Let me preface this page by stating that I am a guitar dealer, not a technical
advisor for the world. Technical support is available for guitars purchased from
Ibanez Rules only. If I sold you the guitar just email me your problem and
include the model and approximate purchase date. Otherwise, I do not have the
time to solve the worlds problems, and the 20-30 emails a day asking for help
prompt me to write this message. The articles on this page were written to try
and assist those that need help. They were written as simply as I could explain
and if there is something in them you don't understand please try and find
somebody else to help you understand. If I had the time I would write many
more pages to add, but I do not. Bottom line is that trying to diagnose something
sight unseen is far too time consuming and often virtually impossible. Nothing
can replace real hands and real eyes and anybody having problems that can't be
diagnosed should seek the help of a qualified local tech. And no, I don't want to
hear a sob story about how there are none for 200 miles, I've heard it all before.
Network with other guitar players as many of them know as much as most store
techs. None of this is rocket science and in short, most is just common sense.
There are always knowledgeable people willing to help in the tech section of the
Jemsite forum where I do answer questions when I have the time, but as with all
free advice, you get what you pay for.

Setup

1. Stretching Strings
2. Tuning The Floating Trem
3. Lockdown and Fine Tuning
4. Trem Angle
5. Action Height
6. Truss Rod
7. Nut Height
8. Intonation
9. Breaking Strings
10. Pickup Height
11. EDGE ZERO / EZII / ZR / ZR2 / ZPS UNITS   
12. Removing The Trem
13. Replacing Lo Pro/Edge Studs
14. Squeaky Trem Bar
15. Loose Arm Holder
16. Tuning Stability Problems
17. Fat Knife Edges and Bad Studs
 18. Sharpening Knife Edges
19. Trem To Pickguard Interference
20. Rounded Intonation Screw
21. Locking Stud Mod For Edge Pro
22. Fine Tuner Range On Edge Pro Wound Strings
23. Extremely Sensitive Springs
24. Tips For A Stiff Guitar
25. I Bend A String  and The Others Go Flat
26. Temperature and Setup
27. Noisy Piezo Output
28. Picking Your Combo Lock
29. How To Reset Your Combo Lock
30. Repairing A Cracked Neck
31. Cleaning Matte Clearcoat
32. JEM90th Pickguard Corrosion
 

Used Guitar Primer - Cleanup To Setup

This is a 9 page folder that walks you through everything from cleaning your
headstock to dealing with tricky setups. Long winded but full of little tricks and
tips. A good general overview with each step more fully explained in the Tech
section.

1. Stretching Strings
There's a good reason this is the first section in Tech, and that's because this is the most
common user error when it comes to floating trem systems. Strings of course stretch when
you play them, everybody should be familiar with the concept. With a hardtail or fixed
bridge, if you don't stretch the strings and do some bending you just have to retune the
stretched strings back to pitch. The strings that stretched also didn't affect the pitch of the
other strings. This is not the case with a floating system. Floating trems are simply, a pain
in the ass! You really have to *want* to enjoy the benefits of a great double locking system
to put up with all the technicalities and *rules* you must follow to get the most out of it,
while causing you the least amount of distress. If you've never had one before you will have
a steep learning curve before you will feel confident with the system, but that's why this
Tech section exists. There is alot to know, so get started reading, but don't just *read*,
*comprehend*. ;o}
In a double locking system where the strings are locked at the nut and bridge, what affects
one string will affect them all. If your low E stretches just a little and goes flat the rest of
the bridge will compensate and the other strings will go sharp. You've decreased the overall
tension of the strings without decreasing the overall tension the springs are applying to the
bridge [the springs are still pulling just as hard so they will pull the rest of the strings
sharp]. There's a reason when a suspension bridge is built the cables are pre-stretched
before they are ever hung, otherwise when you finished the bridge you might be driving on
water. Steel [or any other wire] will stretch when put under tension, and will stretch ALOT.
This will be amplified because a floating system can be pulled up to raise the pitch, which
is pulling harder than a typical string bend will. I cannot stress enough how important it is
to fully stretch new strings until they will not stretch any more, before you ever lock the nut
the first time. There's also a funny thing about stretched wire. You can put new strings on
your guitar today, fully stretch the strings until it's perfect. Put that guitar away for 2 weeks
and pull it out. Give the low E a good pull and watch how far it drops in pitch. The metal
will realign at the molecular level and will need to be stretched again after it does. This *re-
stretch* is very quick as it will only take one good stretch to fully stretch this string again,
unlike a new string which you might stretch for 5 minutes straight to get all the stretch out
of it. [I absolutely HATE 7 strings because the low B just takes forever to stretch in fully]

How To Stretch Your Strings

Of course you will need a tuner and the full guitar should be tuned to pitch, or pretty close,
before you begin [perfect pitch of the whole bridge will be lost in the stretching anyway,
but you want it close]. I always start with the high E because I save the hardest work for
last. The smaller the string diameter the less it will stretch, and the easier it is to break! Care
should be taken when stretching the high E [sometimes the B] and the D string as the inner
core of a D is actually about a .010 gauge string.

Grab the string mid scale and pull it back and forth simulating the hardest bend and vibrato
you would ever put on a high E string. As I'm stretching I'll slide up and down the string to
about the 1/3 to 2/3 point to get a more even stretch along it's length than just pulling in one
spot. Stop, check the pitch and retune. Stretch again. Repeat until you can stretch it twice in
a row with no drop in pitch. Move to the next string and repeat. The bigger the gauge the
harder you should be pulling it to get all the stretch out of it. When I'm stretching wound
strings I'm more worried about pulling a saddle forward than anything else, I pull them that
hard when stretching them out. It will take me 10 minutes to fully stretch in a 6 string, and I
do this for a living. Expect it to take you longer as you might not feel comfortable exerting
the forces on the strings that I do, after all I have 30 or 40 spare packs of strings and singles
lying around, it's no biggie if I break one, and I do break them fairly often. The whole point
is that if your strings are not **fully** stretched you can expect them to go out of tune after
you start playing the guitar, or especially, start wanking around on the whammy. When the
strings are **fully** stretched you can be as violent as you want with the whammy bar and
always expect it to return to perfect pitch [given that there are no other bugs keeping your
system from a correct return, covered in other sections here]

 
 

2. Tuning The Floating Trem

Tuning a floater will usually frustrate a novice to no end. There are many tricks to help
speed the job along, but, you must learn to deal with the fact it's a pain in the ass. OK?
Once you concede this you'll stop pulling your hair out and learn the tricks, and in time
could become really good at it ;)

Understanding a floater is pretty simple. If you tighten one string the rest will loosen. If you
loosen one string the rest will get tighter. It floats. To understand it think of it this way. You
tighten one string to raise it's pitch, it pulls the bridge just a hair forward [because
remember, it floats!] When the bridge is pulled forward it's doing a mini whammy dive,
which, makes the rest of the strings go flat. This holds true if all your strings are 5 cents flat
or 5 dollars flat ;)

I always tune from low E to high E except in rare circumstances. While checking the tuning
it is very wise to check the trem angle, adjusting the trem angle will affect the tuning of the
whole bridge. If the trem angle is negative and the strings are all sharp, loosening the trem
to neutral will correct much of the sharp tuning. If the bridge is too far forward [the tail is
too high] and the strings are all flat, tightening the springs will adjust the trem and pull all
the strings sharper. Trem angle and tuning go hand in hand with the end goal being a
correct setup, but right now we're just going to deal with how to get the whole bridge into
perfect tune.

The nut pads are loose and you will not touch them again until after the guitar is in tune and
you have fully stretched the strings and checked over the rest of the setup.

Plug into a tuner and read the pitch of all 6 strings. Are they all in tune? Then what are you
reading this for?!

Are they all flat? Are they all sharp? Are they sharp and flat?

They're All Flat

Are they all a little flat? Or allot flat? This will determine how high you'll over tune.

Overtune. I always call it force tuning. Since raising the pitch of one string makes the rest
fall flat, tune the string to a much higher pitch than in tune. Why? Let's say you tune E to
pitch, when you tune A to pitch E goes flat. If you tune E to F then when you tune A the E
will only drop a little. But of course you want to tune A to B, you still have 4 more strings
to make both the E and A [then D and G etc.] flatter. With each progressive string you want
to overtune, but just a little less over than the previous string, you have fewer strings left to
tune to pull it flat. When you get to B you're tuning it just a little sharp and then E tune to
pitch. Go back and check how close the strings are. Repeat until in tune. I AM NOT
WORRIED ABOUT OVER TUNING TO ANY EXACT PITCH!. I'm trying to speed the
process not worry about how perfect the pitch is I'm over tuning to, just close, and fast!
Busy fingers jumping from tuner to tuner while listening to the pitch.

How high you over tune depends on how far flat all the strings are. If a guitar is 1/2 step
flat on all strings I'd probably start by running the wound E to G, the A to a sharp B, the D
to a E, G to A, B to B#, E to tune. Check and repeat to the degree necessary. That's what I'll
tell you, but personally I just start cranking all the strings sharp, just running low E to high
E, overtuning and just listening to the pitch until I know I'm close, then I'll start paying
attention to the tuner basically for fine tuning. Of course if everything is just a little flat
then you want to make much smaller changes like tuning E to F. After some practice you'll
get the hang of it. Remember that this same principal works for fine tuning with the fine
tuners, over tuning on the micro level ;)

They're All Sharp

Are they all a little sharp? Or allot sharp? This will determine how high you'll drop tune.

Drop tuning. I always call it force tuning. Since lowering the pitch of one string makes the
rest go sharp, tune the string to a much lower pitch than in tune. Why? Let's say you tune E
to pitch, when you tune A to pitch E goes sharp. If you tune E to C# then when you tune A
the E will only raise a little. But of course you want to tune A to G, you still have 4 more
strings to make both the E and A [then D and G etc.] sharper. With each progressive string
you want to drop tune, but just a little less dropped than the previous string, you have fewer
strings left to tune to pull it sharp. When you get to B you're tuning it just a little flat and
then E tune to pitch. Go back and check how close the strings are. Repeat until in tune. I
AM NOT WORRIED ABOUT DROP TUNING TO ANY EXACT PITCH!. I'm trying to
speed the process not worry about how perfect the pitch is I'm drop tuning to, just close,
and fast! Busy fingers jumping from tuner to tuner while listening to the pitch.

How low you drop tune depends on how far sharp all the strings are. If a guitar is 1/2 step
sharp on all strings I'd probably start by running the wound E to C#, the A to F#, the D to a
C, G to F, B to Bb, E to tune. Check and repeat to the degree necessary. That's what I'll tell
you, but personally I just start cranking all the strings flat, just running low E to high E,
drop tuning and just listening to the pitch until I know I'm close, then I'll start paying
attention to the tuner basically for fine tuning. Of course if everything is just a little sharp
then you want to make much smaller changes like tuning E to Eb. After some practice
you'll get the hang of it. Remember that this same principal works for fine tuning with the
fine tuners, drop tuning on the micro level ;)

They're Sharp And Flat

Are more strings sharp or are more flat. Are any of them WAY sharp or flat.

If one string is way out I'll start by dropping that into tune and see how the rest of the
bridge falls into tune, then it comes down to if more strings are sharp than flat or vice versa,
combined with how far out of tune they seem to be. For example, if there are 2 strings sharp
and the rest are flat, I'll raise the pitch of the flat strings and over tune them a little.

Stop and read "They're All Flat" section above then resume.

By tuning up the flat strings the sharp strings will have fallen a little flat. They might fall
flat enough I'll need to tune them higher also, in which case the whole bridge is now flat
and I'm following the instructions above. Check all the tuning and if they're still sharp and
flat repeat as necessary until everything is in tune or either all sharp, or all flat, then follow
those instructions above. I'll reverse that if 2 strings that are flat by drop tuning the pitch of
the 4 sharp strings to the same extent I would over tune in the previous situation. Pretty
much, I just start scrambling the tuning around as I feel it needs it to obtain the goal of
getting every string into tune at the same time. The more you deal with it the better you'll
get, understanding the way it's affected is half the battle. It's a pain, deal with it, just get it
done ;)

Anytime you change strings you must follow tuning by stretching the strings and then
checking the trem angle to make sure it hasn't changed or needs correcting. String change is
a good time to do a full setup tweak, a guitar is a system that must be maintained for best
performance! What's the point of changing strings if they aren't going to play right ;)

There is also the phenomenon of spring shock where while tuning the whole bridge just
keeps raising and raising, this touches on it somewhat.

Ibanez' instructions on tuning [picking up after the instructions for changing strings] typed
verbatim from the Ibanez "How to tune your floating tremolo system"

"There is a trick to it at this stage. With both non-tremolo and 'vintage' tremolo guitars you
can bring each string to pitch independently of the other strings. This is not so with a
floating tremolo! Though each saddle is separate from the others, they are all mounted
together on a single, large plate. In order to get your strings evenly in tune, you will need to
tune in "stages". What we mean by this is this: start with the low E string. Turn the tuner
until the string is no longer slack, and then move on to the A string. Do this with all the
strings. Remember, you're not trying to achieve any type of tuning yet - you're just pulling
up all the slack. After this is done, begin with the low E again, and turn the tuner about half
a turn, then move to the A string. Do this to all the strings. Then repeat it. Check yourself
with a tuner. Eventually, you will get close to being in tune. When everything is close, go
ahead and finesse your tuners so they are in tune. *Why is this lengthy process necessary,*
you might ask, *and why can't I just tune normally?* Good question! The answer is that
attempting to tune "normally" will result in a tremolo unit that has pulled up from the body
to such an extent that the action is now about half an inch high, and totally unplayable.
Doing it this way will keep your action low and tremolo in the right place."

If you already screwed up and the tail of your bridge is sticking way up in the air with the
action 1/2" off the fretboard the only sure way to cure it is to crank in on the trem springs
and start backing down the tuning. Be prepared for a real pain in the ass because as the
springs adjust to the tension then you'll have to readjust them and retune the guitar, over
and over until they settle [when they stop pulling the strings sharp or flat as they adjust].

Of course I cheat quit a bit when I work on guitars, I have a feel for what I can get away
with, but every now and then I used to get the trem all whacked out and slacking the strings
and a few hours rest before starting again is the answer to getting it back in order but I'll
usually just plug forward cranking on the springs until they're way too tight and then
backing them off as they start reacting pulling the strings sharper and sharper, all the while
I'm constantly tuning the tuners. It's a mess, a real pain, takes forever, tough, deal with it,
just get it done! ;)

I only restring a guitar with the bridge blocked to it's full forward position now. When I take the
slack out of the strings and unblock I'm usually far too sharp and have to detune into correct pitch.
I've NEVER had string shock working this way and highly recommend it.

3. Lockdown and Fine Tuning

This will be your last step before the guitar is ready to play. The guitar will be fully setup to
your liking and in perfect tune, strings FULLY stretched. These are the steps I follow with
every floating bridge guitar I setup.

When locking the nut pads you will notice they will twist following the motion of
the Allen wrench. The bass side of the pad will pull that string sharp and the
treble side of the pad will push that string flat. You can minimize this but getting
the pad bolt to just make contact with the pad, and with a smooth "jerk" crank the
bolts down to lock, minimizing the amount of twist in the pad. DO NOT over
tighten the bolts, it's the easiest way to strip a nut base and will leave you buying
a replacement nut! You want the pads firmly tight, just enough to keep the strings
from moving under them, you are not trying to crush the string!

