Guest HRB853370 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I am the original owner, and I know exactly where it has been. In my home, never taken out. Yes, its true it has not been played too much over the years, and true it is 10 years old. There should be and there is nothing wrong with the frets. They are not loose, worn, or raised, so all this talk about a fret leveling or crown makes absolutely no sense to me. The speak about adjusting the action by turning the little thumbwheels DOES make sense to me, albeit there seems to be differening opinions on this subject from the previous replies. The bottom line here, is I brought the guitar in to get a setup, and specifically asked him to lower the action. This was the result: 1) He straighted the neck, which apparently had too much relief, and restrung it. 2) He did not adjust the bridge (according to what he said) 3) He did not file or do anything with the nut 4) My action is STILL too high off the fretboard I am not happy with the results. I can take it back to him (with some hesitation), or I can take it to the nearest shop with certified luthiers, which would be Southeast Guitar Repair in Atlanta. I am sure those guys WILL get it right, but at additional cost to me. I doubt that the shop I took it to will refund me my $45, but I have the option of disputing the amount on my VISA, since he did not do what I asked him to do. It happens everyday; people having to re-do other people's work because they don't do it right in the first place, or they just don't listen to the customer and what the customer is asking for! I did not get what I asked for!
GuitArtMan Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I am the original owner, and I know exactly where it has been. In my home, never taken out. Yes, its true it has not been played too much over the years, and true it is 10 years old. There should be and there is nothing wrong with the frets. They are not loose, worn, or raised, so all this talk about a fret leveling or crown makes absolutely no sense to me. The speak about adjusting the action by turning the little thumbwheels DOES make sense to me, albeit there seems to be differening opinions on this subject from the previous replies. The bottom line here, is I brought the guitar in to get a setup, and specifically asked him to lower the action. This was the result: 1) He straighted the neck, which apparently had too much relief, and restrung it. 2) He did not adjust the bridge (according to what he said) 3) He did not file or do anything with the nut 4) My action is STILL too high off the fretboard I am not happy with the results. I can take it back to him (with some hesitation), or I can take it to the nearest shop with certified luthiers, which would be Southeast Guitar Repair in Atlanta. I am sure those guys WILL get it right, but at additional cost to me. I doubt that the shop I took it to will refund me my $45, but I have the option of disputing the amount on my VISA, since he did not do what I asked him to do. It happens everyday; people having to re-do other people's work because they don't do it right in the first place, or they just don't listen to the customer and what the customer is asking for! I did not get what I asked for! Skinsallmer, I'm not trying to come off as pushy or rub salt in a wound so if it comes out that way, that is not my intent. I'm trying to be educational but I know I can be terse and blunt so here goes: First - I absolutely would expect a new Heritage to need a fret level/crown/polish. EVERYONE of mine has needed it. Let me restate that EVERYONE of mine has needed it. Now I'm anal when it comes to frets and I expect perfection but I have just not found it on any new Heritage I've played. Even the Plecked ones had issues in my book. They need to see how Tom Anderson, Don Grosh, Michael Tuttle, PRS etc. do frets. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. You DO NOT adjust action by adjusting the truss rod and if anyone says you do you should pick up your guitar and walk away. You add or remove relief from the neck using the truss rod. The truss rod is there to counteract the pull of the strings and keep the neck straight. Does having to much or too little reliefe in the neck effect the action? Absolutely. But you DO NOT adjust the action with the truss rod. The thumbhweels on the bridge ABSOLUTELY ARE there to adjust the action. Anyone who says otherwise pick up your guitar and walk away. A "set up" to me includes a fret level/crown/polish (often called a fret dressing), adjusting the nut, setting the action and intonation, adjust pickups, making sure everything is adjusted properly. It may also include a new nut nut if necessary and some bridge work if required (making sure the saddles are the proper radius, the notches are in the right place and well shaped and smooth, etc.). I would expect to pay around $120 for a basic set up, more if a new nut has to be made or bridge saddles need to be replaced. If you want it done right and are willing to ship the guitar, contact Michael Tuttle at http://www.bestfrets.com/ and tell him Bob Faulkner sent ya. It aint gonna be cheap, but you wont find better.
