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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 7/28/2010
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Location: UK
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Hi all,
First time on this forum...also first time with an Ibanez guitar, which is an RG 1570z (the JB one).
I just got this guitar, brand new. Never owned an Ibanez before, so just getting used to the trem etc. I noticed in the manual it specs out what the factory settings for the action should be, but mine is somewhat higher. Any ideas why the action should be higher?
My only guess at the moment is that the neck has 'adjusted' during transit (the guitar came from Japan, to Germany, then the UK). To my untrained eye, the neck looks ok though.
Should I have a go at adjusting the action, by screwing down the trem studs, or leave well enough alone and have a professional guitar tech take a look? I've read conflicting things on this - yeah, just screw the studs down (having un-done the locking nuts if you have them) OR no, don't screw the studs down, if the trem is under tension!
Which is correct? If you can only adjust the bridge height when it is not under tension, how do you do that? Remove all the strings, just slacken them off?
Oh and another question - what is the grub screw kind of thing that screws into the bridge opposite the trem arm? not sure what purpose it serves. So much variable do--entation around, I can't find anything useful.
Yes, I know these are all noob questions, please be gentle.
Thanks!
Fleb.
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No man its cool to adjust them while under tension, granted you feel comfortable doing so! Here is a link to our customer service section on setting string action...it will walk you through LINK TO STRING ACTIONalso be sure to check out the cool guides we have in the "Technical Support" thread on here! as for why the strings would be too high...any number of reasons, from humidity change to an adjustment to the trem... Think of a guitar more like a car...there is routine maintenence...every 3 months you should get your guitar "set up" (which referes to Neck adjustments, action setting etc if you are unaware), every month you should change your strings, if you change the gauge of the strings you will need to do an additional setup. Keep it in its case as much as possible in a controlled environment (this will cut down on the amount of adjustments needed with each setup) it sounds like alot but it really isn't read as much as you can and it might be a good idea to take it to a tech for your first setup and sit in to "see" how its done, if you want to learn how to do it yourself of course! congrats on the new guitar and hope you have alot of fun with it!
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I always dive the trem as i adjust the posts, just seems to take some of the tension off the posts (at least they turn easier and the knife edges aren't pushing against them with the very tip of the blade, so you could actually be sharpening them a little, lol). As for that grub screw is the intonation tool. It screws into the back of each saddle, you then loosen the screw at the front of the saddle (the only thing holding it in place) so that the grub screw takes the load of holding the saddle in place. You'll then find that turning it screws the saddle backward or forwards, just like the philips head screws on the back of a conventional strat style bridge. When you've got the saddle at the right distance from the locking nut for accurate intonation of the string, just tighten the little hex screw at the front of the saddle (clamping it in place so it can't move) and you'll find you can just unwind that intonation screw out of the back of the saddle and attach it to the next one you want to intonate. And action on guitars always change during transit. Not the trem (the posts don't wind themselves out or anything). but usually the neck curvature due to temperature changes. So you might want to look into straightening the neck out with the truss rod. Since you haven't changed string gauge or anything, chances are it only needs a tiny adjustment (an eighth of a turn or something in that region).
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Rank: Newbie
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Matthew@ibanez wrote:No man its cool to adjust them while under tension, granted you feel comfortable doing so! Here is a link to our customer service section on setting string action...it will walk you through LINK TO STRING ACTIONalso be sure to check out the cool guides we have in the "Technical Support" thread on here! as for why the strings would be too high...any number of reasons, from humidity change to an adjustment to the trem... Think of a guitar more like a car...there is routine maintenence...every 3 months you should get your guitar "set up" (which referes to Neck adjustments, action setting etc if you are unaware), every month you should change your strings, if you change the gauge of the strings you will need to do an additional setup. Keep it in its case as much as possible in a controlled environment (this will cut down on the amount of adjustments needed with each setup) it sounds like alot but it really isn't read as much as you can and it might be a good idea to take it to a tech for your first setup and sit in to "see" how its done, if you want to learn how to do it yourself of course! congrats on the new guitar and hope you have alot of fun with it! Thanks for the welcome, and the reply - very encouraging! I'm very excited to have this guitar, and look forward to getting to know it (and the people on this forum).
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Rank: Newbie
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Ouija wrote:I always dive the trem as i adjust the posts, just seems to take some of the tension off the posts (at least they turn easier and the knife edges aren't pushing against them with the very tip of the blade, so you could actually be sharpening them a little, lol).
As for that grub screw is the intonation tool. It screws into the back of each saddle, you then loosen the screw at the front of the saddle (the only thing holding it in place) so that the grub screw takes the load of holding the saddle in place. You'll then find that turning it screws the saddle backward or forwards, just like the philips head screws on the back of a conventional strat style bridge. When you've got the saddle at the right distance from the locking nut for accurate intonation of the string, just tighten the little hex screw at the front of the saddle (clamping it in place so it can't move) and you'll find you can just unwind that intonation out of the back of the saddle and attach it to the next one you want to intonate.
And action on guitars always change during transit. Not the trem (the posts don't wind themselves out or anything). but usually the neck curvature due to temperature changes. So you might want to look into straightening the neck out with the truss rod. Since you haven't changed string gauge or anything, chances are it only needs a tiny adjustment (an eighth of a turn or something in that region). Thanks for the tips dude (and to Matthew too)! I have to say, whilst I'd have a go at adjusting the bridge height, the idea of touching the truss rod worries me...
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Truss rod adjustments aren't scary. You can't break anything unless your an idiot who thinks you have to spin the rod around and around and around like a whirligig. And even then, you know when you've tightened it to the point of breaking because you'll be turning red in the face trying to turn the damn thing. Stick to less than one rotation and you can't damage the guitar in the slightest (takes a good seven or eight turns to get the rod to it's maximum torque). A lot of people's fear of touching the truss rod forces them to overcompensate by lowering the bridge height instead, until the angle of the strings coming off the frets is so low it buzzes or chokes on string bends. And even then, they can't get the action as low as they'd like. As always, setting up a guitar is a three stage process. Put a capo at the neck joint and lower the bridge until the strings are as low as they can go without buzz on the last section of neck inside the body line, move the capo to the 1st fret and adjust neck curvature until the strings are almost buzzing on the main section of the neck and then remove the capo. If the height jumps up after doing this, you need to lower your nut (there may be shims underneath.. if not, some people file down the wood underneath).
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Ouija wrote:Truss rod adjustments aren't scary. You can't break anything unless your an idiot who thinks you have to
As always, setting up a guitar is a three stage process. Put a capo at the neck joint and lower the bridge until the strings are as low as they can go without buzz on the last section of neck inside the body line, move the capo to the 1st fret and adjust neck curvature until the strings are almost buzzing on the main section of the neck and then remove the capo. If the height jumps up after doing this, you need to lower your nut (there may be shims underneath.. if not, some people file down the wood underneath). you should make a badass tutorial online Ouija. 
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sephiroth wrote:Ouija wrote:Truss rod adjustments aren't scary. You can't break anything unless your an idiot who thinks you have to
As always, setting up a guitar is a three stage process. Put a capo at the neck joint and lower the bridge until the strings are as low as they can go without buzz on the last section of neck inside the body line, move the capo to the 1st fret and adjust neck curvature until the strings are almost buzzing on the main section of the neck and then remove the capo. If the height jumps up after doing this, you need to lower your nut (there may be shims underneath.. if not, some people file down the wood underneath). you should make a badass tutorial online Ouija. QFT!
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