With the strings now locked at the nut it's time to "set" the knife edges in the
studs. I'll give the trem a real workout, diving, pulling up, usually about 20 times
[mostly dives but I want to mix in some full travel pull-ups just to make sure the
strings are fully stretched and not giving any more], ALWAYS ending with a full
travel dive and letting the bar return to neutral naturally. I'll extrapolate the
reason -

It's very rare to find a bridge that will give you 1000% return between diving and
pull-up, there will typically be a couple to all of the strings slightly to quite far
out of tune [see other sections here if the difference in up and down is too much
for your taste] For this reason you ALWAYS want to fine tune after the bar has
risen to neutral after a dive [what I refer to as "low neutral"]. The reason for this
is typically most players use the trem to dive, and even if you don't, the action of
bending a string alone is pulling the trem forward so that if you've fine tuned to
"high neutral" as soon as you bend a string you've pulled the bridge slightly out
of tune.

You've set the knives and finished with a dive letting the bar rise to neutral.
Unlock the nut pads and retune the guitar using the tuners [not fine tuners!] Once
you have the guitar back in perfect tune lock the nut pads again using the method
above.

Now it's time to fine tune, and with all tuning, the guitar must be tuned perfectly
perpendicular to the ground. [using your tuner pluck a note and slowly rock the
guitar back toward you [the face of the guitar pointed at the ceiling], watch the
tuner and you will see the string go sharp, then rock the guitar forward [the face
of the guitar toward the floor] and watch the string go flat. This is the effect
gravity has on the floating bridge and why all tuning must be done with the guitar
perfectly perpendicular to the ground, negating the effects of gravity on the
bridge. [If you're quite round in the middle and the guitar hangs at an angle not
perpendicular, you should tune with the guitar in the position it will be played ;)]
Without putting any pressure on the bridge [disturbing it's resting spot in "low
neutral"], check the tuning starting with the low E through to the high E and
adjust the fine tuners on each string until it's in perfect tune [when adjusting the
fine tuners it is important to not push down or pull up on the bridge, spin the fine
tuners without applying any pressure on the bridge]. Repeat fine tuning low E to
high E until every string is in perfect tune.

Plug the guitar in and wail away!

4. Trem Angle
 

EDGE PRO
EDGE/LO PRO
TRS/OFR
ADJUSTING
 

EDGE PRO

The new Edge Pro trems are the lowest profile Ibanez has cast to date, but as a result also
sits deeper in their routes making the knife edge a little tougher to see to set the trem angle.
On the new design they did make the top edge of the trem parallel to the bottom, which is
parallel to the knife edge, so you can use a combination of a glimpse of the knife edge [if
that's all you can see] and the top edge of the baseplate to judge the trem angle. Bottom line
is you want to get the knife edge perpendicular to the stud [height adjustment bolt or the
fulcrum the knife edge pivots on when the tremolo is used] and when the knife edge is
perpendicular to the stud the knife edge is parallel to the top of the guitar, and the top of an
Edge Pro is parallel to the top. This is a side view of the Edge Pro
The knife edge can be clearly seen as the black rectangle pressed into the side of the
baseplate.
Here are 2 shots where you can see the top of the baseplate is parallel to the top of the
guitar when adjusted correctly.
And up close you can see the sliver of bright knife edge running perfectly parallel to the top
of the body. THIS is the most important measure if the trem angle is correct.
 

EDGE / LO PRO

The Edge and Lo Pro have an angled baseplate where the top of the baseplate is at an angle
in relation to the bottom. The bottom of the base is parallel to the knife edge and bottom
line it will be the knife edge that we will be concerned with when setting the trem angle on
Edge and Lo Pro trems. Setting the trem angle of your Floyd is very easy, it only requires
understanding what to do. Your goal is to have the Knife Edge meet the Trem Post at a 90*
angle (perpendicular).
The knife edge can be seen on the side where it is press fit into the base.
When the trem is in the guitar you might need to look down in the gap between the body
and the edge of the trem with good light to see it.
Simply, when the knife edge is parallel to the top of the body, it will be perpendicular to the
trem post (The trem post is the round grooved bolt the knife edge sits against). It does not
matter if the trem is set deep inside the body where you can barely see the knife edge, or if
it's very visible if the trem is screwed far out of the body, you want it parallel to the body
top. (Different models and different guitars of the same model might have deeper or
shallower neck pocket routs, or thicker and thinner neck heels, so each different guitar and
type may setup slightly different. If it's been tweaked by a previous owner with a neck
shim, etc. then your setup could look completely different) This is a Jem10th and almost all
look exactly like this when setup properly.
As you can see the knife edge is parallel to the top of the body. This holds true for all flat
top Edge or Lo Pro equipped guitars. If the top of your guitar is curved like an S series,
you'll want to visually try to compensate for the curve you see in the top of the body, and
get the knife edge to where it looks as perpendicular to the post as possible.

OFR / TRS TYPE

On the Floyd Rose type trem with a flat baseplate the knife edges are part of the baseplate
itself. On a flat top guitar the baseplate will be parallel to the top as shown below.
 

ADJUSTING

Before you begin you must make sure the trem is set to the height you want (height of the
trem determines the height of the action). You can make very small height adjustments and
they won't have any effect on the angle but large adjustments will. Height changes affect
tension and will change the angle. If the action is way too high or too low set the height
before the angle by manually setting the angle using the bar while checking the height of
the action, adjust, then manually adjust the angle again (using the bar) till the action height
is close. Otherwise you will set the angle to perfect, have to change the action height, which
will change the angle again. Now you are ready to set the angle.

If the back of the trem (where the fine tuners are) is sitting too low and the angle needs to
be brought up, you need to release tension from the springs. Unscrew the screws that hold
the spring claw to the body 1/8th to 1/4 turn. If it needs major adjustment it will take much
more than a 1/4 turn, but for minor adjustments that will usually do. Retune to pitch and
visually check the angle. Repeat as needed till the knife edge is perpendicular to the trem
post.

If the back of the trem is too high and needs to be lowered into the body to bring the angle
down, you need to screw the claw screws in 1/8th to 1/4 turn to increase the tension the
springs apply. Retune to pitch and visually check the knife angle. Repeat until correct.

This is a shot of the trem, springs, claw, and spring claw screws (inside the trem cover, that
cover with 6 screws in the back). Notice I always keep the claw parallel to the end of the
trem cavity keeping equal tension across the plate and block. This is more an anal habit of
mine but some argument could probably be made about having one spring pulled further
than the other. Whatever the argument I like everything even with equal tension.

The more you do it the more you'll become familiar with how much adjustment your guitar
needs in any given situation. Learning to rough tune quickly with a Floyd will save you
much time. If the whole guitar is a half step too low, tune the low E up to G, A up to B, D
up to D#, G to G#, B to B, and high E to E. It will end up much closer to 'in tune' than if
you don't. Likewise if it's 1/2 step too high, lower the pitch about as far the other way,
always working from the low E to the high E.

Typical setup for 9-42 gauge strings using the typically found 52mm springs found in most
Ibanez. For 8's I'll usually use 2 springs in an arrow formation, outside holes on the trem
block to the 2 inner hooks on the claw. For 10 gauge sets I always add a 4th spring although
3 will work if you have room to screw the claw far enough. With new springs you will, if
the springs are ageing and fatiguing you might not. I much prefer the flexibility 4 springs
give and people playing 10's usually like the extra tension anyway. To use 4 springs take
off the spring lock bar and use it's screw holes so that the center slot is now empty. If you
really want to use the spring lock you'll have to find springs with eyelets on both ends.
They are made but I don't know where to buy them and have never used them. You can also
use a set of the short 47mm springs for a 3 spring 10 gauge setup. Even heavier gauges may
require a 5th spring but you can probably get away with 4 using an 11 gauge set. The new
Edge Pro trem rout in much longer than the Edge or Lo Pro giving the spring claw much
further travel, allowing 3 springs [or more] a much higher tension.

Some people like to set their trem to a negative angle as they feel it returns to neutral better. If it's
not returning to neutral correctly it's time to address the reason it's not, not change the angle of
the trem. If the trem has been properly radiused to the frets changing the angle from
perpendicular will change the radius of the bridge as intonating the strings causes each string to
break at a different spot. Stick with the correct trem angle and if you are having any problems with
return fix the problem itself.

5.Action Height
"Action" is the term used to describe how far the strings are from the frets. This
measurement is usually taken at the last fret by measuring from the top of the fret to
the bottom of the string. You can use a feeler gauge but using a simple mm rule is just
as effective, in fact I don't use feeler gauges for anything ;) Many times you will hear
action measurements including a measurement at the 12th [or some other fret].
Measuring at the 12th fret assumes every necks bow profile is the same and they
never are. The bow profile of your neck will ultimately dictate the kind of setup that
works best for it. [Bow is the amount of relief or "frontbow" the neck is dialed into,
bow profile describes where the relief is] Some necks will show bow only from the 7th
to the nut, some will show a very long smooth even bow throughout the whole neck,
and many other profiles. I measure action at the 24th, but only to get a number to
advise others, I would never setup a guitar with a mm rule, each guitar is unique and
has it's own peculiarities. 

Action is also dependent on fretboard radius, some will be 430mm, some 250mm,
some in between. A 250mm radius fretboard requires higher action so the strings don't
choke while making large bends, and by large I mean 3-5 step bends. The flatter the
board, the lower you can set the action without choking while bending.
Playing style also can dictate how low, if you don't bend strings you can set it lower
than someone who plays with lots of big bends. If you have a really heavy picking
hand [or bad picking technique] your wound strings will give more buzz than
somebody with a much lighter hand [or perfect technique]. If you have a heavy
pickhand you might need to raise the low side as high as 4mm to completely clean it
up, again assuming clean fretwork and correct [for that neck] relief.

While on the subject of buzz, lighter gauge strings will have more buzz than heavier,
and different brands will buzz more or less than others. I use D'Addario's which are a
very pliable string but also buzzier because of this. A set of DR Tite Fit is much less
pliable and will not buzz as much given the same action and setup.

As a average and a starting point, on a 430mm 24 fret board, with around .2 - .3mm
of relief measured at the 9th with the low E string fretted at the 1st and 24th, and set
for light to medium pick hand with minimal low E buzz, measured at the 24th fret -
1.6mm on the wound E and 1.5mm on the high E. I will set it as low as buzz will allow
on the wound side, and as low as bending will allow on the high side and still get full
tone on big bends, assuming no problems with the fretwork or the bow profile. You can
go lower on the high side but I also like to feel the string under my fingers and around
1.5 it's also keeping the action fairly even across the fret [high to low E]. Action much
higher on the wounds than on the unwounds is awkward and I prefer the balance. 

There are many different ways to setup a guitar,

Silly Low - Some like the neck perfectly straight or with the slightest amount of relief,
and the action right on the frets. Perfectly straight neck and extremely low action will
give you playability that's unparalleled for some people, a very low resistance to
fretting, but there are sacrifices. The lower the action the more the strings are being
choked by the frets. It has a way of disguising fret buzz by smoothing it out. On a
medium action you'll hear the buzz quite well as the string is usually just pinging off of
one or possibly two frets. On silly low the string is pinging off of so many frets it's not
as apparent as "buzz", but what all that contact with the frets is doing is robbing your
notes of the full tone that string could offer if it was allowed to breath. Processed
signals can virtually hide the choking, but if you ever plug into a clean channel you'll
notice right away. You can get away with silly low if you've got an extremely light pick
attack. Typically in a setup this would be a perfectly straight neck to .1-.3mm of neck
relief, and action height at the last fret of 1.5mm or lower. Not good for playing big
bends without impeccable fretwork and a flatter radius fretboard, and even then the
lower you go the less you'll be able to bend without choking. At 2mm you can get a 3
step bend but 5 steps you will not. You will also have to be more precise in muting as
it's much easier to "mute" a string into the frets and create noise. I love the playability
of it when I get to set one up like this, but I loose a little feel of the string when it's
that close and prefer just a little better grip I feel I get at just a little higher action.
Your Mileage May Vary [YMMV].

Standard Low - Adding just a little more neck relief and raising the action will give a
cleaner tone, longer sustain, and tolerable buzz with a medium/light pick attack. This
is usually the typical setup for guitars I ship. Good clear tone on the majority of the
neck with and a light fingering feel. Typical is .2-.3mm of neck relief and 1.6mm string
height on the low E, and 1.5mm on the high E at the last fret. This gives me the
effortless playing of silly low but just enough tension on the fingertips to get the feel of
the string, especially for bending, and muting becomes a little easier. As I mature I
have grown to like this setup better in the middle range. Tastes change, and you
should set your guitar up to your taste.

Low - Continue raising the action will get still cleaner tone, and lighter buzz with a
medium pick attack. The higher you go the more tension your fingers will feel, and this
creates more control of the string for me. I typically keep the relief down in the .3mm
range to reduce the amount of  "boing" from the slightly higher action in the 4-12th
fret range. Typical is .3-.5mm of neck relief and 2mm string height on the low E, and
1.8mm on the high E at the last fret.

Medium - You can still add a little neck relief but after a certain point more relief just
isn't an advantage. Raising the action height is and will continue to clean and fatten up
your tone and increase the feel of the strings under your fingers. Medium relief is .
5-.6mm of neck relief action of 2.5mm on the low E and 2-2.5mm on the high E.

High - Lots of frontbow and high action will give you a very clean playing guitar with
full tone, and lots of extra calluses. However much neck relief you want and action on
the low E at 3mm or more, action on the high E over 2.2mm to as high as you want.

There is another school of thought that the higher the action the less relief the neck
needs since the height of the action itself produces little buzz. Relief with high action is
more about keeping the action more even the length of the neck and not as much
about buzz. Like anything in a setup it's all about the compromise and the preference
of the individual player.

The wound E is going to vibrate in an ellipse that will vary by how hard it's struck.
Strike it light and it will have a small ellipse, strike it hard and it will have a much
larger ellipse. A higher gauge string will vibrate in a smaller ellipse because it is strung
"tighter" than a smaller gauge string to get the same pitch. Your action should be
compromise of how much buzz you can take, the feel you want from the strings, and
the tone you want to produce.

Setting the Action - Action is my last adjustment in a setup, after neck relief and the
trem angle are set I will dial in the string height. With it approximate, I will then break
and adjust the nut height since this is dependent on everything being in correct setup
to get as low as possible without open string buzz, then do a fine tune on the action
after the nut is set for the final adjustment before playing the guitar to determine if it
needs any further tweaking.

Action Adjustment

Adjusting the action varies by the type of guitar but since this is an Ibanez site you'll
find Ibanez directions. ;) Final action adjustment is the last tweak to make and should
be done when the neck relief is correct [for you] and the trem angle is correct. After
it's set make a final check of the setup to be positive nothing else has changed. Once
action height is set it should never need adjusting, the only things that will change it
are the natural changes your neck will make as it warms/cools/humidifies/dries, and
the trem angle which will change for the same reasons, as your neck moves, and your
body swells and shrinks. Adjust what is changing, don't just tweak the string height as
a quick fix instead of tweaking what has caused the action to change [although
between string changes even I'll go for the quick fix over a re-setup].
It is perfectly fine that the bridge is at an angle!! [the treble side lower than the bass].
Wound strings need much more room to oscillate than the fine treble strings. You can
run treble action much lower than bass without buzz and is perfectly fine to do.

