2016 Gibson 50's Tribute Les Paul Gold Top - First Report:

You really should try Biddlin's setup method, so, so much quicker & easier than working to figures with the added bonus of it setting the action exactly to suit your personal playing style. Assuming no neck or nut anomalies, set string height for 17th fret up by lowering till it buzzes, raise till it don't, doing all normal bends etc. Now do truss rod,
(1st to 17th frets). Tighten until it buzzes (usually first few frets), loosen till it don't, again doing all your bends etc. Intonate, done. Cheers
 
ivan H said:
You really should try Biddlin's setup method, so, so much quicker & easier than working to figures with the added bonus of it setting the action exactly to suit your personal playing style. Assuming no neck or nut anomalies, set string height for 17th fret up by lowering till it buzzes, raise till it don't, doing all normal bends etc. Now do truss rod,
(1st to 17th frets). Tighten until it buzzes (usually first few frets), loosen till it don't, again doing all your bends etc. Intonate, done. Cheers
Click to expand...

Legendary Blues Man Bo Biddlin knows all. He is a great guy and a dear friend of mine. I'm glad you respect his opinion my friend and Cheers to you also. BTW...I love your avatar of Keith Richards...that's classic!


;>)/
 
Though I don't know Biddlin I do know that he is very knowledgeable about guitars with decades experience as a tech, so yes, I respect his opinion very much. I've been a Keef fan for a long time so when I found that pic I just had to use it. Cheers
 
I am sure Biddlin is a knowledgeable fellow. I personally find it so much easier to adjust relief with a .010"/.012" feeler gauge and then set everything up with a precision rule, especially when setting up several identical guitars at once. Additionally, at some point, I will have to turn setup over to a crew and I do not want individual interpretation involved in the setup - I want the specifications followed. I believe this will afford a much more consistent setup an nobody will have to endure .125" unfretted 12th fret action like I did on my brand new Gibson Gold Top...
 
Last edited:
Hang on, I just gotta wrap my head around this. You did walk into a store to pick this guitar didn't you? I know you didn't plug it in, but you must have at least played it. Even without playing it, you MUST have noticed that it had an unfretted 12 fret string height of 1/8". I know I would at a glance, not even picking it up. Even if I liked the look of the guitar, actually, even if I wasn't even remotely interested in the guitar I wouldn't be able to help myself & would tell the staff bluntly to "set that F'ing thing up properly." Or I'd be a smartarse & offer to set it up for them for a fee. Either way, you walked into the store without the guitar & walked out with it. That's not enduring, that's "choosing". I cant believe it left Gibson with that string height. I cant believe a store would expect to sell a guitar with that string height either. Cheers
 
ivan H said:
Hang on, I just gotta wrap my head around this. You did walk into a store to pick this guitar didn't you? I know you didn't plug it in, but you must have at least played it. Even without playing it, you MUST have noticed that it had an unfretted 12 fret string height of 1/8". I know I would at a glance, not even picking it up. Even if I liked the look of the guitar, actually, even if I wasn't even remotely interested in the guitar I wouldn't be able to help myself & would tell the staff bluntly to "set that F'ing thing up properly." Or I'd be a smartarse & offer to set it up for them for a fee. Either way, you walked into the store without the guitar & walked out with it. That's not enduring, that's "choosing". I cant believe it left Gibson with that string height. I cant believe a store would expect to sell a guitar with that string height either. Cheers
Click to expand...

Live and learn. I was surprised by the 1/8" action, but knew it could easily be corrected, so I didn't worry about it. The only issue I had was the short circuit problems. I was pressed to return for our daughter's 13th birthday party the night I picked it up, so I did not tarry. Gibson is really turning out some sporadic things of late...but not to worry, I build and play my own now...by the way, all my guitars are up for sale. They cannot compete with some of the stuff I am building...
 
BlackSG91 said:
I don't measure string action. I play by ear. If there is any string buzz I raise the action.
Click to expand...
BlackSG91 said:
I set my truss rod adjustment and check each string for any buzzing all along the the fretboard.
Click to expand...

I do the same, but the first time, it's difficult/takes time to get it right; usually takes me 2 or 3 shots over a week or so. But, once you're there, and you've learnt about how your guitar likes to be tweaked then it's all sugar from there on in. After doing this initially on the SG tribute, I now feel very comfortable on understanding how that guitar works, for example, on that guitar with humidity changes the strings often go sharp, but 1/8th turn anti-clockwise brings the action back to perfection. Getting used to how each of your guitars works in this manner is very useful for keeping it playing well, imho...
 
Robert Herndon said:
Additionally, at some point, I will have to turn setup over to a crew and I do not want individual interpretation involved in the setup - I want the specifications followed.
Click to expand...

From a production point of view, I agree. An objective spec ensures consistency of the product as it leaves the door.

From a player's perspective, the factory specs on a guitar are a starting point, not the goal. In the end, the guitar setup that works best for a player is the best setup.

When I bought my Jackson, I made some adjustments to personal taste and never used a ruler or feeler gauge. I set it up to the way that felt and responded best to me. It actually came set up pretty well from Sweetwater, but I wanted to tweak a few things for me. But, since the instrument is made of wood, ultimately things will change over time and further adjustments are inevitable. That's one thing no CNC machine can predict or control - how wood will behave over time.

The other thing no manufacturer has control over is the set of strings a person uses. Even using the same gauge, strings from different manufacturers differ somewhat in how they behave. This will affect how you set up the guitar, too.
 
smitty_p said:
From a production point of view, I agree. An objective spec ensures consistency of the product as it leaves the door.

