Neck adjustment/fret dressing

[Skreddy]

I bought a new Ibanez SZ520 recently. I didn't expect it to be perfect out of the box, and I've already replaced the Duncan/Ibanez pickups with Seth Lovers. Sounds really nice now! Very much like the '59 Les Paul tone I had in mind.

The only problem is it frets out at upper registers. I've already relaxed the truss rod a good deal, but it's not fixed. I don't get any bad buzzing, but it's nearly dead around the 14--22 zone (no sustain, frets out when you bend).

I'm thinking I'll probably need to flat file the frets at the upper registers at this point. Any advice, though? Like, should I maybe loosen the truss rod some more, maybe put some heavy strings on it to encourage more relief?

[Schroeder]

Hello Skreddy.

Have you put a straight edge on the frets? From what you're describing, I wonder if there isn't too much relieft in the neck at this point. Keep in mind that the truss rod is only active in the middle portion of the neck. Therefore by adding relief, you're not going to be solving any problems much past the 12th fret. Sounds to me like you may just need to raise the action a bit at the bridge. At that point, you may want to take some of the relief out of the truss rod, depending on where that leaves you.

Charles
SGR

[Skreddy]

Ahh! Thanks for the voice of reason. So straighten the neck and raise the action! I'll get on that straight edge and see what I can do. Thanks again; talk to you soon.

Marc
http://skreddypedals.com

[Skreddy]

Awesome! Yes, that was exactly the problem. Thank you!! Perfect action now, all the way through. No fretting out in the upper registers--clear as a bell.

[Schroeder]

Nine times out of then, when a client comes in saying that their guitar is fretting out on the higher frets, the action is just a little too low. It CAN be the frets, and a vintage radius can contribute to fretting out on bends, but usually just lifting the action a bit will do it. It's a simple fix. Glad that's what it was in your case!

Charles
SGR

[Skreddy]

Nine times out of then, when a client comes in saying that their guitar is fretting out on the higher frets, the action is just a little too low. It CAN be the frets, and a vintage radius can contribute to fretting out on bends, but usually just lifting the action a bit will do it. It's a simple fix. Glad that's what it was in your case!

Charles
SGR

Right. The key to understanding, for me, was the information about how the neck relief only happens in the middle of the neck. Since my "action" wasn't low, per se, I thought the neck needed more relief. As you predicted, I had too much relief already, giving the illusion of high action (where the bridge was actually a bit too low). So the straightedge was my "duh" moment. I had almost 2mm of relief at about the 10th fret.

Tweaked the trussrod to straighten the neck, adjusted the bridge higher, then tensioned the strings, played it, and adjusted the bridge lower till it had low enough action to be comfortable but still clear notes that bend and retain their sustain.

Thanks for straightening out my wrong notions and saving my guitar from an unneeded fret filing.

[Skreddy]

Here's that guitar (stock photo), and after I replaced the pickups with Seth Lovers, the knobs with amber speed knobs, and the switch with a vintage-Gibson-style toggle switch...
http://skreddypedals.com/pix/gear/IbanezSZ520-stock.jpghttp://skreddypedals.com/pix/gear/IbanezSZ520GibsonSwitch.jpg

Sounds a great deal like a '59 Les Paul now (to my ear--especially through some dirt), only tighter (owing to the 25.1" scale, about halfway between a Les Paul and a Strat scale).