Floating Bridge - Edge, Lo Pro, Edge Pro, and all of the double locking Floyd variants
are adjusted by raising and lowering the trem studs that the knife edges pivot on.
Edge and Lo Pro guitars - There is a small 1.5mm Allen adjustable set screw inside the
studs on all Edge and Lo Pro equipped guitars [ONLY Edge, and Lo Pro guitars] that
must be kept tight for the best tuning stability. Never try and loosen it with the allen
wrench but use the 4mm Allen to back out [Lefty Loosey] the studs a hair to free the
set screws. If raising the action raise it until it's correct and retighten the set screws. If
lowering the action use the 1.5mm Allen to back out the set screw enough to allow the
bridge to be lowered. When correct retighten the set screws. Important! After you've
tightened the sets using the 1.5mm Allen use your 4mm Allen to take the slop out of
the threads between stud and insert to really lock the threads together and give a very
solid fulcrum for the bridge.

The amount of slop in the threads will depend on the mate between the stud thread
and insert thread. They won't all be the same. Some will take a 1/4 turn [especially if
it's a stud mod for EP], and some will take just a hair of rotation to lock. Knowing
which will let you know if you can set the final action first, or have to leave it a little
higher for the tightening to finish setting the action. But your studs aren't locked until
the slop is out of the threads. You're just trying to get the slop out, you are not trying
to weld the 2 pieces together so don't try grinding everything together or you'll either
break the head off the stud or spin the stud anchors in the body, use good sense when
applying torque, but you do want the threads locked together.

All other floating bridges - Just use the correct size Allen wrench to raise or lower the
studs. Adjusting the string height to a large degree will alter the tuning slightly, which
can alter everything. If you are making extreme action adjustments be sure to retune,
readjust the trem angle, and then recheck the action. Yes, you can adjust the studs
with the strings at full pitch without fear of damaging the knife edges or the studs.

Vintage Trem and Fixed Bridge - Adjusting the action of these types of bridges entails
adjusting the height of the 2 adjustment screws on each saddle. Each string is
adjusted independently so it is important to keep the bridge radius in sync with the
fretboard radius. Do this by measuring each string at the last fret. With this type
bridge I always like to keep the same radius to the saddles themselves so they're more
of a nice arc than a stepped feel across the bridge.

Gibson Type Stoptails - These are all generally adjusted by raising or lowering the
mounting studs for the bridge using wheels built into the studs. On a Gilbraltar type
you have to loosen the screws on top of the bridge to be able to raise or lower the
bridge using the wheel adjusters. It is advisable to slack the strings to decrease the
tension on the bridge to make these adjustments. Tune and check the action,
repeating as many times as necessary to get correct.

 
 6. Truss Rod
I don't know what it is about a truss rod that can make grown men cower like little boys at
the thought of having to make an adjustment. This should help break your fear and allow
you to wear pants again proudly. Much of this fear comes from techs that will tell you "you
can ruin your neck if you mess with the truss rod!", which, is a really good way to scare
you into relying on the tech to do all your light work for you. Can you ruin a neck adjusting
the truss rod? Sure, if you're an IDIOT! So, if you're an idiot and can't follow simple
instructions, STOP HERE, and keep paying that local tech whatever he wants to keep your
guitar adjusted. Just make sure he ties your shoelaces before you leave so you don't trip and
fall and skin your knees since you probably forgot to put your pants on. The rest of you
please read on, this is simple stuff, the only requirement is the ability to turn a wrench and
the slightest bit of common sense. Overwritten by a blow hard as usual.

Please read to the end and the DISCLAIMER before beginning or making any adjustments,
and I cannot stress how important it is to use the correct tool, a good tool, and to have that
tool *fully* seated either around the full length of the nut or full depth of the channel. The
easiest way to strip these parts is to use a poor fitting tool, or only partially insert the tool
on the nut or head to be adjusted.

There are a few types of truss rods, but essentially the truss rod consists of a nut on a
threaded shaft [rod] that is pinned in the neck at the other end. It is there to counteract the
pressure the strings exert pulling on the neck, by pulling the wood in the opposite direction.
This allows you to control the amount of relief you desire in the neck.

Relief is the amount of bow the neck has. Relief allows for the the following fret to be a
hair lower than the previous fret so that the previous fretted note has a little extra clearance
when played, thus reducing the buzz of the string pinging off the following frets. The
amount of relief is a personal issue and some people actually prefer a dead straight neck,
while others will prefer ample relief. The lower the action is set the less relief the setup will
allow, the higher the action is set the more relief a setup will allow, but the higher the
action the less relief is needed for fret clearance as the high action reduces the buzz on it's
own. If you fret the first and last fret on the wound E string you will be able to see how
much relief the neck has by checking the clearance from the top of a fret [I use the 9th as
it's pretty much dead center of the neck] to the bottom of the string. The measurement of
this gap is the relief, ie. .3mm of relief at the 9th would be .3mm of clearance between the
top of the 9th fret and the bottom of the E string. I've written basic guidelines for what is
fairly normal for relief in any give setup on my Action page, but you and you alone will
determine what is best for your and the way you play, and the only way to know that is
simply, experiment. Straight neck, lots of relief, feel the difference as the string clearance
grows through the center of the neck and hear the difference. Adding relief will add action
height so you will have to readjust the action to compensate, just the same as straightening
a neck will reduce the action height and you will have to raise the action to compensate.
Experimenting with all combinations of relief and action will allow you to find the setup
that works right for you, and to mentally note what it is, allowing you to keep that setup as
you prefer it.

A neck will continue to adjust after the adjustment has been made, for up to 24 hours.
Wood can react to stress slowly or quickly, so you should be aware that a second relief
check should be made several to many hours later. Slight relief changes should not show
later change but large relief changes like the experiments I'm going to have you do next
quite possibly will. As long as you're aware, you're educated and the adjustment is, again,
simple.

Pictures - eh, coming. Just to illustrate the different Ibanez truss rods and tools. 7mm
[RG/JEM] and 8mm [RBM/AR] typical nut on threaded shaft, but they also use an Allen
wrench adjusted Allen head shaft that threads into a fixed nut on the other end. These will
be either 4mm [JS1] or 5mm [JS1000]. They all adjust the same, the only difference is the
tool.

No 2 necks will adjust the same [not true considering there's probably a billion necks out
there, but for the purpose of this page lets consider that a truth]. Some necks will adjust a
lot to just a small tweak of the truss rod while some will require much more to get the same
result. Until you know which you have it's always best to make smaller adjustments. I
firmly believe that everybody should get their truss rod wrench out, pull the truss cover off
if it has one, and adjust away just to observe the principle discussed here. Start by checking
the relief that is in the neck, and then completely loosen [looking at the nut from the tip of
the headstock back toward the body - lefty loosey] the truss rod until it's loose. Check the
relief again [I would tell you to "sight the neck" also as another way to observe, but that's
another page of typing] and you will see how much it moved [bowed]. Note this. Some
necks will be in HUGE relief when loose, some will give barely any relief at all which will
limit your setup options. Unfortunately there are also just bad necks that will be in backbow
with a loose truss rod that will need to have professional attention to train into relief.  What
does your neck have? The gauge strings you have on your guitar will also affect the amount
of relief as heavier gauges exert much more tension on the neck pulling it further into relief.
With the truss nut [or rod] loose I usually recommend continuing until it's far enough out to
get some grease under the nut so that it will operate smoothly. This can be done at any time
and need not interfere with experimenting with the truss rod now.

Let go the other way. As you tighten the nut [looking at the nut from the tip of the
headstock back toward the body - righty tighty] it removes the relief in the neck,
straightening the neck, and eventually putting the neck into negative relief or backbow.
This is where you can really check how much of a turn makes how much difference.
Because of the nature of the truss channel and the way the strings are on either side [and on
a 7 string you have a string running right in the middle of the truss channel] the amount you
can turn the nut is limited to somewhere between  1/8 - 1/4 of a turn, and until you get the
hang of how much it changes the neck relief this is about all you want to turn it anyway.
Adjust, then check the relief to observe what happened, then play it and see how it feels, at
the nut, the lower registers, the middle registers, etc. Repeat and continue adjusting and
testing. I want you to take the neck into backbow so you can see for yourself, the sky didn't
fall, the neck didn't break, it can be corrected just as easy as, turning a wrench. Once it's in
backbow there is no need to tighten further, a guitar in backbow is a guitar that needs a
truss rod adjustment. Go ahead and play it, especially fretting the first fret to observe the
buzzing, if it allows first fret notes and not second or third to ring out. This is only so that
you can see and become familiar with making this adjustment and getting over any fear of
it.

Now that you've adjusted the truss rod in both directions you can adjust it back to the
starting point or wherever you found that you liked it set through experimentation. That the
whole point of this is to not only get over any apprehension and fear of the truss rod itself,
but to find that setup that you like the best. On most necks a very small 1/16th turn
adjustment can make the difference of .1mm in neck relief and eventually you will get to
know your neck and how much is enough. Remember that adjusting the truss rod also
means adjusting the action, which is why a lot of this is covered on the Action page as these
adjustments go hand in hand. Relief adjustments affect action height, plain and simple.

Unfortunately I'm not going to cover neck profiles here and there are plenty of guitars in all
stages of "stored neck disease". This is usually caused [but not always] by a guitar that is
allowed to sit unadjusted for years. As the wood continues to shrink it in effect loosens the
truss rod. The wood takes this as memory and will show relief in the middle of the neck
that will not truss out, in fact the guitar will start going into backbow at the nut before you'll
get the mid neck relief out. These guitars will want to stay in whatever the smallest amount
of relief is possible to live with the least amount of backbow in the first few frets. There's
also a condition called "scarf-joint-itis" where the plane of the headstock piece scarfed into
the neck is shrinking counter to the plane of the solid neck, pulling the neck into backbow
at the first or first few frets. Another condition where the amount of backbow will control
the amount of relief or straightness possible. These are conditions of less than desirable
necks but often perfectly serviceable necks, they just won't be useful to those that like very
low action or very straight necks.

DISCLAIMER - if it is extremely difficult to turn your truss rod there might be an existing
issue with your neck. It could have been factory built with far too much relief at rest, or it
could have an unknown condition. I would recommend fully loosening the truss nut as
shown above, back the nut [or rod] far enough out so that you can get some grease between
the nut and the block, then see if that has fixed the problem. Dry contact between nut and
block will also cause creaks when turning making amateurs think there is something wrong.
If it is still difficult to tighten the truss rod after lubrication STOP, and let a professional or
a friend that is familiar with adjusting truss rods have a look at it for you. Is IS possible to
damage a neck adjusting the truss but it is usually in this situation where there is already an
issue. You can also damage a neck by continuing to put a neck into more and more
backbow until the stress cracks the neck or damages the rod/nut, but, that would be idiotic,
so lets just not go there ;)

There are situations where you will want to relieve the string tension before making adjustments.
If there is any play between the nut [or Allen] and tool from past adjustments made with the
wrong [SAE] tool, partially fitting the tool on the head, inferior parts, or inferior wrenches with
poor fit or wear, obviously any adjustment should be made with no/little stress on the neck in
hopes of preserving the fit and adjustability you have left in the parts. I cannot stress enough to
always use the correct tool, and a quality tool to do the job.

If your neck is super stressed at rest, like you will find some BRMR necks [I've seen 2mm at loose
truss with no strings on banana necks] among others, as well as guitars that have sat for years and
are in extreme relief, there will definitely be excess tension on the neck and truss and it would be
prudent to make the adjustment without tension on the neck, and in most cases, forcing the neck
into straight/backbow and adjusting the truss while it is loose. If ever in doubt seek professional
advice.

If your truss operates smoothly as it should and you're making minor seasonal/climatic
adjustments, there is no need to detune to make the adjustment. If you feel strongly about doing
so, there is no reason not to follow your own path. Erring on the side of caution can never be a
bad thing. If it's a trem equipped guitar drop the bar to the body, it's the ultimate in simplicity. If
it's a fixed bridge just loosen the strings until the adjustment is easily made.

7. Nut Height
Fine tuning the nut height is one of the very last steps I take in a setup, and should be done
with the action and neck relief set as the guitar will be played. This will deal with the
locking nuts on tremolo equipped guitars. If you have a non locking glued in nut then
adjusting it's height is better left to a professional that's already spent the $160 a full set of
fret files will cost. [Although if your problem is the string slots are cut or worn too deep
you can carefully build up the string slots with super glue, the alternative is to have a new
nut installed]

Nut height is probably one of the most crucial aspects of how your guitar feels within the
first 5 frets, but it also effects the feel of the whole fretboard to some degree. Quite simply
the nut should be as low as it can go without causing string buzz on the first fret. For a
quick judge fret each string at the first fret and look at the clearance it has over the second.
Compare to the gap between the top of the first fret and each string with the string open.
Near 100% of all new Ibanez guitars have nuts that are way too high. Most of the new Jems
I receive have nut height at the first fret low E around 1mm, about .7mm too high!! I've
been complaining about it to the company for years and the only thing that's happened is
they've gotten higher. I'm guessing factory spec must be for them to be set "way too high",
so in that case, they're all perfect! But if you want a much better playing guitar you will
take the time to lower the nut to the correct height. The Jems and sporadically other models
will be unique in that their high nuts have nothing to do with how many shims are under it,
but the fact the nut rout was never cut near deep enough to begin with, but that's the topic
of another much more tedious section.

The first thing you want to do is evaluate what you have now and decide what probably
needs to be done. Do you see plenty of shims under the nuts? Great, lowering it will be
much easier. No shims? Are you getting fretbuzz at the first fret? Either your nut is too low,
your neck does not have enough relief [or is in backbow], or the neck does not have enough
relief for where the nut is set. If you have the nut set nice and low with a decent amount of
neck relief and you straighten the neck too much, the nut is now too low for the straighter
neck and you may get buzz on the first fret. This is why you set the nut height with the
relief and action adjusted to your preference. This section will deal with a simple height
adjustment where only the addition, removal, or rearrangement of shims is needed to get
the desired height.

Before starting you should know that the fretboard radius will not perfectly match the
radius of the nut. The nut will probably be radiused a little flatter than the frets. If you have
the low and high E's as low as they should be set you'll get 1st fret buzz on the D and G
strings and/or A and B strings. Because of this the nut needs to be a little higher to clean up
the middle strings and to compensate I will split the difference between both the high and
low side of the nut. In other words instead of putting a big shim under the low side to raise
it enough you want to put half as much under the low and high side to raise it evenly until
the D/G are clean. You'll also find some that may have radiuses flatter than the nut causing
the center to be high.

The very first step is with all strings in tune and fully stretched, pinch each string to the
fretboard hard right where it leaves the nut. This will remove the strings tendency to rise a
little as it curves off of the nut and that little bit is enough to make the difference between
having buzz or not when done. It should also be noted that for rock guitars having some
mild first fret buzz is acceptable as long as there's no more first fret buzz than you get
fretting the second fret.

To adjust the nut height I usually find it easiest to remove all the shims under the nut and
start from scratch. With the nut pads removed block the trem to it's highest angle to take as
much tension off the strings as possible [this also allows you to quickly unblock it to
perform checks on your height adjustment]. It is quite common [and perfectly normal] to
find all the shims as half shims built up on each side, and these are quite easy to remove.
Unscrew both Allen bolts that hold the nut on in the back a few turns [not necessarily all
the way] from here there are two ways to lift the nut, push up on the nut using your wrench
seated in the nut bolt from the back, or you can use a 3mm Allen wrench in an outer nut
pad bolt hole as a lever to pull the nut up [if you're pulling the bass side shims put the
wrench in the E./A pad bolt hole with the long part of the wrench also pointing to the bass
side, pull up on the wrench using it as a lever to lift that side of the nut], if you do either
technique while holding the guitar on it's side any half shims on that side will just fall out
[visually inspect to verify they're all out]. To visualize, if you holding the guitar as if you
would be playing it and raise the treble side of the nut all the shims on the treble side will
fall out. Flip it over to do the bass side. If they're all gone great. More than likely you'll find
a full shim or two left though. These are a little trickier to remove and before you do I
suggest unblocking the trem to make sure they need to be removed or if you've already got
it low enough. If it's close tighten the nut bolts [using common sense!! They only need to
be tight enough to hold the nut in place, too tight and you'll crack the wood!!] because the
nut will lower slightly when you tighten it, Recheck.

