It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:39 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 36 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3
Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3
Author Message
Post subject: Re: Can a cheap electric guitar be correctly set up?
Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 12:54 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:47 am
Posts: 15336
Location: In a galaxy far far away
Use a rule, measure the high E height and the low E
Height.
Eye up a curve on the rest of the strings that loosely follows the fretboard radius.
We're by no way near the end of this. I just want you to get the guitar back to
about factory settings so we can get an idea what's going on with the neck

_________________
No no and no


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Can a cheap electric guitar be correctly set up?
Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 10:57 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:27 pm
Posts: 27
Surprisingly enough, I've checked the measurements on the guitar again and actually the string height is in the range that you have mentioned. I checked for fretbuzz and yes, there still is fretbuzz in the same positions - a little bit of buzz on the low E and quite a lot of buzz on the 15th fret on all strings...

Also, there is still a slight forward bow in my neck, it's not straight...


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can a cheap electric guitar be correctly set up?
Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 12:23 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:47 am
Posts: 15336
Location: In a galaxy far far away
The neck shouldn't be straight.

Ok so obviously now that the guitar is back to normal, something elsewhere is wrong.
It really leaves only two options.
1 Somebody has shimmed the neck.
2 There is a fair bit of fretwear.

So please post a couple of pictures showing the fret tops.

_________________
No no and no


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can a cheap electric guitar be correctly set up?
Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 12:43 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:27 pm
Posts: 27
Ok, I'll post the pictures as soon as I have the time.
Actually, when I changed the strings on Saturday I also wanted to put a large sticker on the pickguard, so I took all the strings off in order to do that. I also tried to wipe the fretboard with a soft cloth and, to my surprise, I think I saw some signs of fretwear on the first 2-3 frets... they were not too visible, but they were there. I thought it wasn't that serious, though.

The interesting thing is that the guitar is only like 8 months old or so, and hasn't been overused, I think I've played it like once or twice a week, as an average. How could the frets have got worn out that fast... are there any good quality/bad quality frets - with the latter being installed on my guitar :) ?

And, as a matter of fact, this is not the only problem I have with this guitar. I didn't mention it, I'll mention it now: I'm having some really annoying tuning problems - I can't tune the guitar properly - everything sounds pretty fine with the E,A,D,G strings, but the B and the e have a slightly lower pitch than they should, even though the open strings have the right pitch and the intonation appears to be set right (or at least that's what my tuner - the incorporated tuner in my Fender Mustang I amp - says). I know that there is almost no instrument with strings that can be tuned perfectly, but the difference in pitch for these two strings is quite noticeable, and my ears can't stand that. It makes the guitar sound off.

If I try to tune the guitar by ear, I can bring the strings to the right pitch, but if I try to jam along a backtrack, the guitar obviously sounds off, because the B and e strings are higher in pitch than what the tuner says. By the way, I've tried using other tuners as well (stuff like Guitar Pro, AP Tuner, the tuner in Guitar Rig) and the results were the same.

I've had this problem ever since I bought it and started tuning it using a tuner... I have absolutely no idea what the cause of this problem could be - first I thought it was because of the forward bow, now I have the neck pretty much set up correctly and the problem still remains...

I really want to think that this guitar can be tuned 95% accurately and can be made to play almost as good as an expensive guitar. I don't want to sell it or anything because of these problems, because it's my first electric guitar and it has a high sentimental value...

P.S.: What do you mean by "shimming" the neck? I'm sorry I'm not familiar with this word... :oops:


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can a cheap electric guitar be correctly set up?
Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 2:11 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:03 am
Posts: 784
Location: Switzerland, Europe
mike_KidLazy wrote:
P.S.: What do you mean by "shimming" the neck? I'm sorry I'm not familiar with this word... :oops:


Here's your answer: http://bit.ly/JKHGCy


Cheers

David

_________________
"Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc...and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons."


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can a cheap electric guitar be correctly set up?
Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:16 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:27 pm
Posts: 27
Amerigo wrote:
Here's your answer: http://bit.ly/JKHGCy

Cheers
David


Thank you, David!


I don't think my neck has been shimmed, I haven't made any adjustments to the neck aside from tightening or loosening the trussrod. I haven't had any repairsman take a look at the guitar, most of the settings are the stock settings, I don't think they bother about shimming the neck when they produce these guitars...


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 36 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3
Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Marky Forrest and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: