Charvel setup

[AndyK]

Well, Warmoth sent me the wrong trem block (32 vs. 37). I have to send the OFR back to them for an exchange. They better eat the return shipping costs!

I noticed that the base plate on the Korean Floyd is much thicker than the OFR's, you can see it in Mike's photos too. Wonder if the Korean metal is less dense, or if the OFR is just lighter than the Korean? So far, to me, they look pretty much the same, except for the cheap coating on the string lock screws and other nuts.

[shortguy]

Could you post a link to the Floyd you ordered Andy so if I need one I'll have a idea. When you get the trem block mess up straightened out. Thanks.

[Grandturk]

So has anyone compared the import Floyd to a new OFR? I'm curious to see if a 2008 OFR is the exact same as a 1984 OFR.

[straycat]

My SD-1 is a first run (2 hum red)and it is top notch all the way.
No problems anywhere set up was damn good for the most part I did have to tweak it very little.
I'm not sure how early mine is it came from the Reps personal stash.It has a 4 digit serial number not the 6 digit like all the others I've seen.Just remember shortguy you don't have to screw the screws that tight for them to hold.
[/IMG]

[Grandturk]

wow thats a blurry pic.

my style 1 was also very nice out of the box. i polished the frets - but other than that it was fine... and the black paint was awesomely finished.

[AndyK]

Could you post a link to the Floyd you ordered Andy so if I need one I'll have a idea. When you get the trem block mess up straightened out. Thanks.

It's just the Floyd Rose Original that Warmoth has on their website, in black. They don't offer a choice in block sizes, and said they sent me the 32 by accident. 32 is for recessed Floyds, 37 is what our new Charvels need.

[shortguy]

Thanks Andy. Most helpful.

[shortguy]

Thanks Stray. Yeah, I kept telling myself not too tight. Overdone it this time.

[straycat]

We all live and learn shortguy.I'm sure the locking screw is fine you just pulled the threads out of the saddle would be my guess.

[ransomnix]

I think you have the right idea shredder. What I know is all the business about the .010" relief is for those who do not have the necessary tools to check the flatness of the neck properly. If you use the .010" relief at whatever fret, it means you haven't gone too far and tweaked the neck in the wrong direction. The best setup neck is a neck that is absolutely perfectly flat with .000" relief. Is that attainable? No, but you can get it much closer than .010". What you need is a real machinist/toolmakers scale, 18"-24" long 1" wide, 3/32" - to 1/8" thick. A Starrett or Brown and Sharpe will do just fine although the Starrett is around $90 on Amazon, the Brown and Sharpe around $70. There is a cheaper alternative 24" aluminum straight edge guaranteed to be straight within .001" on Amazon for around $28 but you do not want to ding it other wise......There are luthiers scales as well. In any case when you set that scale down the length in the middle of the neck you can usually get a neck very flat with the appropriate way to check the flatness i.e. no space or minimal space under the frets. I have setup too many guitars. The flatter the neck, the lower the action can go. Take the bridge down until the strings touch the frets then start bringing it up first a half turn at a time then a quarter then an eighth and so on until you get rid of the buzz. If you have a fret or two that buzz, then you'll need to work those frets over slowly and carefully with the appropriate files and polishing stuff and protective stuff to get it right. If you want it low and still singing, that's how it's done.

[ransomnix]

I think you have the right idea. What I know is all the business about the .010" relief is for those who do not have the necessary tools to check the flatness of the neck properly. If you use the .010" relief at whatever fret, it means you haven't gone too far and tweaked the neck in the wrong direction. The best setup neck is a neck that is absolutely perfectly flat with .000" relief. Is that attainable? No, but you can get it much closer than .010". What you need is a real machinist/toolmakers scale, 18"-24" long 1" wide, 3/32" - to 1/8" thick. A Starrett or Brown and Sharpe will do just fine although the Starrett is around $90 on Amazon, the Brown and Sharpe around $70. There is a cheaper alternative 24" aluminum straight edge guaranteed to be straight within .001" on Amazon for around $28 but you do not want to ding it other wise......There are luthiers scales as well. In any case when you set that scale down the length in the middle of the neck you can usually get a neck very flat with the appropriate way to check the flatness i.e. no space or minimal space under the frets. I have setup too many guitars. The flatter the neck, the lower the action can go. Take the bridge down until the strings touch the frets then start bringing it up first a half turn at a time then a quarter then an eighth and so on until you get rid of the buzz. If you have a fret or two that buzz, then you'll need to work those frets over slowly and carefully with the appropriate files and polishing stuff and protective stuff to get it right. If you want it low and still singing, that's how it's done.

[CaptNasty]

Hey shortguy, welcome to the forums. The clearance (e.g, 0.010j is just a guideline. The lower you take the action the more likely you are to add buzz to the strings. Each guitar is unique, so 0.010 might work fine on one guitar but cause another one to buzz. Likewise too much or too little relief comes with it’s own set of problems including buzz. The ultimate gauge is how the guitar sounds and plays.

The procedure I use for setting neck relief is to leave the guitar tuned, place a capo on the first fret, depress the high E at the last fret on the fretboard then measure at the 7th fret. Repeat for the low E. Remember you are measuring clearance from the top of the fretwire to the bottom of the string, not from the fretboard. I use a feeler gauge to get an idea of the clearance but again, sound and feel is my ultimate guide.

Compounding the issue is that Charvel and Jackson use compound radius fretboards (pun totally intended). You need to know what the radius is at the fret you are measuring if your intent is to set the guideline clearance and run with that. There is a tool for measuring that, but I do not have one since I go more on feel.

If the guitar is as way off, you may consider lowering the bridge height.

Here is a good article from FMIC on measuring neck relief:

http://www2.fender.com/experience/tech-talk/how-to-measure-neck-relief/

[ed]

Set up of a guitar is allways important but just so everyone knows this thread is almost 10 years old =)

[toejam]

Hey shortguy, welcome to the forums. [/URL]

He joined in 2009 when he first started this thread.

[CaptNasty]

He joined in 2009 when he first started this thread.

I see that. Never thought a thread that was responded to today would be a 10 year old necro. Thought we actually had a fast mover.