To remove a whole shim I'll start by backing off the string tree to free up a little more string
tension. To get one out you'll either have to remove the nut mounting bots completely, or
remove the string tree completely, and on some pesky "don't want to budge" shims you
might have to do both. Most of the time you can just slide the nut toward the bass side then
lighten the pressure on the nut and slide it back, leaving the shim stuck out enough that you
can now just lift the bass side using the Allen wrench in the pad bolt lever trick to work it
the rest of the way out [or grab it with some pliers if you get tired of playing with it]. I've
got plenty of shims so I'll just jam a .5mm shim under the nut to force it out the other side
enough to grab. Some will just not want to move [some will be virtually glued in] at all and
those you can remove toward the headstock. Remove the string tree, lift one side of the nut,
use something to "catch" the shim [I use the point of an Exacto knife] and work it out a
little, do the other side, back and forth until it out enough to either get some needle nose
pliers on or grab by some other means, then just pull it out. All JS1000/10th/90th/2000
models must have their full shims removed this way as they have an arch molded into them
at the truss rod channel.

With all the shims removed re-install the string tree and unblock the trem to see where the
nut height is. Play each sting to check for any choking or buzz at the first fret. If there is
none, is it low enough for you? Or do you think it can go much lower [compare to the
second fret gap  with the strings fretted on the first] If so, move to the section on lowering
the nut rout.

Hopefully it will be too low, buzzing everywhere, and now ready to build up to the correct
height. This would be a good time to talk about nut shims. The shims come in 3
thicknesses, .1mm, .25mm, and .5mm. .5's are monsters and will only have a place if the
original nut rout was extremely deep. .1's and .25's are your shims of choice for fine tuning
the height, and most specifically, .1mm will be your best friend and offer the most precise
fine tuning of the height. Sort through the shims that you've removed, a .1mm will bend if
you blow on it hard enough, a .25 is fairly pliable with your fingers and you can bend it,
just not like paper, a .5 is one thick tough suckah, you'll know it when you see it.

To build the nut back up is a matter of determining what it needs, and some of this will be
trial and error. Is it choking on the treble side and not the bass? Shim the treble. Choking on
the bass but not the treble, shim the bass. If all strings are choking start with putting the
same size shim under both sides and test again. If you have a quick method for blocking the
bridge [and I always use my spreader clamp to just clamp my bar to the body [my bar has
an Ibanez Sure Grip foam wrap on it so it's essentially a padded bar. I started using it for
this reason and fell in love with it, to the point I hate the feel of a normal bar any more]]
you will find this very fast to shim, check, adjust, check, until it's right. Using the technique
of a wrench as a lever in a pad bolt. I'll always start with a .25 shim and stick one under the
low side and under the high side. These don't have to be fully inserted, just stuck under the
side to give an idea of where it's at and what it needs. Once it stops choking/buzzing on one
side, raise the other until it's clean. You can further tweak by then removing any thicker
shims such as a .25 and replacing it with a .1 or two .1's until the nut is as low as it will go
without choking or buzzing on the first fret. Remember the note earlier about the nut radius
not matching the fret radius exactly. If the center is too low to clean up the center strings
split the amount of additional height needed between the bass and treble sides. If the center
is too high then you'll just have to shim the low and high side as low as possible and live
with it [or have the fretboard/frets re-radiused]

When you are satisfied with the results take out the shims on both sides and analyze them. If you
have a .25mm shim on each side use a whole shim instead of a half, the same with any additional
shims until the only half shims I'm using are the ones that give the final tweak where using a full
shim would raise the opposite side too high. If you don't have the full shims and are using halves
[and there is nothing wrong with just using halves, you'll never hear a difference between using a
half shim on each side as opposed to a full shim] get the halves together so they are like inserting a
single shim, and fully install it under the nut until you can't feel the edge protruding past the nut,
making sure they are seated flush against the L where the nut meets the fretboard. Repeat on the
other side and tighten the nut snug. Test again to make sure that tightening the nut didn't lower it
enough to cause any buzz and re-tweak if necessary. Some will be trial and error, some will be
educated thinking, sometimes pure luck will get you there, but taking the time to get the nut
height as low as possible will pay big dividends in how the guitar plays and feels.

8. INTONATION
OVERVIEW
ADJUSTING INTONATION
ADJUSTING A LO PRO IN FACTORY SETUP
USING THE LO PRO ADJUST
ADJUSTING THE EDGE PRO IN FACTORY SETUP

OVERVIEW

I set intonation to the last fret fretted at the pressure you would normally play that fret.
Given this is the shortest string length playable on the guitar it compensates for the lack of
accuracy found in most of the tuners that will be used to set the intonation. The open string
and 12th fret usually used is a very inaccurate way to set intonation and in fact if you read
the instructions Peterson includes with their strobes it recommends using 2 different spots
on the neck such as the 5th and 17th [or a mid scale combination an octave apart]. Not
many will have a Peterson strobe tuner, and using this "last fret" method in relation to the
open string and 12th fret, you will not need one. Usually the action is a little higher at the at
the last fret [and all the way up to it] and since you're actually going to be fretting strings
from the 16th to the 24th I like to set intonation to the shortest scale length I can. On a 24
fret guitar this is an octave node so the fret is in unison to the open string. On a 22 or 21 fret
guitar I will set it at the last fret but always double check against the same note before the
12th AND the 12th fret fretted because of the inherent inconsistencies found in fretted
instruments. If you have a 22 fretter check the 22nd against the 10th, then double check that
the 12th is in tune. If you start checking every fret you'll find out just how terribly intonated
a guitars fretboard is, just an inherent defect in fretted instruments and equal temperament
tuning. The reason for the Feiton mod which helps to pull the intonation of all frets closer
to perfect pitch..

Using my "normal" tuner [the type I figure most of you are using, so good for everybody] I
can move a saddle almost a mm and the 12th fretted and harmonic will not change. Fret the
24th and move the saddle 1mm, big change. If I set it to the 24th and check the 12th
everything is still dead on. I just feel it's more accurate, and the notes and chords in the
upper register sound way more in tune. I have a Peterson but have checked it against
intonation set at the last fret using my Sabine1000 and the results are always very accurate
and only fluctuate with the very small differences in fretting pressure. All I can say is try it,
if you don't like it go back to the 12th, but I think you'll find the same thing I do. ;)

If your trem is not in factory spec then you can eyeball it close and then tweak it to perfect.
If you have the Edge intonation tool that's correct for your trem type this job will be much
easier than if you don't. If you don't, look in the mirror and say goodbye to a few thousand
hairs before you begin. If you have an Edge Pro [where there is no tool] say goodbye to
your youthful appearance. [It's really not that bad!!]

ADJUSTING INTONATION

With all the open strings in perfect tune fret the high E at the last fret with the same
pressure you would use when playing [or D on a 22 fret, etc.]. Check the tuner. [read the
last section above for details on last fret intonating]

Setting the intonation itself is very simple. If the note at the 24th fret is sharp the saddle is
too close to the fret and needs to be moved back. If the note is flat the saddle is too far away
from the fret and needs to be moved closer.

If you are using the tool that is available for the Edge, Lo Pro Edge, and TRS/Floyd Rose,
attach it to the saddle and tighten it up. Loosen the saddle lock down screw [which I call the
intonation screw] just enough to move the saddle, adjust the saddle, retune, and with the
tool still in place recheck the last fret fretted. Adjust until correct then tighten the screw.
Remove the tool and retune the string. Move to the B string and repeat. Every 2 strings
recheck the tuning of all strings and make sure they are all in perfect tune before
continuing. Work from the high E to the low E. When every string is correct make sure to
check the trem angle again as it will move slightly as you intonate the entire bridge. Note -
The saddle lock down screws are fairly soft, and in older Ibanez, also have a shallow head.
I highly recommend the 2mm Allen wrench is either new or in perfect condition. If it has
any rounding to the tip at all you will more than likely round off the head of the lock screw
when you tighten it.

If you are not using the tool you have two options. You will either need to slack the string
enough to be able to move the saddle by hand without the string tension interfering.
Retighten the screw, retune, recheck, and then repeat with continued slacking the string to
make any further adjustment. Or, I use my clamp to clamp the bar to the body effectively
slacking all the strings at once and allowing quick return to tune to check the progress. Pay
very close attention to where the saddle was, where you moved it to, and approximate how
far it will need to move to intonate the string, this will save you alot of time just blindly
moving the saddle and hope it's in the right spot. You can easily see how large a pain in the
ass this will be. Expect to spend at least an hour intonating alone if you're a novice.

ADJUSTING A LO PRO IN FACTORY SETUP

The factory intonation pattern on the Lo Pro was always way out as shown here.
This Lo Pro is still set where Gotoh jig set it at assembly. The high E looks a little too far
rearward but I'll adjust it as is for demonstration. Here's a close up of the saddles.
Follow these instructions to set the intonation on all Edge and Lo Pro Edge trems that are
still in factory jig setup. I always remove the trem with strings on for this and then reinstall,
retune, and reset the trem angle if needed before checking and tweaking the result. For the
intonation to be correct the trem angle and action height must be correct and how the guitar
will be played.

Unwounds
Leave the B alone, it's the only one that is in the right spot. 
Look at the nose of the saddle and you'll see the angle [/] on each side at the front. 
Move the E so that the back point of the angle lines up to the very front edge of the B. 
Pull the G screw and put it in the front hole and set it so that the very front edge lines up
with the back point of the angle [where the angle meets the side of the saddle] on the B. 

Wounds. 
Pull the E screw and put it in the back hole then snug the saddle all the way up against the
screw. 
The D saddle is set at 1/2 of the length of the angle in front of the G. 
The A saddle splits the difference even between the E and the D.
This should show the angle referred to above.

You will get some minor inconsistencies, and every guitar or string isn't equal, and the
inserts in some aren't in perfect placement, but as a starting point that usually is dead on it
works for me. Very minor adjustment may  need to be made from this starting point, but it's
usually close enough you wouldn't bother if you don't have an intonation tool.

The results show the saddles just a little close together on the wounds which usually means
the jig was definately off a bit.
Now I need to check the results on the tuner.

USING THE LO PRO ADJUST

This shows how to use the Edge Adjust tool and how it mounts on the Lo Pro. The allen
wrench on the intonation screw. [yes, my tool has been wounded and repaired, whatever
works to get the job done ;)] The tool allows you to pull on the saddle against tension or to
let it slide forward under control, either making minor or major adjustments.
When checked by fretting at the last fret [and 12th fret] this whole bridge is way flat. The
saddles needed to be moved much closer to the nut. With the whole bridge now intonated
you can see how far I've moved the saddles, including putting the low E saddle screw back
in the front hole. Unusual, more on that later.
Close up you can still see how nearly identical the relationship pattern between the saddles
is on the "eyeball adjustment" and the "tuner adjustment"
This should help to explain why not every guitar will intonate to the same spot. You can
just barely see that the neck was not seated all the way to the very end of the neck pocket
[only visible is where I could get light in and still take the shot], about .6 or .7mm out. You
can just see the thin line of the base of the neck pocket highlighted against the black
shielding paint of the edge of the p/u rout.  This means that the intonation points on the
bridge should also be that far toward the headstock to compensate.
The stud inserts have also been set just a bit too far away from the head, illustrated by the
slightly larger gap between the front of the trem and the body, also meaning the saddles
move toward the head to compensate.
You can see how close the high E is to the front edge of the trem, very close, and caused by
the placement of the neck and stud inserts, proving just a few of the reasons why you really
can't perfectly intonate all guitars to a picture, but the pattern is the right starting place to
further tweak to perfection ;o}

From scratch.

If your trem is not in factory spec then you can eyeball it close and then tweak it to perfect.
If you have the Edge intonation tool that's correct for your trem type this job will be much
easier than if you don't. If you don't, look in the mirror and say goodbye to a few thousand
hairs before you begin. If you have an Edge Pro [where there is no tool] say goodbye to
your youthful appearance. [It's really not that bad!!]

ADJUSTING THE EDGE PRO IN FACTORY SETUP

The new Edge Pro has a fairly correct intonation jig set from the factory. If they ever get it
started in the right spot I'll let you know! Primarily it's usually set too flat on all strings.
There is no intonation tool currently designed for the Edge Pro bridge and considering they
designed out the typical attachment point [the head of the string lock screw] there most
probably never will be one.

You'll find the pattern shown above for the Lo Pro after setup is nearly identical to the final
setup on an EP but generally the G string saddle will want to be much further flat on the
EP.

The easiest way to set the intonation on the EP is to adjust the intonation on the high E saddle and
use that as the starting point to adjust the rest of the saddles using the Lo Pro example above,
with the noted exception of the G saddle being 1-2mm further flat. After you've set all the saddles
by eye go through them one at a time and adjust them accurately using the instructions at the top
of the page.

9. Breaking Strings
Strings will usually break at the bridge on any guitar. On a trem equipped guitar they will break much
more often than on a fixed bridge, and on a floating bridge where you can also pull up the notes the
strings will break even faster. This is perfectly normal and is due to metal fatigue. Anytime you bend a
string it causes fatigue to the metal and cumulatively will age the string rapidly. Take any piece of
metal and bend it enough times and it will break, it's metallurgy and you're not going to change it. The
longer you leave your strings on the closer they are to breaking. The harder you play the faster they
will break. The more you use the whammy bar the faster you accelerate the fatigue.

You can also break strings with bad picking technique, or by over-bending
fatigued strings. Every time I broke a string I'd know instantly why it broke.
Either I picked too hard, too hard for the amount I bent the string, too hard for
how old the strings were, or I'd catch the string on the edge of my pick, or
whammy'd too much within a combination of the above.

The usual finger pointing is to a burr in the saddle but in all the years of working
on guitars I've only truly seen one or two burr's I could contribute any blame to
breaking strings, the rest were all simple metal fatigue or "user error" for the
amount of fatigue in the strings being used.

The cure? CHANGE YOUR STRINGS MORE OFTEN!! It ain't rocket science.
When they get old, change them!
The new Edge Pro bridges have been attributed to faster fatigue to the strings due
to the hardened steel saddle inserts. Theoretically sound and quite possible, but
the cure is still the same, change strings more often!! ;o}

10. Pickup Height

How high or low you set your pickups is mostly a matter of personal taste and how much
they get in the way of your picking.  You'll get slightly less output when you lower them,
slightly more if you raise them, but get them too close to the strings and you'll get magnetic
interference with the strings. Pickups are magnets, strings are ferrous metal. Anybody that's
played with a magnet knows the closer you get to an object the harder the magnetic pull.
The effects on a string are decreasing sustain, and get them too close you'll just get plain
crap tone. Set them to the height that allows you to pick "unobstructed", gives you as much
output as you need, but is never too close your tone and sustain suffers. Just make sure you
fret the strings at the last fret when checking as this is the point the string will be closest to
the pickup.

