High action remedy...?
- Mondon
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High action remedy...?
Hi all,
I’m building a JM and have put it together and it’s not bad, but the action is high. I don’t think I can go much lower with the saddles as the break angle at the bridge is pretty small.
What’s the best way to lower the action? Nut? Neck angle?
I can’t find anything on YouTube about this, so here I am!
Best wishes
I’m building a JM and have put it together and it’s not bad, but the action is high. I don’t think I can go much lower with the saddles as the break angle at the bridge is pretty small.
What’s the best way to lower the action? Nut? Neck angle?
I can’t find anything on YouTube about this, so here I am!
Best wishes
- CROSS_guitars
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Re: High action remedy...?
Is the neck straight?
Might need to tweak the truss rod.
Might need to tweak the truss rod.
- HarlowTheFish
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Re: High action remedy...?
If there's no angle in the neck pocket, a shim is probably the easiest way to bring the frets up to meet the strings if you can't bring the strings down any more.
- Lost In Autumn
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Re: High action remedy...?
shim the neck.
- Mondon
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Re: High action remedy...?
Thanks all - yes, the neck is straight.
I have seen you can buy shims from Stewmac - how do I decide which angle I need?
Also, if you use a shim, does this make the screw holes in the neck become angled compared to the holes in the body?
Thanks for helping, much appreciated. It's my first build and it seems to be going well so far, but setting the neck does make me nervous...
I have seen you can buy shims from Stewmac - how do I decide which angle I need?
Also, if you use a shim, does this make the screw holes in the neck become angled compared to the holes in the body?
Thanks for helping, much appreciated. It's my first build and it seems to be going well so far, but setting the neck does make me nervous...
- Norrin Radd
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Re: High action remedy...?
Get the 3 pack and start with the one in the middle (.5). Then from there you will obviously know whether that is just right, or you need more or less angle. Good luck!Mondon wrote: ↑Tue Jul 20, 2021 3:54 amThanks all - yes, the neck is straight.
I have seen you can buy shims from Stewmac - how do I decide which angle I need?
Also, if you use a shim, does this make the screw holes in the neck become angled compared to the holes in the body?
Thanks for helping, much appreciated. It's my first build and it seems to be going well so far, but setting the neck does make me nervous...
- JamesSGBrown
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Re: High action remedy...?
+1 for a 0.5 degree shim. Worked a treat on my partscaster Jag.Mondon wrote: ↑Tue Jul 20, 2021 3:54 amThanks all - yes, the neck is straight.
I have seen you can buy shims from Stewmac - how do I decide which angle I need?
Also, if you use a shim, does this make the screw holes in the neck become angled compared to the holes in the body?
Thanks for helping, much appreciated. It's my first build and it seems to be going well so far, but setting the neck does make me nervous...
- j mascis
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Re: High action remedy...?
.5 shims usually work, but I just built a guitar that needed .75. You just stack them if that's the case.
Have you dialed in the nut yet? That could be contributing, too. In general the truss rod won't do much for this.
Have you dialed in the nut yet? That could be contributing, too. In general the truss rod won't do much for this.
- Mondon
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Re: High action remedy...?
Thanks all
J, I haven't dialled in the nut yet, to be honest being new to all this I'm not sure what that means so I'll google it!
I did buy a New Mexican strat neck for this project as I'm a leftie and couldn't find a JM leftie neck anywhere. I'm assuming the nut is in the correct order as it was new from fender rather than me making it, but that could just be me being naive...
Cheers
J, I haven't dialled in the nut yet, to be honest being new to all this I'm not sure what that means so I'll google it!
I did buy a New Mexican strat neck for this project as I'm a leftie and couldn't find a JM leftie neck anywhere. I'm assuming the nut is in the correct order as it was new from fender rather than me making it, but that could just be me being naive...
Cheers
- adamrobertt
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Re: High action remedy...?
He's talking about the nut height. It is a crucial component to guitar setup. Many guitars do not come with the nut set ideally for a good setup - sometimes to cut corners, and other times because companies know that not everyone likes their guitar set up the same way.Mondon wrote: ↑Tue Jul 20, 2021 1:23 pmThanks all
J, I haven't dialled in the nut yet, to be honest being new to all this I'm not sure what that means so I'll google it!
I did buy a New Mexican strat neck for this project as I'm a leftie and couldn't find a JM leftie neck anywhere. I'm assuming the nut is in the correct order as it was new from fender rather than me making it, but that could just be me being naive...
Cheers
It isn't something you should mess with if you don't know what you're doing, you should take it to a tech.
- countertext
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Re: High action remedy...?
But in the meantime, shim yr neck.
- marqueemoon
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Re: High action remedy...?
Yeah. If it’s a brand new neck the nut slots may need to be filed deeper.
No amount of minor truss rod tweaking will correct for that.
No amount of minor truss rod tweaking will correct for that.
- blimpage
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Re: High action remedy...?
Yes, a little bit, but if your shim is 1 degree or less then it shouldn’t be an issue. If you’re shimming the neck at a much steeper angle than that then it’ll be a problem (something a guitar tech will be able to sort out), but otherwise you’ll be fine.
- soggy mittens
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Re: High action remedy...?
First thing I do with a new guitar I get is throw it at my luthier to replace the nut and set up the action. But yeah just echoing what others are saying now. New nut, fret level, and shim if needed are what matters most for a good action.
If OSG has tort me anything...