To camber or not to camber

[JammerMatt]

In the process of setting up my LP, and am adjusting the truss rod. The reference I'm using says to capo the 1st fret, push the string down near the neck-body joint and measure the largest gap between string and fret in the cambered area. Shoot for around business-card width for low action. Tighten or loosen truss rod as necessary at 1/4 turn max per day intervals.

So, I was just wondering, how y'all set yours up. Do you have some relief, or is your neck straight as an arrow?

Oh, low action is the goal here.

-Matt

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: To camber or not to camber

It depends on the neck, but I fret the 1st fret and 14th, then look at the gap between the low E string and top of the 7th fret. I like the gap to be small enough to slide a thin pick in there, no more, no less. Beyond that, sometimes I'll find the chord or note on the neck that buzzes the most, and tweak the trussrod to get it sounding as good as possible. When a guitar is setup perfectly, you should be able to bang away on chords with minimal fretbuzz or string warble. Medium low is what I'd call that.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: To camber or not to camber

I don't have a Les Paul
But, on my guitars, I usually go for about 1mm of of space between the 17th fret and the high E string, and 1.5mm on the low E. Neck is straight as possible without buzzing.

 

[JammerMatt]

Re: To camber or not to camber

Thanks guys.