factory bridge height on gibson les paul?

[rage_311]

I bought a Les Paul recently, which is actually an Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Custom, and the action was ridiculous! The only frets that would make any sort of musical tone were the first 4 (and even those had some fret buzz). All of the rest of the frets were completely unusable and just fretted out. So... after doing some reading online, to make sure I didn't do anything stupid, I adjusted both the bridge height and the truss rod quite a bit. I don't have much experience doing this, but I got it to a much more playable condition. It's a great sounding guitar now! The only issue I'm having now is a little bit of fret buzz on the higher frets (12+). Seems to me like there's a happy medium I need to attain between the bridge height and neck relief. Seems like I need to adjust the bridge a little higher still. How much of the threads on the bridge screws should be visible? My friend got a Gibson SG brand new from the factory recently, and his action is low and perfect. But, I already have the bridge higher on my LP than his. Is this normal for the Les Paul? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[SchecMan]

Re: factory bridge height on gibson les paul?

At 12th fret 5/64th bass E (sixth string) 3/64th 1st string , these are Gibson factory specs. Measured from the 12th fret to the bottom of the string. It might not be a bad idea to let a tech in your area take a look at it. Maybe the frets need a little work.

 

[rage_311]

Re: factory bridge height on gibson les paul?

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to check out where my strings are at tonight. I was hoping to not have to take it to a tech, especially since it's rumored that there's only one tech around that actually knows anything about guitars -- and he's usually 2+ weeks out. Anybody know a good tech in the Salt Lake City/Provo area?

 

[lex666]

Re: factory bridge height on gibson les paul?

So... after doing some reading online, to make sure I didn't do anything stupid, I adjusted both the bridge height and the truss rod quite a bit. I don't have much experience doing this, but I got it to a much more playable condition. It's a great sounding guitar now! The only issue I'm having now is a little bit of fret buzz on the higher frets (12+). Seems to me like there's a happy medium I need to attain between the bridge height and neck relief. Seems like I need to adjust the bridge a little higher still. How much of the threads on the bridge screws should be visible?

I wouldn't mess with the truss rod unless the neck showed obvious signs of being bowed or back bowed. Usually, only a slight relief in the neck is preferred. I would only make truss rod adjustments in very small increments, usually 1/4 or less of a turn at a time. Let it set overnight to take shape. Adjusting the truss rod usually doesn't do much help if you're experiencing fret buzz. Fret buzz is usually a sign of poor frets, bad nut, bad saddles, or a combination of those.

Whenever adjusting the truss rod or bridge hieght, be sure to also re-set the intonation - be sure it is in tune at the 12th fret.

 

[rage_311]

Re: factory bridge height on gibson les paul?

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I'd be better off bringing it to a tech after all...