It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 7:46 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 20 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
Post subject: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:01 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:01 pm
Posts: 41
In the instructions concerning Fender Guitar setups particularly the Telecaster it discusses Truss Rod and adjustments. It goes on to say place a capo at the first fret and check clearance at 8th fret while holding down 6th string at last fret. The suggested clearance say for 9.5 Radius is .010".

My question: Up to this point it never says what the bridge height for each string should be. Depending on the bridge height would that not effect the clearance measuremnt at the the 8th fret which determines which way to turn the Rod?

Am I missing something? :?


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:17 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:37 pm
Posts: 8708
Location: Natural Bridge, Virginia
Putting a capo at the first fret and holding the string down at the last fret takes the bridge height out of the equation. String action should be set after adjusting the truss rod. The truss rod is NOT used to adjust action as many people seem to do.

_________________
Bill

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:58 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
bluesky636 wrote:
Putting a capo at the first fret and holding the string down at the last fret takes the bridge height out of the equation. String action should be set after adjusting the truss rod. The truss rod is NOT used to adjust action as many people seem to do.

+1
I'm always amazed at how many people think the truss rod is for adjusting the action.

_________________
Image
Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:16 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:37 pm
Posts: 8708
Location: Natural Bridge, Virginia
BMW-KTM wrote:
bluesky636 wrote:
Putting a capo at the first fret and holding the string down at the last fret takes the bridge height out of the equation. String action should be set after adjusting the truss rod. The truss rod is NOT used to adjust action as many people seem to do.

+1
I'm always amazed at how many people think the truss rod is for adjusting the action.


A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. :wink:

_________________
Bill

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 3:19 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2012 6:22 am
Posts: 231
TFSpaniel wrote:
Am I missing something? :?


Yep!

As the others have pointed out, by holding the string down at the last fret, the bridge height become irrelevant. The truss rod adjusts the amount of 'relief' in the neck - nothing more or less than that.

Another way to think of it is that you are, in effect, using the string to create a straight line between the first fret and the last-but-one fret (which is where the string will contact when you hold the string down at the last fret). You then measure the curve of the neck against that straight line, at the eighth fret.

_________________
Mater tua criceta fuit, et pater tuo redoluit bacarum sambucus


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 7:16 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2013 7:31 am
Posts: 49
Location: Pittsburgh PA
When reading this, keep in mind, I'm no luthier. I'm just some dude that sets up his own guitars...

I'd recommend going to the hardware store, and buying a machinist's scale. -Something that goes down to either 32nd's or 64th's of an inch. Tune your guitar to pitch, and measure the height at the 12'th fret to see how high your action is. Just set it how high you like it. Me, I like mine as low as possible, with as little fret buzz as possible. Some players I know like it higher so they can dig in a little more. Whatever floats your boat.

I just learned a pretty cool trick from a friend of mine that is a guitar tech in a shop... If you have your string height really close to how you want it, but just need to lower it slightly, you can take a playing card (like Bicycle or the equivalent) and cut it to fit in the pocket between where the neck and the body meet. Take the neck off, and put the card in there, and put the neck back on. Once everything is put back together little playing card 'shim' will kick the neck out just slightly, and decrease the space between the strings and frets. -It's a little faster than adjusting the individual saddles. Why a playing card? He says they don't compress as much once you tighten everything back down. -This trick kinda sorta works like the micro-tilt on some Fenders back in the day.

Once you have your action set, then you can put the capo on the first fret, and check the curve of your neck. A very small amount of relief or up-bow is good. -That will keep you from getting buzz on your first 7 or 8 frets if your action is set low. Back-bow isn't good.

Me personally, I'm nervous to adjust the truss rods on my guitars any more than 1/4 a turn in either direction. Anything more than that, I take it to a tech at my favorite local guitar shop.

_________________
"Each guitar has its own character and personality, which can be magnified once the player engages in beatin' it up." - Billy F. Gibbons


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 12:17 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
I do not advocate removing the neck to adjust action. That's not a cool trick. It's putting the cart before the horse. The guy who suggested it would never get a job as a guitar tech if I had anything to do with it.

