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Okay so I'm pretty new at this whole thing but I'm working on 2 "parts-casters" and they both seem to have the same problem. On both guitars, I installed custom bridges, one is a factory fender 6-saddle ashtray, the other is a custom 6-cast-saddle bridge from Allparts. One has fender vintage tuners and the other has Schaller die-cast. Strings are tuned and intonated properly and necks are adjusted so they are straight-edge straight under tension. The guitars fell pretty good as far as string level and action, up through the 7th or 8th fret, but to eliminate fret buzz down below low G, the saddles have to be turned way up high, and the string-fret clearance at the 21st fret is huge, like 4mm. That is nearly double the clearance on my American Standard, and makes fretting high notes feel awkward and strained. Is there a way to shim one of these bolt-on necks so that string height will be more uniform down the fretboard and I can adjust the saddles downward?

Advice is appreciated.

Jon

Though it may seem counter-intuitive, neck-relief should be established to get better action...meaning when tuned to pitch the neck should have the slightest bow in it...This the allows for the action to be lowed, provided the relief necessary in the upper positions...

Stephen

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

How much bow, do you think? I had read somewhere you should be able to fit a credit card between strings and frets with the strings fretted at 2nd and 20th? When I set the neck like that, it seemed that string height at the nut was too high...

It is different for every guitar really. Just put a tiny bit in and see if that fixing it and if not put a little bit more.

I tend to run with very small amounts of relief but I'm a shredder type guy and have my action way to low anyways.

+1. I played electric guitar for 20 years. I liked straight necks and low(really low) action. Then I switched to acoustic(Bluegrass) for 4 years. Now I'm back on the electric and find that I need .012-.017 of relief and higher action or my guitar will buzz all over the place and it doesn't feel right to me. I play with a lot heavier hand than I used to, and I like to be able to get my fingers under the strings well when I bend. It absolutely depends on the guitar and the individual playing style. And IMHO how you play the guitar is going to determine relief and action, and maybe even string gauge.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Thanks. I did "loosen" the truss rod on one of them, creating a bit of relief, and now I am able to get the strings down to about 2mm above fret 21...Feels pretty good...I'll know for sure after I get it intonated properly (it was late last night and didn't feel like futzing with it a lot last night). I don't bend much except for the occasional vibrato, and i like the action as low as I can get it. I really don't play that hard either, so I'm not going to be banging around on them much.

Jon

So far i like this forum better than that ultimate.com. People actually read your post and reply

Jon

When using .010"-.046" strings and a 25.5" scale I like to set mine up with about .006"-.010" relief with the string fretted at the 1st and 12th because my necks have .005"-.010""fallaway" above the 12th fret. This is a starting point and adjustments get made.
As for action ,I start with 3/64" on the treble side and 4/64" for the bass side at the 12th fret.This gives a nice medium place to start. Adjust to taste from there.
I also insist that my guitars bend cleanly at least one and a half to two steps up.
It works for me ,I hope that helps you.

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How long is that in luthyears?

Fender spec for relief is .010-.012 at the 9th fret. Remember to look at the fretboard, not the frets. My daily player Strat clone likes .012- clean all the way to running out of frets. I have done the adjustable screw thing, but I only use it to measure-then shim full contact- and if using metal shim stock, I follow Erlewine's advice and taper shim by overlapping successively thinner shim stock - no airspace, full coupling.mt

More like a business card. A credit card is too much, IMHO.

--Steve

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---Steve