On tremolo equipped guitars I set the bridge pickup height where it's about 1mm
away from the strings at full pullup of the bridge.

Adjusting Pickup Height

Pickguard and bezel mounted pickups

These are adjusted using the screws that secure them to the pickguard. Turn them
clockwise and the pickups rise, counterclockwise and they fall. The screw runs
through a spring between the guard/bezel and the pickup tab that keep pressure
on them, but in any 2 point mount [one screw on each side] it's difficult to control
the camber, sometimes the wiring underneath holds it at an angle, especially the
single coil. Sometimes you can pull on the single's wiring the the control cavity
and get a straighter angle out of it but this is pretty much a cosmetic issue.
However high you adjust them I prefer to keep them level, purely for cosmetics,
again, a taste issue. Bottom line, there is no "right" setting for a pickup, but there
is a wrong [TOO close] ;o}

Direct mount pickups

These are also adjusted using the screws that mount the pickup to the wood using
the brass tabs or ears on the pickup, but in the case clockwise lowers the pickup
and counterclockwise raises it. The head size on these screws is small so use a #1
Phillips or large micro size. If you're lowering the pickup you shouldn't have a
problem, just screw it down. If you're raising it you'll probably need to replace
the foam underneath as it's probably compressed and will not recover. If you
remover a pickup you'll find a strip of stiff foam about 1/4" square that runs the
length of the pickup on each side. It's just stuck on with 2 sided tape so removing
it is no problem. If you shop your nearest Home Depot or similar supply you
should be able to find a weather stripping for windows or doors that will work.
With new foam you can now raise as far as you want, just remember not to go
too far and create to much magnetic draw on the strings. If you're extremely anal
and believe in the direct connection of pickup to wood enhances the tone them
you could do some primary measuring and cut a full length block of the correct
thickness and then lower the pickup into direct contact with the block that's either
glued in or just kept in place by the pickups themselves. Of course you'd have to
cut a channel in it for the wires to run through.

11. EDGE ZERO / EDGE ZERO II / ZR / ZR2 / ZPS

UNITS   
I've needed to spend the time to make up this page covering these latest trem
versions and their ZPS systems, but just haven't gotten to it. Matt from HUSA
explains and demonstrates the system so well it'll make my job much easier as I
add text at a later date. Matt is the CS rep for my territory and a beast behind the
keyboard. He makes my life so much easier with fast respnses to even complex
parts problems. Shoots a pretty mean video too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dZ2OBtqeM0

12. Removing The Trem

There are many reasons to pull the trem with strings on for doing everything from regular
maintenance to major surgery. Anything from chasing tuning instability, basic cleaning of
the trem, changing the studs, inspect or file the knife edges, tighten the arm holder, or
altogether change the trem. [[To change the trem just unlock all the strings and remove
them. Reinsert them in the new trem making sure they're in the right saddles and not
crossed! Helps if you eyeball the intonation on the new trem before installing, hopefully the
old one is intonated and eyeball the distances right from that one [90% of the used guitars I
buy have never had the factory non-intonation changed]]. I also do all my neck work on
new guitars by pulling the trem, because I'm not restringing it, I'm just making some
adjustments. Adding a neck shim is almost mandatory and there's no better way to get
access to the bare fretboard than to just pull all the strings to the side. When I'm installing a
neck shim I'll polish the frets and then oil the board while the neck is off the guitar. [If I'm
not adding a shim and therefore not removing the neck, I'll mask off the pickups with tape
before getting any steel wool even close to them. [To pull the tape stick another piece on
top of it or all the wool fibers sitting on it will pull straight to the pickups when you pull it
off.]] In essence, a very easy way to work on a double locking guitar in many
circumstances and for many reasons.

Everybody is always so paranoid the first time they pull a trem. I'll demonstrate it here on a
$5000 DNA just to put you at ease. This is the only sane way to remove a trem, with the
strings attached. If you ever tried to install a trem without the strings on it, don't. The guitar
should be at full pitch with the nut pads locked down, as it would be to play.
**WARNING** Do not attempt to pull a Double Edge piezo bridge!! It is held in by a
bundle of 6 fragile wires that are double soldered through the circuit board. You will
require some soldering "skills". You can pull a piezo bridge just enough to change studs, or
more precariously, file the knives.

First step, remove the trem cover. Really need a pic?!?! Well, OK.
I'll use a fingernail on a corner of the cover to lift it out. You can also just turn the guitar
upside down and it'll fall out. "Some" will be in very tight and will require some finagling,
beating around the edges of the cover to break it free from the clear if it's stuck, tweaking
micro-screwdrivers in the holes to try and lift it, etc. I had one the clearcoat had actually
wrapped around the top of the cover and was not coming out without breaking the cover out
of it. It was on JP's Swiss Camo Custom Shop 7 string, I wasn't going to press my luck, the
trem angle was "close enough" and it was obvious JP or his tech had never tried to remove
it either!!

Remove the block lock [that locks the springs to the block]
Now you can pull the springs. I'll use a pair of needle nose pliers [careful not to gouge the
inside of the cavity with the nose of the pliers!!] and remove each outer spring.
Springs have a tendency to just *fly* so I'll protect the body [the guitar's and mine:)] by
covering the cavity with my free hand. These are springs and fairly stiff ones at that. Don't
be a wimp and expect it to yank the pliers as they pop out. Let it, don't try to fight it. [the
pliers are laying on the body so I could use the camera, they would be at a steeper angle,
safely away from the clearcoat]
When you have just the center spring left you want to support the tail of the trem, where the
fine tuners are, from underneath while you pull the last spring. I always work in my lap so
I'll support the trem by having it sit on my leg. You can do this with the guitar face down
on carpet, a towel, "padded" workbench, etc. All you're doing is supporting the trem so it
doesn't fall out.
And here it is with all springs pulled.
Now turn the guitar over. I'll reach under the body and slip my fingers under the tail of the
trem, apply a little pressure, and turn it over.
Here's how my hand would look supporting it underneath.
At this point it will just sit there, weighted against the string tension.
Time to remove it. Grasp it at the tail and pull out and away from the posts. The high
strings are the only ones that will have any tension left in them so you're really just pulling
the treble side of the trem. Pull it back and off the posts, then out of the cavity.
The only thing that makes it slightly tricky is that the trem block will touch the edge of the
rout under the trem, on a guitar like this I'm very careful. Putting it back in is where you
want to watch this even more.
The empty cavity, you can now do whatever you needed to do ;)
Reinstalling the trem is the exact reverse of the steps you just followed. Slip the trem into
the rout watching the trem block and that front edge of the cavity as shown 2 pics ago. Pull
the treble side hard enough to slip it over the posts and back into the V's on the posts. If it
scrapes against the posts it's just fine, do not worry. Now, make perfectly sure the knife
edges are in the V's!! [I have installed trems in a hurry and had one knife out of the V,
springs back on, flip it over, and wonder what happened to the action?!?! Start from step
one, remove springs and reset the knives in the post V's.] With the knives in the V's place
your hand as shown above to support the tail of the trem while you turn the guitar back
over, making sure the tail of the trem is supported when you take your hand away. This is
where a knife edge will slip out of a V so keeping pressure on the tail will keep it in place.

After you've turned it over it's time to put the springs back on, starting with the *center*
spring. Putting springs on is a little tougher than taking them off, they will require *force*
to get the spring tang back in the hole. I'll push the pliers from behind with my thumb to
add the required force, making sure i'm pushing down on the body hard enough to keep it
secure. There is ample force required and you can easily move the guitar while pushing.
Make absolutely *sure* the eye of the spring is *firmly* seated around the claw hook
before you force the spring open. Work carefully, grasp the spring tightly with the pliers,
keep the body secure, and push with even controlled force to open the spring, again,
making sure the eye of the spring is firmly seated around the hook on the claw. The center
spring is already installed, you can just barely see the spring I'm putting on under my
thumb, which I'm using to force the spring open. Again, careful not to gouge the inside of
the cavity with the nose of the pliers. I'm actually grasping the spring deeper in the nose
than it looks, the tip of the nose is in shadow.

You will notice that as you force the spring open the tang will rotate counterclockwise as
the spring opens. The tang will then be at an angle when you get it to the hole in the block.
No matter, get the tip of the tang started in the hole, "then" push it perpendicular and
wiggle it down into the hole till it's well started. Then with my thumb pushing down on the
top of the pliers/tang to help keep it in place,  carefully work the nose of the pliers out. Pull
the nose out a bit, push tang further in the hole, repeat, till the spring is fully seated. Make
sure it is fully seated before you remove your thumb.

If you have a tang that is at a severe angle already [the tang already has a back angle bent
into it that makes it tougher to jump out of the block, this is not the angle I mean. I'm
talking about if the eyelet is parallel to the ground the tang can be pointing 30 degrees
either clockwise or counterclockwise] as many of the new guitars I've been working on, it's
going to be much more important that the pliers are at a "cross angle" to the tang so that the
tang won't slip through the pliers. Hopefully you'll get 2 tangs that point in one direction
and one tang that points in the other to make pliers slip-age a non issue if you "think" about
which spot to install each spring, but sometimes this means putting a spring on with the
pliers working dangerously close to the body contrary to how I show it below. If the tang
slips through the pliers your momentum can carry you halfway across the back of the guitar
grinding your paint with the pliers the whole way. Look twice, analyze 3 times, think 4
times, install once!!

I will install the center and far spring as I have shown, but, the near spring I will install with
the pliers facing the other way, of course pushing with my thumb, I just can't push and take
the shot. [from the previous paragraph and in a perfect world, the center and far springs
would have a tang pointing toward me, and the tang on this near spring would be pointing
away from me. If you put needle-nose on the tang and think for a second you'll understand
this] Someday I do intend to buy one of those "spring tools" just to try it out, but sometimes
we get stuck in our ways and resist change. This page is all about how you can work on
your guitar with tools found in any tool box and not so much how to stock a full time techs
toolbox.

Why? Good reason. You need to keep the pliers at a low angle, remembering the spring
tang will twist as you open the spring, you want to keep the pliers as perpendicular to the
tang as possible.  If the tang ever slips through the pliers your momentum will end up
gouging the pliers across the back of the guitar. To keep the pliers at this low angle you get
the pliers dangerously close to the edge of the trem cavity, and as you're applying force in
an awkward position, might not notice you just cracked the clearcoat until, well, you just
cracked the clearcoat!! Trust me, I learned this after I put a dink on the edge of  a trem
cavity, of a Donnie. Lessons like that you don't forget, you just wish you had learned them
on something cheaper!!! See?

That's why you put that near spring on in the seemingly awkward position shown above.
You lefty guys will have to figure your own way of doing this safely, I've never tried
working lefty so I don't have any advice ;o}

Aside from the springs reacting to being closed and reopened, the guitar should be very
very close to in tune just as it was when you pulled the trem. Make sure it's at pitch and
double check the trem angle before proceeding. Adjust if necessary, but rarely is it needed
if it was correct when you began. Let it sit for 1/2 hour if the springs were out a long time
before you start playing with adjusting the trem angle, this will give them time to resettle. If
you have replaced the trem with another one expect the saddles/intonation to be set
differently on the new trem [good trick is to eyeball the saddles into approximate position
to the trem you're removing]. Adjust everything before proceeding.

Make sure to remember to put the block lock back on. You do "not" want this so tight you bend
the bar, it will bend very easily. You want the springs seated and locked down, but the lock only
has to be "secure". These lock screws will also strip the block holes easily if you cross the threads,
make sure the screw is perpendicular and carefully thread it in. Once the trem cover is back on the
job is done.

13. Replacing Lo Pro/Edge Studs

To replace the studs first pull the trem as shown above. So you don't mix them up
replace one at a time. Unscrew the stud from it's anchor. Hold it next to the
replacement stud and align the point of the V grooves up as close as possible.
Using the wrench for the set screws wind the set screw of the replacement stud
down to match the stud you are replacing. This will keep the action very close to
what you had previously. Screw the new stud in and repeat for the other.
Reinstall the trem.

Because no two batches of studs are cut exactly the same you will have to do
some setup tweaks. Some of the V's will be cut deeper, some not as deep. First,
retune of course. Check and correct the trem angle, then tweak the action height
if you notice any difference. You might also need to reset the intonation.

14. Squeaky Trem Bar

Trem bar noise is typically one of three things, 

1. There is no grease left on the tip of the bar [or the shaft if you like a bar with loose
bushings] and the lock spring is squeaking in it's detent. Put a little grease in the detent on
the bar, insert, and spin it around a few times. 

2. It's not the bar but the arm holder which is loose. It has a tendency to squeak quite loud
when it turns. Easy to check by watching the arm holder while you spin the bar.

3. The spring that holds the bar in the holder is cocked sideways or otherwise jammed at the
wrong angle. Sometimes just loosening the spring screw and re-positioning it will clear the
noise. Other times if it's bent you'll need to remove it and bend it so that the tip enters the
holder straight on.

15. Loose Arm Holder

Tightening the arm holder is best done with the trem removed from the guitar. Hold the
trem in your hand and use a set of channel lock pliers to tighten the holder from the bottom
side. Only grab the END of the arm holder with the pliers because if you use them
anywhere else on the holder you'll deform the holder and the bar will not fit in it anymore. I
normally don't remove the bar retaining spring but be aware if you spin over it with the
pliers you'll be ordering a new spring. Once you have the holder itself tight take a 10mm
wrench and while keeping counterclockwise tension on the holder with the pliers, tighten
the holder nut [if you try to tighten the nut without keeping the tension on the holder the
holder will loosen again] This might be a little tricky for some who could make good use of
a vise to hold the trem while tightening the nut. Put the trem block in the vise to hold. You
will find some later model Lo Pro Edge trem where it's impossible to get the nut tight
without loosening the holder [I have yet to get to the bottom of this] and in this case it's
more important to have the holder tight than the nut tight, so tighten with the pliers as tight
as you can possibly get it [remember, only use the pliers at the tip of the holder!!]. Of
course there is a tool they use to tighten the holder at the factory from the top and why the
holder has a slot cut in the top, but the tool is not available anywhere [even from the
factory]. Some people will use a large screwdriver and tighten the holder from the top, but
you have a very great chance of slipping out of the slot and making a major scratch, and,
you will not get the holder near as tight as you will using channel lock pliers at the tip of
the holder. I have found that a holder tightened this way is tight for good, but some of you
may want to go the extra step and use Locktite on the holder threads before tightening.
Locktite is available at most auto parts stores and is used in engines to keep bolts from
loosening under constant vibration. More or less, it glues the threads together, but not so
glued it can't be pulled apart again later.

16.Tuning Stability Problems

If you're having problems keeping your guitar in tune.

There are 2 reasons why a guitar with a floating trem won't stay in tune. The first
would be because you are not following the procedures you need to follow so
that it will stay in tune. The other reason would be a problem with the guitar
itself, including the setup, lack of maintenance, and possible design flaws. If
you're very adept at double locking trems then look first at the possible technical
issues, while those that are new to floaters must get the basic procedures down
before you should even look for a technical issue. Always assume you are the
problem, not the guitar.

Before going any further, if your problem is from using the trem, you must make
sure your trem studs are lubed. Friction in the contact point between the knife
edge and stud will cause pullups to return sharp, and then back in tune after a
dive. I prefer Chapstick Lip Balm but any good PTFE impregnated grease [the
stuff that allows engines to run without oil] will work also. This isn't your
average white grease, look for names like Prematex Ultra Slick, then read the
contents. Turn the studs 180* counterclockwise, use a toothpick to collect little
goops and fill the groove of the now exposed knife edge side of the stud. Rotate
back 180* and work the trem, retune as it may go a little sharp, the thickness of
the lubrication can be worth a cent or 2 on a tuner. Done.