GuitArtMan Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 One thing i have found with Heritages across the board...1986-2010, is that the style of truss rod they use, it is very hard to get a neck "just right" That leaves the fretwork to be the BIG factor is action and setup!!!! That statement scares the bejebees out of me.
Spectrum13 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Will, Trying to stay out of this but since I had that 150 in my hands... The nut was still "factory" high and thus the cause of 50% of the high action. Going from the factory set up to a personal setup starts with some imput from the player as to how close the strings need to be to the first fret. Near the end of Erlwine's book he provides the distance to the first fret for a number of different guitars and artists so you get an idea of how this will vary. Since you have a few hundred pounds of guitars in your basement, see which one has the action you like the most and measure the distance on that one with a feeler of use the cheep method suggested by Dan Erlwine but using different guitar strings. If you capo the first fret and like the way it feels on the 2-5 frets, you like the nut slot cut deep. Southeast... IMO they are a bunch of D-bags. They might tell you you need a level & crown or worse like remove the frets, plane the finger board and refret. Your luck may be different. I went there with my Guild flattop which needed a neckset. They suggested taking down the bridge. As a Guild authorized service center they should have asked for my bill of sale and sent it to Fender Nashville for the factory warrenty neck set I latter received.
NoNameBand Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 First - I absolutely would expect a new Heritage to need a fret level/crown/polish. EVERYONE of mine has needed it. Let me restate that EVERYONE of mine has needed it. Now I'm anal when it comes to frets and I expect perfection but I have just not found it on any new Heritage I've played. Even the Plecked ones had issues in my book. They need to see how Tom Anderson, Don Grosh, Michael Tuttle, PRS etc. do frets. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. The thumbhweels on the bridge ABSOLUTELY ARE there to adjust the action. Anyone who says otherwise pick up your guitar and walk away. A "set up" to me includes a fret level/crown/polish (often called a fret dressing), adjusting the nut, setting the action and intonation, adjust pickups, making sure everything is adjusted properly. It may also include a new nut nut if necessary and some bridge work if required (making sure the saddles are the proper radius, the notches are in the right place and well shaped and smooth, etc.). I would expect to pay around $120 for a basic set up, more if a new nut has to be made or bridge saddles need to be replaced. I agree with the afore mentioned. I believe that most guitars come from the manufacturer with average/standard set-up. Some like the action higher, so lower. It becomes a matter of taste. Most jazz nuts like it as low as it can go. Typically, in order to get this low, it takes a fret job which will include using glue on the frets to keep them from moving with humidity which is how they work loose. I was saying with Slammer's guitar, the "thumbhweels (on the bridge ABSOLUTELY ARE there to adjust the action)", are probably as low as they can go which is why I said "don't worry about the frets". Slammer's guitar most likely needs more than a thumbhweel adjustment. I have all of my guitars set-up when I get them as they are never low enough for me. It usually, requires a fret dress and if not then, in a couple of years. I'm just say'in
Guest HRB853370 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Skinsallmer, I'm not trying to come off as pushy or rub salt in a wound so if it comes out that way, that is not my intent. I'm trying to be educational but I know I can be terse and blunt so here goes: First - I absolutely would expect a new Heritage to need a fret level/crown/polish. EVERYONE of mine has needed it. Let me restate that EVERYONE of mine has needed it. Now I'm anal when it comes to frets and I expect perfection but I have just not found it on any new Heritage I've played. Even the Plecked ones had issues in my book. They need to see how Tom Anderson, Don Grosh, Michael Tuttle, PRS etc. do frets. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. You DO NOT adjust action by adjusting the truss rod and if anyone says you do you should pick up your guitar and walk away. You add or remove relief from the neck using the truss rod. The truss rod is there to counteract the pull of the strings and keep the neck straight. Does having to much or too little reliefe in the neck effect the action? Absolutely. But you DO NOT adjust the action with the truss rod. The thumbhweels on the bridge ABSOLUTELY ARE there to adjust the action. Anyone who says otherwise pick up your guitar and walk away. A "set up" to me includes a fret level/crown/polish (often called a fret dressing), adjusting the nut, setting the action and intonation, adjust pickups, making sure everything is adjusted properly. It may also include a new nut nut if necessary and some bridge work if required (making sure the saddles are the proper radius, the notches are in the right place and well shaped and smooth, etc.). I would expect to pay around $120 for a basic set up, more if a new nut has to be made or bridge saddles need to be replaced. If you want it done right and are willing to ship the guitar, contact Michael Tuttle at http://www.bestfrets.com/ and tell him Bob Faulkner sent ya. It aint gonna be cheap, but you wont find better. GuitarArt, thanks for your input! Like I said, I am learning about this process, and what a process it is! Drummers really only have to worry about occasionally changing heads, and tuning. There is no setup, other than the chores of setting the kit up for a gig, which can be a chore in itself. I guess I must have gotten the "budget" setup. I realize I will have to pay more to get what I really want out of this guitar. Thanks again!
