Neck adjustment/relief - ST-1

[Mmack089]

So I’m trying to set up my ST-1. Initially when I had first put the guitar together, there was a lot of buzzing on all strings and frets, to the point that you couldn’t even ring out a note. At that point I raised the saddles up as far as they could go, which fixed nearly all the buzzing.

So from what I understand, the first step of the setup is to adjust the neck. So being that my bridge isn’t correct, and I just raised it to max, I lowered it again to an average bridge height, which of course brought some buzzing back.

So in terms of checking the neck relief, I watched some YouTube videos to help me along. I put a capo on the first fret and pressed down on the last fret of the guitar. I put a feeler gauge (10th of an inch) at the seventh fret. It seems there was no relief and the gauge was pushing the string up. So I’ve turned the truss rod anti-clockwise to add relief, but it doesn’t seem to of changed much.

Just want to know if I’m on the right track on setting up the guitar, and know how does adjusting the neck relief work in relation to the bridge height?

It also seems like the action is high on the first few frets, I had a look and the nut looks very high. How can I safely file it down without any damage?

Thanks

[McCreed]

You're definitely on the right track. The basic elements of guitar setup are indeed neck relief and string height at the nut and bridge.

However, there are lots of little things in between, and those three basic adjustments all interact. In other words, you change one, the others are also effected.

If your saddles are adjusted as high they'll go and you're still getting buzz, it could require work to the neck pocket or shimming to change the neck angle. (hard to say exactly which without seeing it)

Also, did you do a fret level?

It seems there was no relief and the gauge was pushing the string up. So I’ve turned the truss rod anti-clockwise to add relief, but it doesn’t seem to of changed much.

Are you feeling resistance when you turn the rod nut? What happens when you turn it clockwise?

PBG truss rods are dual action, meaning you can affect a convex or concave bow via the rod. At some point in between these two positions, you should feel the rod nut go "loose". At that point the rod is not putting any stress on the neck in either direction.
You can check the basic action of the truss rod without any strings on (or completely loosened) and a steel rule at least 450mm long. If you lay the edge of the rule along the centre of the fretboard on top of the frets, you should see the changes in the bow after turning the rod in each direction. (check after each 1/4 turn)
This will at least tell whether the truss rod is working or there is a problem.

FWIW, I've had two PBG necks with faulty rods, but Adam replaced both. It's generally a good idea to do these checks prior to carrying out any work on the kit so it can be addressed early.

It also seems like the action is high on the first few frets, I had a look and the nut looks very high. How can I safely file it down without any damage?

In regard to the nut action, The best method is to file each slot to the appropriate depth, but if you don't have a full set of nut files, you can adjust the overall height of the nut by sanding the bottom. The trick is keeping the nut perfectly flat and square whilst sanding. Otherwise you can end up with a wonky angle and the nut doesn't sit properly in the fretboard nut slot or make good solid contact with the slot bottom. Take your time, adjust in small increments and check your progress frequently.

[Simon Barden]

If you are filing the bottom of the nut, it will need to come off the guitar. You'll need to tap the nut lightly from the sides until it comes loose. Clean up the slot and the nut from the old glue. You don't need to glue it when checking string height a sstring tension will hold it in place. You can stick it back in once finished with PVA or Titebond, or else a couple of very small dabs of superglue (not too much superglue or you'll find it really hard to remove if you need to replace it in the future).

[McCreed]

If you are filing the bottom of the nut, it will need to come off the guitar. You'll need to tap the nut lightly from the sides until it comes loose.

D'oh!!! Just a minor oversight on my part! I should have mentioned that bit. Thanks Simon!

[Mmack089]

Hi, Thanks for your reply.

It seemed like by raising the saddles a bit more (which there actually was still room to do) most of the buzzing was removed which is good. With the truss rod, when turning anti clockwise it just seems to loosen the nut, and turning it the other way still tightens it. What do you do in regards to the fret level?

Is starting to feel okay around the middle and higher frets in terms of the action, but yeah the first few frets is where the action seems high. The nut slots themselves don’t seem deep at all. I do have a small set of the welding torch tip cleaners which supposedly work as nut files. They seem to match up in sizes with the nut slots. Just looking on how I can do this without ruining the nut by filing too much or something.

Thanks.