I'm bummed

[Shoman]

Blunote, measuring exactly as you described, capo on 1st fret, depressing at the 17. measuring at the 8th fret there is exactly 2/64 relief on the low E. That is with the up tuned #12's on. Will leave it over night again and in the morning I'll measure again. Hope there is some additonal relief. I'm only at about 24 hours at this point so there could still be some movement.

 

My plan is to get up, measure, reset the bridge, get the string height correct, and then restring with number 12's uptuned for a few more days. Then if it moves further set the intonation and play away. If it doesn't give me more relief then I'll pack it up and send to Heritage.

 

I only have on other guitar that is a LP type of bridge and it's set perfectly. All of the other have individual saddles which are adjusted to the radius as far as string height. This is the first time I will be setting the bridge and intonation on an LP type of bridge. I have a cort with a similar bridge but it's string through without seperate "tailpiece"..

[rockabilly69]

 

rockabilly, no problem we just come from different points of view. I always work on things whether I'm qualified or not. Wouldn't dream of returning a guitar if I had damaged it. Also the seller suggested I put on heavier strings and up tune it. I had already gotten permission to retun but told him I really didn't want to return. Asked if he wanted to pay some of the freight to Heritage if I send it in. He hasn't answerd yet but it has no bearing on me keeping the guitar. I'm going to keep it because all that I've learned here makes me think I can do the fix and if not I can send it to Heritage for relatively little expense. I'm keeping the guitar anyway. if it's mine I can work on it without premission whether I'm qualified or not. It's how I have fun. There is no one here in town to "take the guitar to". There is only one good luthier and, he's not taking any new business even though I"ve seen him before. I actually paid him for a 30 minute chat. See him by apt only. Not taking phone calls untill sometime Like I said earlier, I'll probably send it in to Heritage if I need to but for me it's fun to try to fix it. I'll do my best not to muck it up. Too much fun not to try. Also the bridge is a seperate issue from the relief. The bridge is an easy adjustment and the neck is more problematic. that is why I approached the neck first. if it were a simple setup and the neck had "some" relief then I would have started with the bridge. Really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

 

Well then, have at it, have fun, and try not to do anything that can't be undone:) But if you do send it off, try and find somebody that is famous for great setups. Heritage themselves are not the greatest in this department, all three of my H150s had nut issues and high frets that kept me from getting the action low. I fixed one of them myself, and the other two went to the best guy I know. You can play with the relief all day long, but if the nut is badly cut, or you got a few high frets, all the tweaking of the trussrod and bridge will be futile. And if you're going to steer away from steel wool for your frets, try this... http://www.amazon.com/Rosette-Guitar-Polishing-Utimate-Cleaning/dp/B00BNVHCYM/ref=pd_cp_MI_2

[HANGAR18]

Called the luthier that is local here and he's not taking calls or any new business untill after the middle of the month. Small town, not much here in the way of qualified luthiers.

 

I noticed that you are in SW Florida. If you are willing to drive to SE Florida (doesn't seem too far to me) then you might try taking the guitar to Wolfe Guitars in Jupiter. They are right near the Interstate and they have a PLEK machine there too. I drove there once from Virginia a number of years ago just to see the shop. My second visit there during the summer I wound up buying a 535.

[Shoman]

Hey Good morning guys.

 

Got up this morning and the relief measured about the same as last night.

 

Made some slight adjustments to the bridge. Left the tail piece as is. I put number 10's on the guitar and tuned to pitch. High E =4/64////// Low E hair less than = 4/64

 

Measuring relief by putting a capo on 1 and depressing the 17th fret at the guitar body the relief measures .04 on the Low E side

 

I am currently not getting any fret buz. I have not had the time to complete any furhter measurements but will play it some more and do that tonight after work.

 

Did a quick check of the intonation and did not adjust any saddles forward or back. Sounds dead on but will use tuner tonight to recheck.

 

I really appreciate everyones help. All of the information and opinions were valid and very helpful.

 

 

 

Thank you.

[DetroitBlues]

Not offended at all. Called the luthier that is local here and he's not taking calls or any new business untill after the middle of the month. Small town, not much here in the way of qualified luthiers. the music shop that does some setup work does not do anything having to do with frets..He will make a truss rod adjustment. He has about 8 guitars in stock. The other music shop here uses an out of town luthier. That's it no more music shops, some pawn shops. I take that back. There is another shop here called,My Favorite Guitar Shop. He will see you by apt only and wants to know what you're looking for before giving you an apt. Never been there. LOL

I agree about the first trip to the luthier. Wish I had one to see. I left the one we have a message but he has not called back. Other people in town have told me I was lucky to have seen him at all as he's mostly retired. Has some health issue.

He was a nice guy and I enjoyed talking with him. Quite helpful.

 

Sounds like a business opportunity for you!

[Blunote]

Blunote, measuring exactly as you described, capo on 1st fret, depressing at the 17. measuring at the 8th fret there is exactly 2/64 relief on the low E. That is with the up tuned #12's on. Will leave it over night again and in the morning I'll measure again. Hope there is some additonal relief. I'm only at about 24 hours at this point so there could still be some movement.

 

My plan is to get up, measure, reset the bridge, get the string height correct, and then restring with number 12's uptuned for a few more days. Then if it moves further set the intonation and play away. If it doesn't give me more relief then I'll pack it up and send to Heritage.

 

I only have on other guitar that is a LP type of bridge and it's set perfectly. All of the other have individual saddles which are adjusted to the radius as far as string height. This is the first time I will be setting the bridge and intonation on an LP type of bridge. I have a cort with a similar bridge but it's string through without seperate "tailpiece"..