Guest HRB853370 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Will, Trying to stay out of this but since I had that 150 in my hands... The nut was still "factory" high and thus the cause of 50% of the high action. Going from the factory set up to a personal setup starts with some imput from the player as to how close the strings need to be to the first fret. Near the end of Erlwine's book he provides the distance to the first fret for a number of different guitars and artists so you get an idea of how this will vary. Since you have a few hundred pounds of guitars in your basement, see which one has the action you like the most and measure the distance on that one with a feeler of use the cheep method suggested by Dan Erlwine but using different guitar strings. If you capo the first fret and like the way it feels on the 2-5 frets, you like the nut slot cut deep. Southeast... IMO they are a bunch of D-bags. They might tell you you need a level & crown or worse like remove the frets, plane the finger board and refret. Your luck may be different. I went there with my Guild flattop which needed a neckset. They suggested taking down the bridge. As a Guild authorized service center they should have asked for my bill of sale and sent it to Fender Nashville for the factory warrenty neck set I latter received. Dan, that is an interesting comment, and I bet your right about the nut. I asked the guy that set it up if the nut had any problems and he said NO. Perhaps there is some incompetence with their technical knowledge of guitar setups. I am sorry you had a bad experience with SE Guitar. I have used them once for a pickup install on my 62 RI Strat with no problems. They were not basement cheap, but did the work correctly. I have met the owner, Mike Marshall and he seems to take pride in the shop and his employees. I am going to take Mark's advice about finding out in advance what they think is needed and a cost estimate. I may just get the Schaller bridge and tailpiece changed out at the same time, to TonePros, which I hear is much better. I regret that your guitar tech, Peter Jones could not or would not work on my guitar, as it would have been very convenient, but thats life. What are my alternatives? Guitar Center? Ken Stanton Music?
Spectrum13 Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Atlanta discount music. I have an extra nashville tone pros bridge and tailpiece. You can have it Will.
Guest HRB853370 Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Atlanta discount music. I have an extra nashville tone pros bridge and tailpiece. You can have it Will. What about that place in Buckhead, I think its called Maple Street guitars?
Spectrum13 Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 What about that place in Buckhead, I think its called Maple Street guitars? Depends what you have to have done. Good for a flat top but they did a poor fret dress on my Fender.
NoNameBand Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Stick with it Will, you're on the right track.
smurph1 Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 Thanks for explaining the variables that go into this. One thing I really dont get is why the frets would even need to be leveled or crowned (not sure what that term means) if this guitar has been played very little, and is essentially still a new guitar. Is the implication that Heritage did a poor job with the frets to begin with? Or is it more of a case that time and climatic conditions will cause the frets to change? hope this helps some..i had to take my brand new 535 in for a fret leveling job..Over the course of 6 months, they had popped up a bit and with a $20 fret leveling and crowning job, My sweetie plays like Buttah now..hope you have the same success as well..Rock On..Scott
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