adjusting the neck of my guitar to accomodate the THICKEST strings i can get

[ffrankwhite]

i wanna do this shit myself. not very electronically inclined/constructioning-stuff-arily inclined. how do i do this shit? cant be that difficult can it? went in the store and asked the dork at the counter but he didnt really give much away. somethin about the strings having to be such and such mm's away from the fretboard and...truss rod and...jesus christ, whats a fucking trust rod, how do i do this shit, cant be difficult right? (i know, i know, i should get it done properly but im fuckin dry at the moment) adjust it, i get it, but adjust it to what presuming that im gonna stick the thickest fucking strings on it that are available

[F*ck Fear]

I have no fucking clue dude. I've used an alankey when I needed to fix the bridge up a bit, but that's about it.

[AxlisOld]

If you have no idea what you're doing, don't. You can potentially fuck up the neck. However what you are supposed to do, is put the strings on (assuming you've gotten the nut adjusted also, you'll probably want a new nut, heh), and tune them to the tuning you'd like (not standard, too much stress on the neck). Take off the truss rod cover (thing on the headstock that says "Gibson"). Now press down on all the strings at the first fret, a capo will work better, and at the same time, press all of them down on the last fret. At the 12th fret, there should be just enough room to slide a standard business card under. If there is too much, use an allen wrench to tighten the nut that was under the truss rod cover. Turn only a 1/4 turn at a time. If there is too much (which there shouldn't be) then loosen the nut. With every turn of the nut, check the distance from the strings to the neck again. Anyone feel free to jump in and add something if I left it out.

[ffrankwhite]

If you have no idea what you're doing, don't. You can potentially fuck up the neck. However what you are supposed to do, is put the strings on (assuming you've gotten the nut adjusted also, you'll probably want a new nut, heh), and tune them to the tuning you'd like (not standard, too much stress on the neck). Take off the truss rod cover (thing on the headstock that says "Gibson"). Now press down on all the strings at the first fret, a capo will work better, and at the same time, press all of them down on the last fret. At the 12th fret, there should be just enough room to slide a standard business card under. If there is too much, use an allen wrench to tighten the nut that was under the truss rod cover. Turn only a 1/4 turn at a time. If there is too much (which there shouldn't be) then loosen the nut. With every turn of the nut, check the distance from the strings to the neck again. Anyone feel free to jump in and add something if I left it out.

how'd i adjust the nut?

[AxlisOld]

If you have no idea what you're doing, don't. You can potentially fuck up the neck. However what you are supposed to do, is put the strings on (assuming you've gotten the nut adjusted also, you'll probably want a new nut, heh), and tune them to the tuning you'd like (not standard, too much stress on the neck). Take off the truss rod cover (thing on the headstock that says "Gibson"). Now press down on all the strings at the first fret, a capo will work better, and at the same time, press all of them down on the last fret. At the 12th fret, there should be just enough room to slide a standard business card under. If there is too much, use an allen wrench to tighten the nut that was under the truss rod cover. Turn only a 1/4 turn at a time. If there is too much (which there shouldn't be) then loosen the nut. With every turn of the nut, check the distance from the strings to the neck again. Anyone feel free to jump in and add something if I left it out.

how'd i adjust the nut?

If you are getting thicker strings, the slots in the nut have to be cut to accommodate the thicker gauge. Just a get fine file, or even an emery board or nail file, and widen out the slots. Does that help ya, man?

[ffrankwhite]

If you have no idea what you're doing, don't. You can potentially fuck up the neck. However what you are supposed to do, is put the strings on (assuming you've gotten the nut adjusted also, you'll probably want a new nut, heh), and tune them to the tuning you'd like (not standard, too much stress on the neck). Take off the truss rod cover (thing on the headstock that says "Gibson"). Now press down on all the strings at the first fret, a capo will work better, and at the same time, press all of them down on the last fret. At the 12th fret, there should be just enough room to slide a standard business card under. If there is too much, use an allen wrench to tighten the nut that was under the truss rod cover. Turn only a 1/4 turn at a time. If there is too much (which there shouldn't be) then loosen the nut. With every turn of the nut, check the distance from the strings to the neck again. Anyone feel free to jump in and add something if I left it out.

how'd i adjust the nut?