You May Be The Problem

Maintenance
Setup
The Guitar Has A Problem

You May Be The Problem

1. The most common problem with those new to floaters is not having the strings
completely stretched. With a floating bridge when 1 string goes out of tune, they
all go out of tune, so if one string [or more] stretch when playing, they all go out
of tune. They need to be stretched hard (except the high E and B which will
break under even moderate stretching, stretch a bit and finish stretching it with
big bends of 3 steps or more) until you can stretch them twice in a row and they
do not drop in pitch. The G string and the low E will stretch the furthest. Use
your tuner when stretching strings. After you have stretched the string and they're
at pitch lock the nut and do full range pullups with the bridge to see if they have
stayed in tune, and/or finish stretch. Check this page for the full routine.

2. Lockdown and fine tuning procedure is a very common cause of tuning

fluctuation. There is a very specific procedure that must be followed when
locking down the nut and fine tuning. Read the complete procedure here.
3. You are also the problem if you do not maintain your guitar, because it will not
maintain itself. Following section.

Maintenance

The guitar must be in good maintenance and setup before you can start to
diagnose any other possibly problems.

1. Loose parts. All metal to wood contact points will loosen as the wood shrinks
and should be checked and tightened every 3 months minimum. Movement is
death to stable tuning, but every aspect of the guitar needs to be maintained, right
down to tightening the jack every few years to prevent it getting loose and
spinning, breaking/crossing the wiring.

2. A loose nut is a serious contributor to instability. Tighten the 2 Allen screws

on the back of the neck/nut with a 2.5mm Allen wrench to make sure the nut is
well secured. You want the nut *snug* but you do not want to OVERtighten. Too
much torque on the nut screws is the primary cause of cracking the neck behind
the nut! I'll use what I call "medium 1 finger torque", the amount of torque you
can apply with one finger at the end of the Allen wrench. It's purely based on the
way I feel the torque, but typically 1/4 turn past full contact will keep the nut
snug and in place. It doesn't not need to be *tight*, it just needs to be tight
"enough" that it won't move. You should also be aware of what is between the
mounting screw and the wood. 1/3 of the time you'll have a regular washer and a
"boat propeller" locking washer. 1/3 of the time you'll have just the regular
washer, the rest will be just the locking. The locking washer against the wood
will give alot as the "propellers" dig themselves into the wood. The regular
washer will have no give. Knowing what's there will help determine how much
torque you need to get the nut snug. If anything is missing it would be a good
idea to make sure there are both between the screw and the wood. There are
times, especially when using very heavy strings [but I've often seen this on 7
strings strung with 10's] when no matter how tight you tighten the nut the nut still
wants to walk. Dive the trem and it walks toward the head, pull up and it reseats
itself against the end of the fretboard. This produces an effect where when you
dive the trem it comes back sharp, when you pull up it comes back flat. To stop
the walking usually nothing short of gluing the nut in place with wood glue will
work. Wood glue does not stick well to metal so it's easy to "peel" the nut off
later, but will glue it tight enough to keep it from walking. If glue isn't something
you want to "mess" with another trick is to cut a strip of a .1 nut shim, form it
around the mounting screw and slip it into the hole. This way when you put the
screws in there's a little forward pressure already on the nut, and if the screw can't
move backwards, the nut ain't walking either. ;)

Most new Ibanez guitars have gone to top mounted screw on nuts and some
specific care must be taken with these. Stripping the hole tightening the screw is
common and even many will leave the factory already stripped, or one tighten
away, I know because of how many I deal with. I've also had a walking screw on
nut on an older J Custom because the screws had ovaled the holes enough. You
can get away with running a little super glue then accelerator into the hole to
build and harden the threads that are there, but mostly you'd be doing a splinter
fill and build, try to keep it very even around the hole center, or packed more
toward the back side of the hole so the screw is pushing the nut toward the the
end of the headstock.

3. Neck screws not tight. This allows the neck to move slightly, enough to throw
tuning out. Another metal to wood contact point that must be checked
periodically.

4. Tuners loose, and these can get very loose. While a serious contributor to fixed
bridge guitar instability, it won't affect the tuning once the nut is locked down on
a floater, but it is part of maintenance and you don not want any loose parts on
your guitar.

5. A slightly loose saddle will move occasionally and when it slacks that string
makes it and the rest of the strings go out of tune. Make sure all the saddle lock
down screws are tight using the 2mm Allen wrench. Might as well set the
intonation while you're at it!! ;) This is not maintenance, and you do not want to
do this continually. The heads of the screws are soft and you will round one off if
you don't use a good fit [factory preferred] Allen wrench. When tight they'll stay
tight, but many will be loose enough on even new guitars to move a saddle
stretching strings.

Setup

1. Loose studs. The higher end Japanese guitars will have locking studs to give a
solid fulcrum [only applicable to Edge, Lo Pro, and Edge Zero trem systems [or
Edge Pro with locking stud mod]]. There is a set screw inside the trem post
which can be seen here and here. Make sure these are tight using the 1.5mm
Allen wrench [2mm on Edge Zero and current Edge applications using Edge
Zero studs ie. JEM77FP2]]. To make sure they are firmly set after tightening the
set screws, turn the posts down slightly using the 4mm Allen wrench, just enough
to take the slop out and lock the threads together. You don't want to force it
enough to spin an anchor, but you want the threads firmly locked together. If you
find the stud anchors do spin see "Loose Anchors". below. Loose studs will not
create dramatic fluctuations in pitch but they are one piece of the overall puzzle.
Of course this feature was dropped by Ibanez in 2003 with the new Edge Pro
versions of the trem system. The non-locking studs do cause quite a bit of
instability in some guitars and not in others, and you will find this true on
cheaper and more expensive models. Some have tried wrapping studs in teflon
[plumbers tape] and many other concoctions to try and tighten this contact point.
I like to use Ibanez' method where they started shooting clear down into the
anchors holes during painting, using a disc of paper as a stop in the hole. This
leaves a buildup ring of thicker clear in the threads. Using that method, flow a
little super glue, then accelerator around the back side [away from the head] of
the anchor. Screw in the stud to check for slop and form threads while the glue is
not yet rock hard. Repeat until the desired lack of stiff has been achieved [STOP
before the stud is too tight to turn!!!] . I use the back side of the anchor so the
constant pressure of the studs will be in the metal to metal side of the anchor and
stud.

2. The trem should be at the proper angle. See the section on Trem Angle and
correct the angle as needed. Although having the bridge at the correct angle has
more to do with keeping the strings in the correct radius to the fretboard than it
does in instability, again, another piece of the overall tuning puzzle that can add
cents of instability if not setup as designed.

The Guitar Has A Problem

1. Inspect the nut pads for grooves on their curved bottoms that would allow the
strings to slip, and also the nut base for the same grooves. Pretty unusual but I
have seen this on older models. Also make sure you are putting the pads on
correctly. The curve on their bottom conforms to the curve on the top of the nut.
Some older pads have the curves faced opposite of what we see today. i.e. an
LNG Jem's pads peaked tops line up in a row, where a modern pad the peaks line
up the same direction the strings run.  If you have grooves test that is what is
making the strings slip but plucking the string that's going out of tune between
the nut and tuner while you dive the bar. If the pitch changes the string is
slipping.
2. Interference - Check everything in the trem system for contact with the body,
wiring, pickguard, your nephews bubble gum, etc. i.e. You'll find quite a few
UV's with the pickguard slightly touching one of the tongues at the front of the
trem. Any contact will not allow the trem to return to neutral. See this page for
pickguard interference. I just did a JS1200 with Edge Pro and the back of the
trem was in contact with the side of the rout, you could physically see how far off
the trem would return, and most UV77RE's have some contact between the edge
of the trem and the side of the rout. This is fixed the same way you would do
neck alignment on a neck thru, by moving the curved knife edge. If the contact is
on the treble side you want to pull the knife out a little to move the trem toward
the bass. If the contact is on the bass side you have to pull out the curved knife
[easier said than done] and grind off .5mm or more off the end of the knife so
that it fits further back into the trem, thereby moving it toward the treble side.
The only way I've been able to pull the curved side without destroying it is with
cutting pliers, they bite into the knife enough to get it moving. Once it's far
enough out you have a crack big enough to get a flathead screwdriver in it
becomes a process of wiggling it out. Putting it back in is the easy part as you
just tap it in with a hammer until it's flush, and then tap on a large regular
screwdriver to finish setting it into the baseplate. If in doubt definitely leave this
to a pro.

3. If it's a brand new guitar or one that has been at rest some time, break the
springs in with some violent whammin, up and down. [This will also have a
small effect in forming the knife edge to the posts] Same thing goes if it's a guitar
that hasn't been played in a long time. Springs get static and create a memory,
when you start to break this memory they can react in a non linear fashion until
they get "broken in" again.

The next 4 points will require removal of the trem. Directions here.

4. Gummed up knives. Alot of people believe that you should oil the posts and
knives. Personally I've never seen any improvement by doing this but what I do
see is the oil collect enough dirt and crud to literally gum up the works. Use your
wife's toothbrush to clean the crud off of the posts and knives. On the other hand
I have seen great improvement on trem return using Chapstick [for the folk
offshore that a lip balm product sold in the US and many other countries, it has a
very waxy-greasy feel and does work quite well at improving free return to
neutral]

5. Grooves worn into the trem post V. When the trem posts have worn out from
use or constant adjustment, a groove will wear into the seat or V, this is rare on
Edge variant trems but it does happen with some of the entry and mid line
models because of their cheaper parts. Visually inspect and replace if necessary.
If your guitar is a pre 2001' with Edge variant it's very possible it has bad posts.
The tolerances at Gotoh had shifted and nobody caught it for many years. There
is a redesigned trem post that has the correct tolerance in the V. Read more in
the next section on Flat Knife Edges and Bad Trem Posts.

6. The knife edges of the trem become worn or damaged and require filing to get
back to a proper knife edge. This is also rarely seen on Edge variants [except
Edge3!] and some "mating" of the parts is actually preferred as they form to each
other, and their specific use. Cheaper trems are more prone to wear. The same
procedure as fixing a fat/flat knife edge, see this section to walk you through
shaping the knives. Note, you do NOT want the knives sharp. You cannot replace
knife edges if you screw them up or they're shot, Ibanez refuses to sell them, or
the trem baseplates alone, you need to replace the bridge at that point.

7. The trem post anchor [insert] has become loose. This is the most common
problem I will run into on older guitars, primarily basswood of course. Most
types of tuning problems will give predictable trem return. With loose inserts the
return is erratic. The trem posts screw into a metal anchor that is press fit into the
body wood. Over time this anchor can become loose, especially on guitars where
the trem post set screws have not been tightened allowing play between the post
and anchor, and especially on basswood which is a softer wood. Remove the
trem and with the post set screws tight try to move the posts [in the headstock to
tail direction and back] with the 4mm Allen in the top of the stud to see if there is
any play. Keep your eyes on the anchor checking for any play. If they don't move
use a junk stud, or put tape around the top of the stud, and try again using pliers.
[I've had many you couldn't move with the Allen alone but pliers showed how
loose they really were. If you don't have a junk stud take the stud out and use
anything [4mm Allen wrench from the stud, a bolt with the right thread, etc] put
it in the hole and push the anchor toward the head, and back toward the tail. Even
a little play will cause tuning instability, the anchor must by stable. There is over
100 pounds of string tension that makes the anchors move, test using the same
kind of force] If they are loose you will need to pull them out of the body. Make
sure to cut the paint away from around the top of the anchor 1mm or you will tear
the paint up with the anchor as it comes out. Grab the post (preferably using an
old junk post to use just for this, or a bolt with the correct thread) with a pair of
pliers and work it out of the body. [I use a cats paw [tool for pulling nails] with
shims laid across the body to protect the finish] If the play is minor give the
headstock side of the hole a superglue coating, then use accelerator to cure it
instantly. Check the fit with the insert, if it's still loose give it another coat of
superglue, repeat. If it's tight use a good quality wood glue dabbled around the
inside lip of the hole press the anchor back into the body the same way you
pulled it with pliers on the post. Let sit for at least 24 hours before reassembly.
NOTE - do not make the fit too tight or you may crack the wood behind the
anchor [between anchor and trem rout]. Basswood has very little resin and after
10-20 years if plenty dry and prone to cracking if you give it a reason. [Many
lower line guitars do not have post anchors. Some screw right into a metal plate
that is screwed to the body. You get what you pay for.]

You'll have to do the same thing if your anchor is tight, but spinning in it's hole.
Sometimes a set screw can be so tight you'll bend an allen wrench trying to get it
loose, and turning the post without loosening the set screw causes the anchor to
just spin. The only way to free the post is to pull the anchor out so you can grip
the anchor with pliers while wrenching out the post. Reinstall as above.

If a loose anchor is neglected long enough it will continue to oblong the hole,
sometimes to a great extent. You can actually see that the post is not at 90* to the
body. If the oblong is under 1mm using the superglue and wood glue will fill it
enough. Be careful not to use too much glue or when you press the post back in it
will be forced in through the hole in the anchor's base. Use plenty, but not too
much ;) If the oblong is larger than 1mm you'll need to use a good non shrinking
acetone based wood patch on the neck side of the hole. Pack it in, most at the top
than in the middle of the hole, but not too much. While it's still wet [work fast,
wood patch has a tendency to dry very fast] press the anchor back into the hole
and seat it. Try to press it in at a perfect 90* angle to the body. When it's seated
pull it straight back out keeping it at the same 90* angle. Let the patch cure for
24 hours and then reinstall the anchor using wood glue as described in the first
paragraph. [Always check the bottom of the hole for excess wood patch that has
been forced down there when "forming" the new hole. If there's too much it will
prevent the anchor from fully seating. Use anything to scrape it out so the anchor
can fully seat]

8. Wide flat knife edges. I see wide knife edges on even much order guitars
sporadically but it's consistently seen on 1998' - 2001', through initial production
Edge Pro guitars. Gotoh began grinding the flat side knives thinner of second
production run EP equipped guitars, that could still be cleaned up with a file for
optimal return, but the curved sides are typically found to be very fat for all EP's.
Then sometime around 2006 they quit grinding them and we're back to the
typical fat knives that started a lot of their problems to begin with.
The next section is devoted to this problem.

9. Bad trem posts. The next section covers this problem.

10. Springs. It's very rare but every now and then I'll run into a used guitar that
I've gone through everything and the problem persists, and as a last recourse I
will change the springs to fix. Every now and then a spring will just go bad and
not behave itself, soon to be destined for the landfill as just punishment.

