Tommy's JZ-1 Build

[Swanny]

Have you got a notched straight edge to show you're not getting any adjustment? I bought a 600mm steel ruler from Bunnings, laid it across the fretboard, then marked the fret positions on the ruler. I then used a grinder to cut out the fret positions so I could lay the ruler along the neck to check it's straightness.

[Simon Barden]

Did you mean 'more relief' i.e. a bigger distance from the 12th fret to the strings, or 'less relief' i.e. less distance from the 12th fret to the strings?

More relief is achieved by loosening off the truss rod (turning the hex-key to the left/anti-clockwise), less relief by tightening the truss rod (turning the hex-key to the right/clockwise).

If you do want a bigger string/fret gap and the nut has been turned anti-clockwise until it's loose, then that's it. You won't get more relief without fitting a heavier string gauge so the extra tension adds more curve to the neck.

If you are trying to tighten the truss rod and you can't feel any resistance, then 1) either the truss rod nut is still very loose and simply needs a lot more tightening, or 2) attempting to tighten it in the past when it was already very stiff and near-impossible to turn further has resulted in a broken truss rod. Once you get to the point where you can't turn the truss-rod clockwise with the standard hex key, then don't try and turn it further or put a metal tube over the key for more leverage as you'll snap the end of the truss rod. (Loosening then removing the truss rod nut, blowing out any swarf in the nut and the truss-rod cavity and then putting a small drop of oil or smear of light grease on the thread can sometimes get you a bit more movement).

If you can't remember the truss rod ever getting very tight when turning it clockwise, then it's more likely to be just a loose truss rod nut that still needs tightening.

Your overall action will be set by a combination of neck relief, nut slot height and saddle height. I like to set my necks so that they are almost flat, then set the saddle heights up so that I can play all the way up the neck without strings choking when I bend them then lower the nut slots as much as possible without the strings buzzing on the first fret.

With a truss rod that's adjustable from the headstock end, the curve adjustment is only effective up until around the 17th fret. Above that, the truss rod has no real effect, so your minimum saddle height can generally be determined by setting up for playability on the very top frets. Straightening the neck (reducing the amount of concave bow) will then bring the overall string height down.

But if the frets on the neck are of uneven heights, then there's no guarantee that you wont have to raise the bridge/saddles in order to get the neck playing cleanly all along its length. Some slight saddle height increase can normally be tolerated, but too much and you really need to do a fret levelling and reprofiling exercise.

[tommycarlos]

Yes, I meant more relief, as in loosening the truss rod.

The neck currently is almost flat, it might even have the tiniest back bow. I can get the action to be pretty nice, but after a certain point I start getting buzzing in the lower frets. The nut is also a tiny bit too high, but with the neck not being adjustable, I might need to leave it that way or face even more lower fret buzz.

[tommycarlos]

Certainly worth trying 11s. Offsets traditionally benefit from 11s or 12s, but the JZ-1 has plenty of break angle at the bridge, so it’s less of an issue for the traditional reasons.

I have pretty bad arthritis, so heavy strings worry me, but I am willing to try it.

[tommycarlos]

Actually... I have a set of 10-52's lying around (it's what I used to use on my Les Paul when I was in a punk band, heh). I wonder if that'd be enough. It only needs the tiniest bit.

[Fretworn]

If this doesn't work you can always front-shim the neck to slightly change the neck angle.

[Simon Barden]

It may be worth trying heavier strings on it just to pull the neck forwards. Find a cheap set of .012"s on eBay. Don't try to play it with the strings on, just get it up to tune and leave it for a few weeks to see if anything happens in the bow department. If it does, you could then try putting your normal gauge strings back on and see how much of the extra bow then remains.

I've seen YouTube videos of people hanging weights from the middle of the neck to try and add/remove bow. It's normally worked but I have no idea how long any bow created this way remains in the long run. You could try this, but as I have the tools to do it, this is the point where I'd look at levelling the frets to see if that would help (a notched edge would certainly tell if you had any slight back-bow in the neck). If that turned out to be unsuccessful and I couldn't get the action down low enough, then I'd seriously start thinking about a new neck.

[stan]

with bending the neck, it will often return to its original shape after time - its what wood does.
However with the application of heat, the change tends to be permanent. You can use specific and expensive heating blankets - or you can use warm air from a heat gun during bending/ tension. Just dont burn the timber and you will need to experiment with time and heat - which may not be practical for you

[Andyxlh]

I have found that if you leave the guitar strung up for the first time the relief will change a little anyway. It might be worth leaving it as is for a week or two and seeing if the neck settles in under the string tension, it might!

[tommycarlos]

It’s such a bummer, cause it seems like I could have gotten the action really low on it. As it is, it’s still about the same as my Jag. About 1.5mm at the 12th fret (with a capo on the first fret).

But there is still a slight buzz on the first and second frets at that height.