_________________
Image
Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:03 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:01 pm
Posts: 41
Thanks for all of the replies. I think I partially get it! OK why does the instructions say if the action is too high turn the truss rod nut clockwise and vice-versa? To me that implies the truss rod controls(determines) the action?? Confusing?? Maybe on the other hand I don't get it! LOL! :oops:


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:25 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:37 pm
Posts: 8708
Location: Natural Bridge, Virginia
TFSpaniel wrote:
Thanks for all of the replies. I think I partially get it! OK why does the instructions say if the action is too high turn the truss rod nut clockwise and vice-versa? To me that implies the truss rod controls(determines) the action?? Confusing?? Maybe on the other hand I don't get it! LOL! :oops:


No, the guide says:

"If the neck is too concave (action too high), turn the truss rod nut clockwise to remove excess relief. If the neck is too convex (strings too close to the fingerboard), turn the truss rod nut counter-clockwise to allow the string tension to pull more relief into the neck."

References to action height merely provides an easy visual reference. You DO NOT adjust action by adjusting the truss rod.

_________________
Bill

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 7:38 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
What you need to understand is that adjusting the trussrod will in fact alter the action but that is not the purpose of the trussrod. The trussrod allows the guitar to be set up such that almost all of the string tension has been counterbalanced. I say almost because you still want some string tension induced bow in the neck. Not very much but some. This is called relief. We do not want the neck to be 100% perfectly straight and flat. The guitar always performs best with some relief. How much relief we use is a matter of personal taste but there needs to be some. The trussrod adjusts the relief. While it is doing that it is also affecting the action. This is why we do the trussrod adjustment first. We get that part right and then, without touching the trussrod again, we correct the action using other means, usually at the bridge. We do it that way because bridge adjustments do not affect relief but relief adjustments do affect action.

The part that a lot of inexperienced players don't understand is that you can adjust the action at the bridge 3 times a day for the rest of your life and it will never be right if you don't adjust the relief properly first. It's even worse when the inexperienced players try it the other way around. If the relief was pretty much OK and in the ball park but they wanted to adjust the action and instead of adjusting the bridge they monkey with the trussrod then they throw the whole guitar out of whack and it will never play right again without a proper full setup. Follow all the setup instructions in the correct order and you'll be fine. Don't skip any steps.

_________________
Image
Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:57 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:01 pm
Posts: 41
I got it, BMW-KTM! Excellent explanation! As the late Paul Harvey said, "Now you(I) know the rest of the story". And thanks for your time! Cheers!


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:58 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:37 pm
Posts: 8708
Location: Natural Bridge, Virginia
+1

The Fender guide is written in the order that BMW-KTM described.

_________________
Bill

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:52 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
TFSpaniel wrote:
I got it, BMW-KTM! Excellent explanation! As the late Paul Harvey said, "Now you(I) know the rest of the story". And thanks for your time! Cheers!

You're quite welcome.
I did forget to mention one important thing.

Every time you make any adjustment to either the bridge or the neck you absolutely must re-check the state of tune of the guitar before you check to see the results of your adjustment. Almost all adjustments will throw the guitar out of tune to some degree and the guitar must be in tune before you can examine the results of that adjustment and know for certain how the guitar will be set up during normal use. String tension has a great deal of affect on setup.

_________________
Image
Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:59 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
Also, if you ever get around to setting up a Strat there are some extra setup adjustments that I make to the trem that are not in the Fender setup guide or the old Mr. Gearhead guides. I've been doing this adjustment for years and thought it was a secret but I noticed a few months ago that someone posted a Youtube link describing it in pretty good detail. I know this is a Tele forum but it's also a Fender forum. I'll see if I can't find that link.

_________________
Image
Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question About Tele Setup
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 8:15 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:01 pm
Posts: 41
History: My day job is a family dentist but I have been playing gigs since high school(1958). Always in the past let a pro set my Jazzmaster, Telecaster up. It is always nice to have a 'puter and someone to straighten me out on these DIY projects when I go wrong. 8) :lol:


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 20 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


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: