Truss Rod Issue.

[Lucius Paisley]

Re: Truss Rod Issue.

Shim. With an angle.

Reading on ibanezrulez.com he seems quite comfortable with a folded piece of card as a shim, which doesn't give me much idea as to what angle would be right for this guitar. StewMac sell three different sizes, but are theirs worth it? Not that I have much choice since there's no equivalent store in my country.

 

[greekdude]

Re: Truss Rod Issue.

Ibanezrules is useful for basic setup, that's why I gave you the links. But the guy running it is in no way a luthier or a tech for more serious work. If the body is alder/maple/mahogany/other hardwood then the paper card (or sandpaper) solution might do it. But if the body is made of basswood, there is big chance the paper to be "buried" in the basswood neck pocket. Happened to me. So if the body is soft wood you'll have to cover the hole area of the neck pocket, and starting with smth like the StewMac's shims (or equivalent) ,smallest size first, might yield nice results.

My tech had to install maple dowels in the neck pocket to make my Ibb 7-string uv70p super durable and stable. And this is a defect by design. Basswood is great as far as tone is concerned but its soft, and IMHO needs some enhancements.

Where from btw?

 

[Lucius Paisley]

Re: Truss Rod Issue.

But if the body is made of basswood, there is big chance the paper to be "buried" in the basswood neck pocket. Happened to me. So if the body is soft wood you'll have to cover the hole area of the neck pocket, and starting with smth like the StewMac's shims (or equivalent) ,smallest size first, might yield nice results.

Ibanez Wiki says the body is Poplar, which is "considered" a hardwood, but I'd probably feel more comfortable with a shim that covers the pocket.

My tech had to install maple dowels in the neck pocket to make my Ibb 7-string uv70p super durable and stable. And this is a defect by design. Basswood is great as far as tone is concerned but its soft, and IMHO needs some enhancements.

I came across this page - https://aperioguitar.com/product/neck-shim-040/ - saying the need for tapered shims is based on a myth, I guess everybody has a different thought on the subject. The neck looks and feels straight, so it does seem like a question of raising the height rather than working to find a specific angle.

Where from btw?

I'm about 50km out of Sydney.

 

[greekdude]

Re: Truss Rod Issue.

What I was referring to was not the shim but the need to strengthen basswood. Anyways, you'll find that the smallest shim might go a long way correcting string height, whereas in the non-tapered case you'll need more wood/depth in the shim. In any case you may do the geometry math and find out. It seems you are on the right path

 

[Lucius Paisley]

Re: Truss Rod Issue.

What I was referring to was not the shim but the need to strengthen basswood.

Yeah, that should have been a full stop before the 'but', not a comma.

Anyways, you'll find that the smallest shim might go a long way correcting string height, whereas in the non-tapered case you'll need more wood/depth in the shim. In any case you may do the geometry math and find out. It seems you are on the right path

I'll probably go with a StewMac, $8 is a bit much for a sliver of wood, but it's cheaper than the labour of making my own.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Truss Rod Issue.

Business card
Index card
Credit card

Notebook paper

There are many different ways before you spend 8 bucks

 

[Lucius Paisley]

Re: Truss Rod Issue.

Snipped off a piece of card, folded it a couple of times, shoved in under there, redid the neck, too high, string sat right along the fretboard - ****.

Undid neck, took out card, slipped in single slice of card, redid neck, fret buzz, adjusted saddles, fret buzz, adjusted truss rod, too low, readjusted truss rod, too high and fret buzz, readjusted saddles, fret buzz depends on my angle of attack, readjusted truss rod again, readjusted saddles, a tiny bit of buzz - ****.

Resigning myself to just leaving it as is, finish putting the strings on, see how it goes once it's tuned again, but I'll get somebody to look at it later, right now I'm over it.

Thanks for the help and suggestions guys, but I'm done.

String height on the 12th is just under 3mm, so it's not TOO bad, but I'm done.

 

[greekdude]

Re: Truss Rod Issue.

3mm is way too high.

 

[Lucius Paisley]

Re: Truss Rod Issue.

3mm is way too high.

I'm using 9's and it didn't feel too bad playing, but like I said, I'll get someone to look at it soon.