From a player's perspective, the factory specs on a guitar are a starting point, not the goal. In the end, the guitar setup that works best for a player is the best setup.

When I bought my Jackson, I made some adjustments to personal taste and never used a ruler or feeler gauge. I set it up to the way that felt and responded best to me. It actually came set up pretty well from Sweetwater, but I wanted to tweak a few things for me. But, since the instrument is made of wood, ultimately things will change over time and further adjustments are inevitable. That's one thing no CNC machine can predict or control - how wood will behave over time.

The other thing no manufacturer has control over is the set of strings a person uses. Even using the same gauge, strings from different manufacturers differ somewhat in how they behave. This will affect how you set up the guitar, too.
Click to expand...

Very good points indeed. The end user will always adjust to taste as you say.

I have built several guitars for friends from all Warmoth parts...starting back in 2009....literally from the ground up. I usually let the instrument sit for a while...at least a week, to afford the wood time to relax and adjust climatically before doing final setup...which I always do the same way.

On my own guitars, I always start with a measured .010"/.012" neck relief. This setting seems to work well for me and I set everything to this specification.

I will generally set everything to .035"/.040" (unfretted @12th fret) on bass and treble side and see how that works. This almost always works. Even if I alter this measurement later, it is recorded.

The Les Paul Custom Replica I set up for Mom recently ended up being about .050" @ the 12th unfretted (.046"/.009" Ernie Ball's) on the bass side and .045" on the treble, with the 14" radius neck set almost flat @ .006"/.008" relief, which, I did all by "eyeball" and just recorded the specs when I was finished.

I set the action on the 2016 Gibson Les Paul 50's Tribute to the exact measurements as I always use - .035"/.040" with .008"/012" relief - and it played very well with no buzzing....after knocking down several very high frets by hand.

I have a engineering background and worked many years as a machinist, so measurements make sense to me....its all about consistency, economy of movement and repeatability.

Now, there is more than one way to do things and if you choose a different path, that's fantastic too.

Not long ago, I helped a friend setup a few guitars at his shop. I could complete a setup my way, with my ruler and feeler gauges, before he could finish one using his strumming, adjusting, strumming, adjusting by feel method.

Any way you choose to perform a setup is "right" for you...no matter how much others may try to convince you their way is best... :)

IMG_20170507_35822.jpg

IMG_20170507_16201.jpg

IMG_20170506_40249.jpg

IMG_20170506_30935.jpg

IMG_20161019_3631.jpg
 
Last edited:
Here's how my 2016 Gibson Les Paul 50's Tribute Gold Top looked upon receiving it...its not just the high action...look at the ragged fretboard wood and uneven frets....several of which i had to 'spot level' just to get it playable.

Gibson's answer to a high fret - just raise the action - a copy of the setup card is shown below.

IMG_20170506_15919.jpg

IMG_20170506_30129.jpg

IMG_20170506_48781.jpg

IMG_20170506_40854.jpg

IMG_20170605_46212.jpg
 
Way to many numbers and calculations there for me lol. I use the Biddlin method pretty much but i take one of my guitar picks and use the writing on it as a fine tuning tool to set all my guitars action exactly the same.ya OCD sets in on some things lol.I usea med/low action .20170609_074604.jpg
 
Robert Herndon said:
Very good points indeed. The end user will always adjust to taste as you say.

I have built several guitars for friends from all Warmoth parts...starting back in 2009....literally from the ground up. I usually let the instrument sit for a while...at least a week, to afford the wood time to relax and adjust climatically before doing final setup...which I always do the same way.

On my own guitars, I always start with a measured .010"/.012" neck relief. This setting seems to work well for me and I set everything to this specification.

I will generally set everything to .035"/.040" (unfretted @12th fret) on bass and treble side and see how that works. This almost always works. Even if I alter this measurement later, it is recorded.

The Les Paul Custom Replica I set up for Mom recently ended up being about .050" @ the 12th unfretted (.046"/.009" Ernie Ball's) on the bass side and .045" on the treble, with the 14" radius neck set almost flat @ .006"/.008" relief, which, I did all by "eyeball" and just recorded the specs when I was finished.

I set the action on the 2016 Gibson Les Paul 50's Tribute to the exact measurements as I always use - .035"/.040" with .008"/012" relief - and it played very well with no buzzing....after knocking down several very high frets by hand.

I have a engineering background and worked many years as a machinist, so measurements make sense to me....its all about consistency, economy of movement and repeatability.

Now, there is more than one way to do things and if you choose a different path, that's fantastic too.

Not long ago, I helped a friend setup a few guitars at his shop. I could complete a setup my way, with my ruler and feeler gauges, before he could finish one using his strumming, adjusting, strumming, adjusting by feel method.

Any way you choose to perform a setup is "right" for you...no matter how much others may try to convince you their way is best... :)

View attachment 5623

View attachment 5624

View attachment 5625

View attachment 5626

View attachment 5628
Click to expand...

That's one fancy ruler Robert! You wanna sell it to me so I can get the perfect action like you have. I like burritos!;)


;>)/
 
BlackSG91 said:
How perfect can be perfect be? It's an oxymoron if you ask me. You are putting wat too much into this stuff...like really I find all this meaurement stuff too overwhellming and time consuming. That's just my opinion if you ask me.


;>)/
Click to expand...

Its faster to set to a specification than to set by feel....but however you prefer is ok. Contrary to what people will tell you, there is no one way to do a setup...what works for you is a great method... :-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top