Note - 100% trem float would mean it comes back from tune 100% of the time
from whammy dives, but also 100% of the time from pull ups. Your guitar
should always come back in tune 100% from dives. If it doesn't, you have a
problem that can be found above. But guitar very rarely come back 100% from a
pull up, in fact few will be at 98 or 99% from pull up which means neutral will
have a few strings off by a very few cents, something that the tuner sees but your
ears really don't hear. I consider a 95% float one where several strings come back
far enough out I can hear it. All of these can be reset to perfect tune by pushing
the trem down past neutral to low neutral. Worst case would be a 90% which
comes back nearly 1/4 step out of tune on several or all the strings, usually
caused by contact with a pickguard, or the wide flat knives with sharp corners in
tight posts explained next. For whatever reason, and with *everything* perfect,
checked, double checked, and allot of head scratching, I just can't figure out why
a 98% guitar isn't 100%. Every now and then I'll actually get one that floats
absolutely true, 100%, 0 cent raise in pitch, but man are they rare. The object is
to get the performance to as near perfect as possible, and near perfect is easy to
get. Near perfect NObody can hear the difference. [you can't fool the tuner
though]  You should find that a dab of Chapstick on the studs will improve
accurate return considerably even without doing anything else. With fully sorted
knives and studs the Chapstick still adds a degree of improvement. The best
cheap fix there is. ;o}

 17.Fat Knife Edges and Bad Studs

Sometime in the early 90's a decision was made to fatten the knife edges for
longer life. They're just a little too wide to freely breath and along the way the
tolerance would slip and some knife edges would get fatter. I find these
sporadically on 90's trems, but overall the knives are still just too wide to float
freely. Around 99'/00'' these far too wide edges started showing up more
consistently. It was sometime late in 2000' I reported the problem and by early
02' they've gotten the knife down to a fairly consistent .4mm which floats
extremely well is the redesigned studs. Occasionally I will encounter a wider
knife on an 02' that needs attention but they are infrequent. The real binding ones
that will cause an audibly out of pitch return will most likely be found on 99' -
early 01' models. The knife edge itself is not only flat but the flat part of the edge
is much wider than it should be, the very corners where these planes meet also
very sharp, promoting binding. Imagine sticking a box |_| in a V and expect it to
pivot freely.

Not sure exactly when, but the tolerances of the V cut into the trem posts [or
studs]  had slipped. The bottom angle of the V was now smaller and tighter,
pinching the knife edge causing binding. They have now corrected the posts and
the New Cut posts have a groove cut around the post between the V and the start
of the threads (I will start calling them Grooved posts when this is common
knowledge). This groove is cut there just to be able to identify the new posts
from the old. The new post is redesigned and the point of the V now has a nice U
shape relief which is needed for the knife to freely pivot. Posts have never been
better and I would recommend changing any old Edge/Lo Pro posts to these new
non binding posts. They begin to appear on production guitars sometime mid to
late 01'. This was Ibanez' cure to the fat knife edge problem I had reported in late
00'. I had never examined the post close enough to see the change in the angle
but it's very easy to see the difference in the V of a new post compared to any old
post.

This is an older post on the left and the New Cut post on the right, barely
noticeable is the groove around the New Cut for identification, between the V
and the threads. It's very tough to see but the bottom angle of the V on the older
post is at a smaller angle making the V tighter. You can also see the very 'point'
of the V on the New Cut post is much more open and U shaped.
This combination of tight posts and wide knives created problems with tuning
stability on these guitars. The angle of the V in the posts is now smaller, while
the edge of the Knife is wider, creating pinching of the knife in the V. The
*corners* of the knife edge are also sharp, so they are now *biting* into the now
reduced V of the post, not allowing the trem to return to neutral resulting in a
90%-97% guitars.

Very easy to determine if all other factors in your system are correct and tight.
See section directly above before proceeding and complete each of those checks
first. To diagnose, get the guitar into perfect tune, give it a little whammy abuse
and then fine tune again. Push down on the bar and let it rise to neutral position.
Check tuning, fine tune where necessary. Now pull up on the bar and let it return
to neutral. DO NOT push the bar past neutral. Check tuning. If your strings are
now all very sharp this is a classic sign of the flat knives and/or bad posts. It
should also respond to just touching the bar up or down 1/4" from neutral if you
check neutral.
Now, push the bar down and let it rise. Fine tune. You can play and it will stay in
tune if the last motion the bar made was rising to neutral. As soon as you pull up
on the bar it will return sharp unless you push it slightly past neutral so the bar is
on the rise as the last motion. Confused? ;) The trem is not floating right so the
neutral you're originally tuning to is a false neutral, but becomes neutral to the
trem when the motion is in one direction. Still confused? Me too ;)  If you pull up
on the bar and fine tune it will act the same way as a second false neutral, but
will only be in tune if the last motion is the bar falling, as soon as you let the bar
rise to neutral it's flat.

You will need to pull the trem to check the knives. A good knife edge looks like
the edge of a butterknife. It is not sharp, and it does not have a wide flat at the
edge. See the next section Sharpening Knife Edges for a more detailed
explanation.

Flat knife edges alone will cause tuning instability even with the New Cut
corrected posts.

Bad posts will cause tuning instability even with good knife edges.

It's difficult to see the added identification groove in the shot above so here's a
better shot. Notice that the groove will be cut in a different spot on each
manufacturing batch but always between the V and the threads -
18. Sharpening Knife Edges
First it needs to be said, sharpening was a poor choice of words. Thinning would
have been more appropriate.

Knife edges come in all thicknesses and profiles, too thick, too square, too thin,
too sharp, rounded off, buggered up, etc. Matching the knife's edge to the stud's
groove it rides in optimizes it's ability to freely return to neutral. I give the knives
on every guitar I touch attention of some kind, most flat side knives from 92' to
03' will be too thick, most times the curved side is also too thick but sometimes
they're have an angled back-cut making them too sharp. Most Edge Pro curved
sides are far too thick, while the flat sides range from adequate to too thick.
Visually inspecting and comparing to what you see below will give you an idea
what, if any, attention your knives need.
If you never perceive your guitar as out of tune then you probably *don't* need
to file! If you are troubleshooting a tuning instability problem exhaust every
other option listed above before proceeding! If you're having serious sharp return
from a trem pull up read on.

Before proceeding any further read the last two paragraphs and follow the
instructions, you may find the results adequate enough to stop there.

At perfect tune, in the bar down neutral, the trems are stable as a ROCK. You can
abuse the living Hell out of them and they'll always return to perfect tune. As
long as you don't pullup, and *rest* up. Some you can pullup and the difference
in pitch just isn't enough that most people would notice, and why 75% will never
have a clue. But there are some that return so sharp ANYbody can notice. And
still, if you never pullup and leave up, you'll never notice that either. Only file if
the way YOU play leaves you *noticing* it out of tune. But everybody should
install a set of the new studs, they are the best improvement since Leo thought
about putting strings on a plank ;)

A knife edge is a *wear* item. They always have been. Knives are going to get
buggered up no matter what on any trem that's *used*. I've put a nice edge back
on plenty of late 80's Jems that had long hard miles, and gave them another
100,000 miles before the next overhaul. Everybody that likes to whammy should
check their knife edges as a part of normal maintenance, maybe twice a year,
about as often as you should tighten your tuners. No one should assume they'll
last the life of a guitar without maintenance, they won't.

I've seen some trems with flat knives .75mm wide. Way too wide, .5mm is still
too wide, .33mm is about the thinnest I've ever filed them to and the .4mm
factory edges float extremely well in new studs so use that as a guide. We're not
talking about making a steak knife here and you will hear this again, about the
width and shape of a butter knife edge. Leaving them wider is always more
preferable than getting them too sharp!

***Doing this to a new guitar under warranty will void the warranty of your
trem.***

***I highly recommend you do not try and file Double Edge piezo bridges. The
lead is very short and any break in that lead and your piezo is dead. It can be
removed enough to drop in a set of the redesigned studs but I recommend you
stop there. I filed 2 X bridges, it's a very dangerous and precarious position you
must get all the "parts" in to do the job. I will not do anymore. It can be fully
removed but it requires unsoldering 2 joints on the circuit board, which in itself is
not a simple job, have a look and you'll agree.***

This trem is out of a beautiful 2000' Floral Jem. The 2000's are of superb quality
and probably the best Florals made, but unfortunately many have the wider
knives. Here's how you fix them. This is probably the best shot I could get of the
*flat* edge of this knife. The white reflection of the light is the flat. This one isn't
bad, a hair over .5mm, but it's too wide and the corners of the edge are still very
sharp.

In contrast the curved sides almost never need attention. This is the best shot I
could get to show the very edge of the curved knife. You can see how much
thinner and rounded the edge itself is. Seen here by the very dark edge.

Very very rarely will you ever see a curved edge that is too wide, and on the
contrary many of them are extremely sharp as they backcut the top edge creating
a point - V. Not to say I haven't filled many curved sides too, but I work on
LOTS of guitars. If one ever needs attention or is damaged these get filed from
the top side toward the arm holder as the holder precludes following the method
below. Finish as per below. You can remove the arm holder but it is unnecessary.
Since the round bastard file does not cut smoothly like the flat file I'll use a strip
of 200 grit wet-or-dry paper to smooth the curved side out after filing. Wrap the
paper around the file and get the knife as smooth as possible after it's been
worked on.

After you determine the knives need attention you'll of course need good files.
These are both from Sears, a 6" Taper File - Slim which is triangular with a
tapered end, maximum width 7mm. The round file is a 6" Round - Bastard Cut,
maximum 5mm diameter.
The first step is to mask off the trem with tape anywhere the file could wander
into it. It only takes a TOUCH with the file to mar the cosmo finish!!
You want to file from the bottom as that is the angled cut on the knife. Keep the
file centered and stable as you use it, it doesn't take much to bite through the
masking tape and into the finish. You can see I use my thumb to guide it. Do not
push down with your thumb, it's just acting as a wall. You want to file with as
even a pressure as possible. If you have more pressure on the right side of the file
you'll get an angled cut, center the pressure. I keep my index finger on the top of
the file applying the pressure straight down, I just can't take that picture ;)

I've got to update this part. I quit worrying about the bottom of the plate long ago.
The pics show me taping off the bottom of the plate but currently I file the plate
right along with the knife. It allows the angle of the file to be closer to the
original angle of the knife and actually stabilizes the file and keeps it truer when
filing. I'll try to update soon.
You also want to try and keep the angle as shallow as possible. The knives angle
is shallower than you can file because of the base plate, which is why I've been
filling the baseplate as well as the knife to keep the angle as shallow as possible.
You do NOT want the edge sharp!! The object is to get it *butterknife* sharp.
For reference about .3mm and rounded at it's edge. Here is a shot of how much I
filed the bottom side.
Now I want to finish this side by curving the corner of  the edge. Hard to explain
but right now the 'corner' is sharp as the 2 planes meet, the flat face of the knife -
and the angle of the side / , where they meet it's sharp and you want to slightly
round it otherwise the sharp corner will bite into the post when using the trem.
Start with the file at the steepest angle you have been filing and through the
stroke increase the angle till you finish perpendicular and filing the face. Not
much pressure is needed on the file and it will only take about 4 passes to get the
slight curve. Usually I'll just do 2 passes doing a stabbing stroke like a jig saw
while I increase the angle to round them off. This is the result, as clear as I can
get it to show in jpg.
The top edge is usually crisply sharp also so I'll file just *slightly* from the top
just to dull the edge a hair. Just like the last strokes on the bottom side, here I
want to file the same slight curve to take the sharpness off. This is the end of that
stroke. Like the bottom, usually 4 is plenty but it will depend on how much
pressure you apply and how long your stroke. [nasty joke edited] The lighter the
pressure and the smoother you will leave the steel, preferable! I can't do either
and take a picture ;)
The end result is a slight U shaped edge instead of the box shape it was in when I
started, butterknife width, butterknife sharp. Optimal would be anywhere in the .
3 - .4mm wide range and if in any doubt, file a little, reinstall the trem, and test.
You can always pull it out and trim a little more but you can't put the steel back
on the edge. If you get them too thin you'll have to file it back blunt again which
could remove several years of life from your knives.
This trem is ready to be reinstalled but it cannot be installed on the pinched V
posts that came originally on this guitar. I'm installing a set of the New Cut posts,
otherwise the best knife edge in the world still won't give you stable tuning when
using the trem. This is the original post on the left and the New Cut post on the
right, barely noticeable is the groove around the New Cut for identification,
between the V and the threads. It's very tough to see but the bottom angle of the
V on the original post is at a smaller angle making the V tighter. You can also see
the very 'point' of the V on the New Cut post is much more open.
To make the setup easy after swapping the posts I'll preset the depth of the set
screw on the New post by lining it up with the old post and set screw. Of course I
removed the original posts without touching the set screws. Now when I put the
trem back in the action height hasn't changed. The guitar was actually still in
almost perfect tune which is quite rare because the depth of the grooves are
different on each different run of studs. Usually you'll have to reset the trem
angle and check the intonation. But the most important part, the tuning remained
stable under whammy dives and bottoming out pullups! Job done.

**UPDATE** - I took alot of heat about filling knives and recommending the
rest of you could improve your performance if you were having problems in this
area. Well, I'm feeling quite vindicated now. These are close ups of the knife on
an 03' Edge Pro bridge. Notice that Gotoh is now rough grinding both edges of
the knife to thin it out before pressing it into the baseplate. Fairly crude but
they're performing extremely well [if you've upgraded the new Edge Pro's
degradation to non locking studs] but can definitely use a little more thinning and
cleaning up. The curved side on most Edge Pro bridges is far too wide and I will
have to add more to this page on how to file the curved side.
Even with the knives filled perfect you may have some sharp return after a
pullup. I scratched my head trying to get over this last hump for a long time and
tried oils and grease to no effect. The secret ingredient - Chapstick Lip Balm.
This is a very waxy type grease that will take a 95% trem return and instantly
make it a 99%, and typically take a 98% and make it 100%. I would highly
recommend this as a first step before any filing on the knife edges of even stud
replacement, it's just that effective. I'm not sure how well this product is
distributed around the world so you international boys might want to hit Yahoo
Shopping and try and find somebody that will ship a couple sticks overseas [a
couple so you can share it with your mates!]. I may even start stocking it LOL
[Sidenote, I couldn't stand the stuff when my wife would put it on her lips,
nothing worse than that big old slippery greasy kiss [except lipstick, which leaves
you looking just as sexy as her after a smooch] but considering the results it gives
on trem fulcrums I'm now thinking about buying stock in the company!]

With the guitar in perfect setup [including the stud's set screws locked] use your
4mm wrench to spin the stud 180 degrees [lefty loosey!]. Take a toothpick and
work the Chapstick until you have a small ball of it at the tip.You want to spread
and deposit this ball in the groove of the stud exactly opposite the knife [it's been
turned 180 degrees so when you turn it back it will be at the knife] and just a tad
before exactly 180 to guarantee the knife gets coated also. Spin the stud back 180
till the set screws seat and lock. Do both curved and straight side knives. When
done whammy a bit to spread the coat everywhere the knife will make contact.
With your last motion a bar down and rise to neutral [this is the only way you
should fine tune a guitar] fine tune until the instrument is in perfect tune. You
should now enjoy superior return from a straight pullup of the bar with all strings
returning to near perfect tuning.

Thanks to Gary Brower for this tip, he's been using it on Chromeboy for years
and it's always kept a smile on Joe's face ;o}

19. Pickguard Interference

I've seen alot of "mostly" early UV777's where the trem is touching the pickguard, not only squeaking
when moved but also keeping the trem from returning to pitch freely, causing more erratic tuning
return from a pull-up [not that the very fat knife edges and closed studs help on these UV's either]. I
mention the knives and studs because this guitar did not have pickguard interference until I filed the
mile wide knives and put in a set of open studs which moved the trem just enough toward the pickups
that it came into contact with the guard. The first whammy down I heard it squeak and knew exactly
what it was. When you have guard interference you will usually hear that squeak but not always, in
which case it can be see on visual inspection.
Here you can more clearly see where the corner has distorted the curve of the
guard causing a little bump.
This is quite easy to take care of. Just remove the trem following the instructions
here and use a small round bastard file to cut the guard back. The guard cuts fast
so take a few strokes and then drop the trem back in [without putting the springs
on] to check progress often.
Once you have clearance be sure to file around that spot to put a clean curve back
into the guard. Here you can just see the small gap between the trem and guard
and under testing the trem does not make contact through it's full range of
motion.
Blow away the filings, put everything back together, and the job is done.

