and say that since purchasing a JP6 last year and gathering advice from the the forum members' posts and Jon's pearls of wisdom, I went from paying $140.00 for a poor setup by a reputed tech not familiar with JPs, to having the confidence to do it all myself. In addition to owning a fantastic instrument, membership in this "community" has helped me get even more enjoyment and satisfaction from my guitar.

Thanks all.

Jbert

 

[MikeVt]

Mike...It is awesome that you now can do your own setups, and make your guitar play like YOU want it to play, not some "tech" guys idea of what you want. I am proud of you!

Thanks Jon! I appreciate that!

Hey - one comment for you or your marketing department. The thing that made the difference for me and made me try to do my own setup was the fact that you guys RECOMMEND adjusting the truss rod. Other guitar companies tell you to take it to a tech who knows what he is doing. I suspect that we all agree that sometimes finding someone you trust can be difficult. EB encourages owners to get to know their instrument. Very cool....Thanks a bunch.

MikeVt

 

[Raz]

Mike...It is awesome that you now can do your own setups, and make your guitar play like YOU want it to play, not some "tech" guys idea of what you want. I am proud of you!

Hey I never got so much as a pat on the back for my self taught set ups

 

[OrangeChannel]

Hey I never got so much as a pat on the back for my self taught set ups

Greesing the neck doesn't warrant much merit...but maybe a dry rag...