That's plenty of relief (.031) which is at least 3 times the amount most Luthiers would set up. The relief targets I've seen vary from .008 to .012.

 

Are you by any chance trying to use the truss rod to set action height rather than adjusting the bridge and/or nut?

[HANGAR18]

I put number 10's on the guitar and tuned to pitch. High E =4/64////// Low E hair less than = 4/64

 

I set my string height at each E-string to either 4 & 4 (64ths of an inch) or 4 & 3 as measured from the underside of the strings to the tops of the frets.

[Shoman]

That's plenty of relief (.031) which is at least 3 times the amount most Luthiers would set up. The relief targets I've seen vary from .008 to .012.

 

Are you by any chance trying to use the truss rod to set action height rather than adjusting the bridge and/or nut?

 

No, just a type O, It's 004. I'm old, just the way my fingers work. Got the same issue playing guitar. LOL

 

 

HANGAR, Yep, that works for me.

[Shoman]

 

Sounds like a business opportunity for you!

Words Hurt!! Stop being mean LOL

[tbonesullivan]

I'm here a bit late but here's some basic info:

 

-Heritage, like Gibson and many others, has a single action truss rod. It only can be used to remove a forward bow from the neck. It cannot be used to ADD a forward bow, as a dual action truss rod could.

 

-It sounds like there may be some high frets involved, or possibly distortion from gluing the neck in.

 

-Relief is, like others have said, mainly in the lower frets. Usually I hold down the 1st and 13th fret, and then tap at the 6th to see how much relief there is. You don't need a lot. Some in fact are fans of NO relief on their neck.

 

I have found that some necks are just freaking STIFF. Doesn't matter what gauge you put on them, they don't want to budge. They aren't backbowed, but they are just STRAIGHT. Thankfully I don't own any of these type of guitars anymore. They were VERY frustrating, just like guitars that you have to put a ton of turns on the truss rod to get it un bowed.

[Kuz]

The easiest way to check relief is to finger the 6th string at the 1st fret then finger the last fret (usually the 22nd) of the same string and reach your pinky of the hand fingering the last fret down to the 9th fret. Gently tap the 9th fret. If there is just a tiny bit of tap (in other words the string is not laying on the 9th fret) you are good to go. If you can tap the height of a piece of paper you are perfect.

 

I then do like Tbone said and fret at 1st & 17th of the low E and reach for the 7th fret. If I can tap at all, the relief is perfect.

 

Sighting down the neck the headstock down toward the bridge, you should see a slight bow on the low E side and the high E side should look almost dead straight.

[mtpatty]

this stuff here is the shizznit for cleaning frets and fretboards.... and is also available at stewmac-

 

http://www.gorgomyte.com

[Shoman]

Haven't got much play time in because of the remodel that 's going on but I have had some time and it's doing fine. Think I'll wait till my local guy has freed up and then go see him, let him check it over. I'm not getting any fret buzz at all now and the action is certainly low enough. Getting some nice tone and sustain seems good. The strings are hitting the bridge coming off the back of the saddles and I don't think that's a good thing but what do I know.

[golferwave]

Haven't got much play time in because of the remodel that 's going on but I have had some time and it's doing fine. Think I'll wait till my local guy has freed up and then go see him, let him check it over. I'm not getting any fret buzz at all now and the action is certainly low enough. Getting some nice tone and sustain seems good. The strings are hitting the bridge coming off the back of the saddles and I don't think that's a good thing but what do I know.

 

Glad it's doing better and sounding good! The string resting on the bridge edge is a common thing with many brands of LP style guitars. There's been discussion pro and con on the subject but I like to top wrap the strings on all of my LP and archtop style guitars that have the stop tailpiece. Doing that eliminates the issue for those of us that think it makes a difference. Enjoy your 150!

[Shoman]

Everyone gave me so much help and so many suggestions that I wanted to give you an update.

 

I was lucky to find a local who is a luthier. He mostly does work for the shops in this area and does not have a shop other than his home. He loves Heritage guitars. What a great situation. He's spent a bucket load of time with me explaining all the things you all were telling me and he's done a setup/restore that is outright amazing. I took some quick shots of the bridge and tail piece and of the frets that he cleaned polished and brought to a mirror finish. The Fretboard is amazing looking now but haven't taken pics of it yet.

 

I don't think these shots will show how good the frets look or how much better the P/U covers and bridge/tailpiece look but at least you should be able to see some of the difference.

 

I'll have to work on some better pics, but so far it's amazing.

I gotta tell you that I can't believe how lucky I am to have found this guy. He's just a great guy. He's spent better than 7 hours just talking with me in the last week and a half. I have no idea how many hours he's spent on the two guitars that I've taken him. According to him he does it because he loves it. He's been a musician for at least 45 years among other things. He's obviously done very well and has been retired since his 50's. He's still playing professionally. Has been on a few hit records in the past and was basically a studio musician, He is amazing with frets and necks, completely cleans and treats the fretboard, does intonation, resets bridge, tailpiece, polishes everything, metal, neck headstock, guitar front, back sides. He's amazing and If I were to tell you the price you wouldn't believe me.

 

He's got a great bass collection. That's what he plays. He's made from start to finish some absolutely greorgous guitars. Next time there, I'll get some pics. He talks about how much he loves wood and working with wood and it's obvious from what he does with it. What an interesting guy.

 

So long story short I feel like I found the treasures of Mel Fisher. I am very much the happy guy/

[golferwave]

Sounds like all has went well and glad you found a person you can depend upon to help you set up and get the very best out of your axes. Now you'll have to join the GAS club and start looking for your next Heritage!