If you are getting thicker strings, the slots in the nut have to be cut to accommodate the thicker gauge. Just a get fine file, or even an emery board or nail file, and widen out the slots. Does that help ya, man?

yes, thank you, i fuckin love you man, its amazing how difficult it is to just find you like...a plain speaking motherfucker who just tells it straight when it comes to music and instruments. you should go into the store man, its like a fucking guidance counselling session in that motherfucker

i dunno how to tune it any other way than standard though..so basically put the strings on, dont tune em proper, then hold down the shit from the first n last fret and adjust the shit until its like...a business card fits at the 12 between the...no wait, actually it all just made sense :)

Edited May 16, 2008 by ffrankwhite

[angry anderson]

Hey Man

A couple of points to add.

-Do the first fret capo'd height measurement with the strings tuned, then loosen them right off to do the adjustment. Don't try to adjust with the strings tight.

-It can also take many hours, even days for the wood in the neck to move to it's new final position. If you're tightening it, tighten a little less than you think you should, and then see how it feels a day or so later.

Edited May 16, 2008 by angry anderson

[Max™]

People I know tend to use feeler guages in 10's of a mm to get everything perfect. Might be an idea to grab one.

Also don't tighten the truss rod too much, the last thing you want is for the truss rod to break, otherwise its $$$.

[ffrankwhite]

done. dunno if i fucked up or not though it tunes fine, plays fine, i just get the feeling like...the strings are too high? marginally? fuckin works though, tunes up and all of that...just the strings feel a litttttttttttttle high. when i bend on the motherfuckers i feel like im pushing my fingertips under the string above i've fucked it up haven't i? i actually did tighten it a bit (just like a quarter turn or two while it was tuned up. i WAS doing it the other way but im lookin at the motherfucker and thinkin how the fuck am i supposed to know if the shits makin any difference unless the things tuned and tight and all that..

still, plays alright as far as my extremely novice ear can tell...just the strings feel a teensy bit high...maybe i should loosen em up and give it another few turns or somethin?

Edited May 17, 2008 by ffrankwhite

[DTGNRVR]

done. dunno if i fucked up or not though it tunes fine, plays fine, i just get the feeling like...the strings are too high? marginally? fuckin works though, tunes up and all of that...just the strings feel a litttttttttttttle high. when i bend on the motherfuckers i feel like im pushing my fingertips under the string above i've fucked it up haven't i? i actually did tighten it a bit (just like a quarter turn or two while it was tuned up. i WAS doing it the other way but im lookin at the motherfucker and thinkin how the fuck am i supposed to know if the shits makin any difference unless the things tuned and tight and all that..

still, plays alright as far as my extremely novice ear can tell...just the strings feel a teensy bit high...maybe i should loosen em up and give it another few turns or somethin?

I think that's a problem with the action. Does it seem the distance between the string and the fret is larger the higher up the guitar neck you go? If so you can adjust it by opening the back of your guitar and tightening the coils that look like spring - be careful not to over tighten or it can really ruin your neck.

[AxlisOld]

done. dunno if i fucked up or not though it tunes fine, plays fine, i just get the feeling like...the strings are too high? marginally? fuckin works though, tunes up and all of that...just the strings feel a litttttttttttttle high. when i bend on the motherfuckers i feel like im pushing my fingertips under the string above i've fucked it up haven't i? i actually did tighten it a bit (just like a quarter turn or two while it was tuned up. i WAS doing it the other way but im lookin at the motherfucker and thinkin how the fuck am i supposed to know if the shits makin any difference unless the things tuned and tight and all that..

still, plays alright as far as my extremely novice ear can tell...just the strings feel a teensy bit high...maybe i should loosen em up and give it another few turns or somethin?

I think that's a problem with the action. Does it seem the distance between the string and the fret is larger the higher up the guitar neck you go? If so you can adjust it by opening the back of your guitar and tightening the coils that look like spring - be careful not to over tighten or it can really ruin your neck.

He has an Epiphone, there is no opening on the back that can do that. Just screw the bridge down and re intonate it. I'm drunk right now. Look it up online if you need help.

[browser]

buzz feiten tuning system!

or a tech!

if you are gonna go up or down in gauge, you need to refit the nut.