nut shims

phil27 · #1 06-07-2004, 05:14 PM

Has anyone took the shims out of their locking nuts? I took mine out of my RG1570 and it seems to be fine, although i have read reports that people generally leave them in. I am however still having problems with the notes choking around the 12th fret.

I wish I could set up guitars properly

**jemsite** · #2 06-07-2004, 05:34 PM

http://jemsite.com/tech/index.htm
the shim deals only with the open string clearing fret 1 after a proper setup... glen

Rich · #3 06-07-2004, 05:41 PM

I think it was one of your other threads about the same subject [only one thread needed] that I told you to take a straight edge at least 3 frets long and see if it rocks on the 12th [or whatever fret is actually choking].

Algiman · #4 06-07-2004, 05:50 PM

"nut shims" still sounds like a painful medical complaint to me.

phil27 · #5 06-07-2004, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich

I think it was one of your other threads about the same subject [only one thread needed] that I told you to take a straight edge at least 3 frets long and see if it rocks on the 12th [or whatever fret is actually choking].

Yeah, I done that and it lies flat over the frets.

Rich · #6 06-07-2004, 09:39 PM

Then see if the end of it will rock down into the 11th [in the spot where you're choking]

phil27 · #7 06-08-2004, 01:46 PM

Ok I tried that but the frets seemed flat. There was no 'rocking'.

MicJustMic · #8 06-08-2004, 02:12 PM

How low are you trying to get your action?

If it's lower than 2 mm at the 24/22 fret you're going to have some buzzing, especially if you have a heavy pick hand, or sloppy picking (no offense, some people don't pick so much as "hack", but it's all good.)

No guitar is going to have zero buzzing, unless you have your action at about 4 mm (even at 3 mm my guitars buzz in some places when I pick heavy).

Mic

phil27 · #9 06-08-2004, 04:12 PM

At the minute up until the 12th fret it is reasonably low with minimum buzz. I removed the shims from the nut. There is choking on the B and E on the 12th fret and from there the action gets progressively higher (about 4-5mm on the 24th fret).

I also own a Jackson ATX and I managed to get the action quite low and even but I'm beat with the Ibanez. The shop where I bought it from have it and when I took it in they looked at it and I told them I needed the action lower and he said "I don't think I can get it much lower than that".

I don't really pick that heavy when I think about it although I could work on it being a bit more precise

MicJustMic · #10 06-08-2004, 10:22 PM

Did you check the neck for back bow? At 4 to 5 mm at the 24th you should pretty much have no buzz at all unless you're playing as hard as a trip-hammer.

Since you say it's low up to about the 12th and gets higher after that I'm guessing you have some back bow.

Again, go to Rich's site, it's all there for the reading.

Mic

Rich · #11 06-08-2004, 11:30 PM

If I had to make a guess from what you're saying, and not being able to see the neck, I'd say it's a bad neck. Necks don't backbow correctibly from the center of the neck, you overcrank a truss rod and it'll backbow from the 5th to the nut.

phil27 · #12 06-09-2004, 06:54 AM

Well I loosened the truss rod slightly after i bought it and it was tight. I couldn't visibly see any backbow.

phil27 · #13 06-27-2004, 06:28 AM

Well, after nearly three weeks of the guitar sitting back in the shop to get repaired, they told me that the tech was on holiday. I decided to look into this and asked a few people about the tech and they all said he is not very good at setting floating trems up. The main reason that the guitar was in though was that the 12th fret is a little high and it seems to be choking the high E and the B on said fret. I have decided to attempt the work either myself or get a little help from someone either on this forum or elsewhere so is there anyone that can help me?

MicJustMic · #14 06-27-2004, 11:22 AM

It would help if you put your location in your profile.

If you're close to one of us there are many that would be glad to take a look at your guitar for you, either just because they/we're helpful, or for a small fee. ;-)

We'll gladly talk you through anything you need help with, but without actually having the guitar in hand it's hard to be sure what you need done.

Mic

phil27 · #15 06-27-2004, 12:10 PM

thanks. I've put my location in now and I realise you are a little out of my way

I am basically having real trouble setting my guitar to the desired action as the 12th fret is a little too high and the notes are choking.