Guitar set up question.

I have a Satriani Ibanez (JS900) which needs a bit of attention. The string height increases significantly from the 1st fret to the 22nd, the bridge is set up correctly (it's an edge so there's a mark to tell you when it's level). I can't drop the action any more because it chokes up on the 1st fret but the action from the 12 fret down is way too high (probably about 1cm from the neck to the strings). Is this something that can be sorted by a truss rod adjustment ?.

I have a Jem as well and I'm not overly impressed with the string height on that as well. It's had a pro set up but the action is no where near as low as my Jackson, it's a top guitar though. Maybe it's an Ibanez thing.

Cheers

With that amount of clearance at the 12th fret there is no way that playing an open string should choke on the first fret. Sounds like the truss rod has been over tightened, the nut has been cut too low or a combination of both. If you put a capo on the first fret and fret the bottom E where the neck joins the body, can you see any clear air between the string and the frets? You should see a small gap half way down the string. If you can't then the truss rod is too tight.

Personally I'd get a pro to look at it. It would save time but it will cost money.

When I read a post which states that the action at the 12th is 1cm I have to say.... *whoa!* are you _sure_? What is it that you are measuring exactly?

If you google this NG for 'Jem setup' or 'Ibanez Edge' then you'll see plenty of tips on how to tweak things but ordinarily we'd only be talking about small adjustments in the order of a couple of mm or so.

Still, in anyones book a 10mm action will render the guitar unplayable. rest assured it's easily fixed, but we shall take a stepwise approach to doing so. Can I ask.... do you have access to a digital camera? If so, some snaps will help.

sounds like too much neck relief... but again the degree that you're talking about seems harsh. You may require some neck shimming... it's an easy task but I have questions first...

Is this an Edge or a Lo-Pro Edge? Can you describe how the top plate of the trem is angled relative to the top of the body? Have you turned the tremposts to drop the overall action of the bridge at all?

Don't fear... we'll get your JS and your Jem sorted... there's plenty of Ibanez owners here to help!

Adrian,

I have a digital camera but I don't have a website to put the pictures on, would it be ok if I e-mailed them to you (i'll make sure they're as small as possible).

One thing I should mention is the guitar has been in bits recently as I've had it chromed, prior to this the action was a bit high but not this bad (perhaps my estimation of 10mm was a little over enthusiastic, I'll try and get a ruler on the photo's so it gives it some perspective).

it's an edge

bridge at all? As far as possible, any further and the strings choke on the 1st fret.

Thanks for your help

CHROMED!!!

who did you get to do it? do you have pictures? how much was it? where are they based? how did it come out? do you have pictures?

please tell me you have pictures...

I have pictures...

Let me know if you want me to mail them to you. It was you that put me on to the guy that did it in the 1st place Clive

Martin at SIMS LED's did the chroming, it was £350 for the body, £50 for the headstock and £50 for taking it apart and putting it back together. They are based in Ashford.

How did it come out ?, well, it's not as mirror like as the Chromeboy's (although I've only ever seen pictures of them) from close up, there's a reason for this though, Martin put on several (seven altogether I think) coats of polyurethane (I think) to protect the finish because I told him I wanted a guitar I wouldn't be scared to play for fear of damaging it. It's this what has made it more of a matt finish from close up, from about a metre away it looks the nuts however. Martin explained all of this to me when I went to see him about it. I was a little disappointed when I 1st picked it up but I'm not scared to play it and it will look great under stage lights (if I ever get the bottle to start gigging) and I'm sure it will last a long time and still look pretty much as it does now so overall I'm happy with it. The overall project including buying the guitar was about £1000, compared with the price of a chromeboy (about £3000 for the last one on e-bay).

Darren

PS, Martin has some great stories about Steve Vai and the neck off of his bad horsie guitar (which he wouldn't sell me the sod)

Darren, if you mail them through to me I can upload them to a webpage for you... I'm sure there's more than clive and I that'd be interested in seeing it! Let me know.

Ahhh... methinks I spoke to him at the piss-poor 'Music Live' show in brum last year

<snippage>

I'll bet, I think I've seen that very neck in person. It had (IIRC) a wilkinson roller nut type affair (the needle bearing type) and mega-gigantic fretwire installed with the cute little intonation kinks in the first few frets. Did I say the fretwire was big? I was wrong..... it was ginormous!

Done.

please please please email pics to clive at clivemurray dot com so I can have a drool...

ah! sims! coolness. I recall contacting them myself a while ago, and was a little shocked by the price, but ultimately it's pretty good. I just couldn't afford it at the time (or now, either...)

[snip]

bargain!

here's an idea - why not get chrome bobbin toppers from brian at www.universaljems.com to make the pickups look chromed as well. I got some for my rg750, and they look nifty, as you can see here: http://www.clivemurray.com/img/toppers.jpg the neck HB and the S/C are done in chrome, and the bridge HB is done in gold chrome, due to me being a colour-blind idiot.

anyway, congrats on the chrome job. I've kind of been waiting for someone else to get it done before I get one done myself.

looking forward to the pictures!

Sounds like when the neck was removed a shim dropped out of the neck pocket nearest the bridge. This sets the 'break'angle between the neck and body and is crucial in enabling a decently low and intoned action . If you sit playing the guitar the neck should bend backwards from the line of the body a few mm , this will enable you to lower the bridge and still get a fair action , if the neck is straight and the body leans back , try a

the nut not too low or the floyd will still choke when it oscillates. If in doubt hit it with a bit of 4x2 Have Fun

<snips advice>

Any news Darren? Have you fixed your neck-angle and have been busy playing?

let us know how you got on or if things are still not quite right.