20. Rounded Intonation Screw

It's extremely easy to round off the Allen hole on an intonation screw, they can usually only take a few
adjustments before they'll start to give. When one finally goes round the first thing you should try is the
long side of the Allen wrench. [usually you'll be using the short side and it can become rounded too
speeding the demise of the screw] If you can't get any bite with the long side the easiest way to get it out
is just drill the head off. I'll use a 7/64" bit here, just bigger than the shaft size.
These screws are fairly soft and will cut quickly if you're using a sharp bit.
When it's through the head will just stick on the bit as it breaks away. I could have taped off
the pickup [or pulled the bridge] to do this but the shavings gather up easily with the
magnetic head on my screwdriver.
I always just pull the saddle out so it's easy to put a set of needle nose pliers on the screw to
back it out. It's totally loose but my fingers are way too big to get a grip on it.
Of course you'll need a new screw [and a couple spare to keep around]. You can order these
from any Ibanez dealer or visit my Parts page. Slip the saddle back in to the position you
wanted to move it to begin with and you're good to go.

21. Locking Stud Mod For Edge Pro

With a bean-counters brilliance the factory decided to downgrade the locking
stud system they've been using since 1985 on their Edge and Lo Pro equipped
guitars to the cheaper non locking stud the cheaper Korean models have always
had. This is the best mod I could come up with to add the locking studs to the
Edge Pro equipped guitars, short of pulling the stud inserts and putting a set of
Lo Pro inserts in, which is  unnecessary with this set screw mod.

Why do you want locking studs? A stud that's allowed to move will not always
return to the exact spot causing tuning to be slightly out after whammy use. Any
movement in a double locking system is not conducive to stability. A nut that's
walking whacks tuning out a specific way, pull-up it returns flat, dive it returns
sharp, very peculiar and easy to diagnose. Very erratic return is usually from an
unstable pivot point. The first thing I check on used guitars that have horrid
return is the stud inserts [the stud's anchors that are press fit into the wood]
because when they oval the wood and get loose they will never return to the same
spot between dive and pull-up stresses. This causes super erratic swings in pitch
with no really stable or even predictable return, It's the unpredictability that
points directly to an unstable pivot. Loose studs work on the same principle, even
though it effects tuning to a smaller degree, it does have an effect. Nothing beats
a stable pivot point to give you absolutely predictable trem return. Ironically the
loosening of these inserts in older guitars is largely attributed to non locked studs
that have wiggled back and forth enough it's caused the insert to oval the wood
[although I have had a New Old Stock LNG Jem with maybe an hour of total
play time that had significantly oval'd inserts just from sitting in a case for 15
years. Basswood is a soft wood and susceptible].  After many years I have
concluded loose anchors is a function of the wood itself. Basswood is soft and
with over 100 pounds of pressure on it, most of the time the anchor will impress
into it. I discovered that anchors set high with the top of the anchor at the top of
the rout almost never impress, and high set anchors where the top of the anchor
slightly protrudes above the wood, never impress. I believe it's because the sealer
and paint soak into the wood and make it so much harder than unsaturated
basswood that they cannot impress into this harder material.

How this works -

On the left is the old 2LE2B locking studs [note the extended set screw in the
center of the stud] and 2LE2A inserts that have a solid base. On the right is the
new non locking EP studs and the open base inserts. Because there's no set screw
to lock there's no point in spending the pennies to machine the base into the
insert.
The base of the EP insert needs to be securely plugged so the set screw in the
stud can lock against it. On the left is the insert with a socket head set screw to
plug the base, and on the right is the set assembled with either a locking or non
locking stud. [Editors note - I originally wrote this thinking that *locking* the
non locking studs to just the set screw plug would be a great cheap fix, $1, you're
done. $1, and about 15 minutes of work every time you want to make even a
slight action adjustment. Spend the extra ching and buy locking studs, $25 now
saves a buttload of aggravation later.]
This shows how either would lock together but I left a little room between them
for the shot. The locking stud on the left you would use the set screw in the stud
to lock against the 6mm set screw that adds a base to the EP insert. The non
locking stud on the right will lock itself against the 6mm set screw, the set screw
would have to be adjusted for the correct action height and then the stud
tightened against it for the lock. It does work extremely well, it's a PITA to
adjust. Not recommended. Opt for the locking studs.
For you DIYers the specific part is -  8M, 1.25 pitch, socket head set screw. A
4mm length would be optimal for flexibility but 6mm is the shortest available
and will allow 2mm action at the last fret with .5mm neck relief. A neck shim
[which all Ibanez need to begin with to get ample pull-up range on the bridge]
will be needed to get sick low 1mm action some of you like, or, the 6mm set
screws can be easily ground down to 4mm. I grind every one I use down to 3-
4mm thick.

A quick note about studs. The best studs are the original redesigned batch Gotoh
cut when the pinched stud problem was corrected [see this page]. They have a
very open U profile to the groove the knife edges sit in. There has been another
batch of locking studs cut since this batch, and the profile is no where near as
good as the original batch. The original batch I call Super Studs. The concurrent
batch is still much better than the pinched studs of previous years, but they are V
shaped in the groove and not U shaped. Unfortunately the batches are mixed and
the Super Studs are cherry picked to use and sell for the stud mod. I sell the more
V grooved studs as replacement studs for the 15+ years of pinched stud guitars
and they do perform much better than those original studs. Ironically, the non
locking EP studs have the same profile as the Super Studs, unfortunately, they
just don't lock.

For optimal results the knife edges of the EP trem will need attention. The flat
and curved sides are far too wide for free trem return, and the curved sides are
actually the fattest that have ever been put into an Ibanez trem. See this page for
directions, but be forewarned, don't screw it up!!

What To Do

Remove the bridge as detailed here. [Before you put it back in!! Check the
profile of the knife edges themselves described here as knife edges binding on
the studs is another cause of specific return problems, specifically, dive it returns
in tune but pull up and it returns sharp.] Remove the non locking studs from the
body. With a 4mm Allen wrench thread the ground socket head set screws down
into the stud inserts [If the base of the set screw is not perfectly flat or you have
them at an angle you will cross thread them. Any sign it's cross threading back
them out and begin again, keep them as perpendicular to the insert as possible.
Typically I will put the set screw in the top of the hole with the allen wrench on it
and then screw counterclockwise until I'm sure it's flat and won't cross thread
when I screw it down]. Keep downward pressure on these set screws as they're
ground thin enough that most of the Allen hole is gone, just enough left to get the
Allen to grip and spin it down, but not so much it will be easy to find the hole
again if you slip out with the wrench. Screw them all the way down until they
just make contact with the wood, then back them back out a hair by spinning the
wrench 180 degrees. This will keep the pressure of locking the threads of the
locking stud from pushing the set screw into the wood, possibly raising the insert
a hair. With both set screws in take your new 2LE2B locking studs and screw
them in. Use your fingers or the 4mm Allen for speed. Reinstall the trem.

You will have to do a basic setup after installing the mod as the V in every batch
of studs is cut to a different depth which means you will have to adjust the trem
angle. Of course you will need to set the action height also. Once the setup is
finish and the *final* action adjustment has been done, use a 1.5mm Allen
wrench and tighten the set screw inside the stud. Once they are tight you will
need to use the 4mm Allen again in the stud to take all the remaining slop out of
the threads. Usually no more than 1/8 of a turn but it depends on how tight you
got the studs set screws to begin with and just how much slop there is between
the threads, some are fairly snug, some are really sloppy. You're not trying to
break the set screw under the stud or spin it hard enough to spin the insert [that
anchor the stud is in], but you do want to take the slop out of the threads
effectively locking the stud.

One last step to maximize performance is to lube the pivot point. I've tried
greases and lubes and nothing had a really positive effect until Gary Brawer
turned me onto what he's been using in JS's guitars, Chapstick Lip Balm
[originally a tip to Gary from Tom Anderson as what he used for nut lube]. Back
out the stud 180 degrees and dab a ball of Chapstick in the groove directly
opposite the knife edge so that when you spin it 180 degrees back it will be on
the knife. Whammy a bit to work it around and then test again, you should find
improvement in the tuning return.

Public Service Announcement - Remember to always fine tune after releasing the
bar from a whammy dive. This is what I'd call your *stable neutral*. When you
bend strings you're pulling the bridge slightly forward so this is the natural return
position of the bridge while normally playing. No trem will be 1000% on return
from a pull-up but it should be so close you'll never know unless looking at a
tuner, and then still barely off. Once you dive the bar it will always return to
perfect tune again [as long as the guitar is in good setup, maintenance, and the
strings properly stretched] which is why you always fine tune in the exact same
spot every time, with the bar returning to neutral from a dive.

Need It?

The locking stud mod kit with Super Studs is $45 mailed in the US, or $44 offshore. The
kit includes one pair of the redesigned optimum profile 2LE2B locking studs, one pair of
8M set screws ground down to under 4mm thickness, and the 4mm and 1.5mm Allen
wrenches you need to go with them. Order by email using any of the 7 zillion email links
found on this site ;)

22. Fine Tuner Range On Edge Pro Wound Strings

 

There is a flaw in the first generation Edge Pro saddles I noticed while doing an
early 2003 UV777. The flaw causes poor fine tuner range on the thicker wound
strings, notably the low B, E, and A. Since there are undoubtedly more of these
guitars out there this will illustrate the problem, and the cure.

The groove in the front of the saddle where the string rides wasn't deep enough or
wide enough where it meets the clamping area in the saddle, basically clamping
the string into the nose of the saddle which prevents free and independent
movement of the saddle nose, effectively killing fine tuner range.

Follow the groove from the inset chip to where the line separates the front and
back halves of the saddle at the string clamping area. You can see that it is not
only shallow and narrow but where it meets the back half it actually almost
disappears.

This pic is a little closer but darker

Here you can clearly see the widened and depended groove, especially in the
problem area where the front and back half meet.
 

This was a fairly simple fix as I just used my Dremmel and a slim bit and opened
and deepened the groove where it was binding the string. If you don't have access
to the tools replacing the saddles is a very simple fix.

23. Extremely Sensitive Springs

Every now and then I'll come across a set of short springs and they're such a bitch to adjust
I always just pull them immediately and put in a "regular" set. I just did an RG7CT [99'
model] with them and figured a few of you guys are experiencing the same. Here's the
difference
You can clearly see how gold toned the short spring is compared to the normal. In a setup
the difference between 3 of each can be as much as 3/4" [20mm] in where the position of
the spring claw is. The short spring remain in a nearly closed position making them so
finicky to adjust. These short springs will counterbalance a set of 10's [in fact I've used 2
short springs in arrow formation with 10's] and 11' gauge strings without problem, and
possibly 12's or higher, but for 9's they're just a pain.

To swap springs, with the guitar in correct current setup, pull one spring at a time and
replace. When all are done start screwing in the claw under the guitar comes back into tune,
fine dial in all the details and you're done. Since these shorties were original issue you'll
probably find the claw screws will be biting virgin wood when you screw them in to the
proper depth for the longer springs. Just screw hard and they'll get there [good advice in
bed too]. ;)

**A closed spring requires more force to open than a open spring**

**The more open a spring the easier it is to open even further**

**Always let springs settle for an hour after adjustment and retweak if necessary**
**Springs retain a "memory" and need to settle to develop new memory**

24. Tips For A *Stiff* Guitar

Stiff - The inability to bend strings and have that smooth, silky, 'buttery' feel.

How stiff your guitar plays depends on a few factors. The gauge and brand strings you use,
the number of springs you have on, the angle of the trem, the height of the action, and the
contact between the strings and frets.

I've been using DiAddario XL120's for years and what I use on all used guitars. For a 7
string I use a .054 on the bottom. I just happen to like the feel of them.

4 springs will always feel more stiff than 3. Even though they exert the same tension they
do it from a more closed position. The more closed a spring is, the more force it takes to get
it open.  2 springs in arrow formation will give you the spongy-est feel as they are the most
'open' of any configuration.

One of the reasons many people love the feel of older guitars is how spongy they feel when
bending. This can be directly attributed to old and near worn out springs. Eventually they
will need replacing but for the long period when they are weakening [but still useable] they
are just buttery.

I've always found the springs get stiff from lack of use, like they're static. They need to be
used, and used a lot to get spongy.  Springs react weird to lots of things. Getting tweaked
too much doing a setup they get *confused* until they finally figure out what you're asking
them to do! And then don't fully settle in for 24 hours. Not being stretched at all for long
periods makes them really stiff until they get abused a little to soften them up again. So
abuse them!! :-)

It also seems to make a little difference if the trem angle is just a little past perpendicular
toword the strings. Like the angle preloads the tension to the string side so the trem will
'give' easier to that side when bending. 

Another thing that can make a guitar play stiff is mild fret corrosion if it hasn't been played
or is kept in a bad atmosphere. Heavy corrosion and you would instantly notice the strings
*sticking* to the frets on bends and vibrato, but a real light coat just stiffens the bends
giving far from silky feel. Make sure the fret crowns are polished.
 

25. I Bend A String and The Others Go Flat

This is inherent to all floating bridges and is perfectly normal. If you watch the bridge as
you bend a string, it will pull forward, and as it does every other string is pulling flat. There
are a few ways to resolve this situation. The first is to micro bend the double stop into tune,
a technique that's very easy to get used to [for me I generally pull the B string while
pushing on the G, just feels more natural than pushing both to different degrees. Doesn't
work so well on the E/B though as you'll pull the E off the frets ;)] There are also devices
such as the Tremsetter and Ibanez Backstop, that both address the problem. Another cure is
to add spring tension that's pulling on the bridge so it takes much more force to pull the
bridge forward with a string bend. It's something you'll need to experiment with to find the
degree of relief you can live with. You can add one spring or even two, and with 5 springs
you'll have lots of extra tension "holding" the bridge in position. making it much more
difficult to pull forward. Unfortunately adding all this tension makes for a very stiff playing
guitar as part of that buttery feel on string bending is the fact the bridge *is* pulling
forward with little resistance, but, it is a solution to keep your double stops in tune.

To really stiffen it up 5 springs would almost give hardtail-esque performance, but because
the springs are not counterbalancing heavy gauge strings it means the springs will be very
closed with the strings at pitch, So closed you'll get very stiff string bending, a very heavy
bar feel, and they're also an absolute pain to make small trem angle adjustments, one of the
things you'll have to learn to deal with while performing maintenance. You might find that
just a fourth spring is enough to be tolerable with how well it will hold tune against a bend
but still give you more pliable action. Even 3 using an arrow formation will add more
tension. The point is you'll have to experiment to find a solution that's right for you.

So far I've been speaking of stock Ibanez springs which you'll find in nearly all new Ibanez.
There will be 3 and they are 52mm long. They do make a short 47mm spring that is about
as strong as 2 of the 52mm springs. Currently they are in K7 models and I'll run into them
in some Prestige and J Custom models, read the section on Sensitive Springs. Joe has
always used 2 of these 47mm strings in arrow formation as this was his preferred
combination of keeping double stops more in tune vs. feel. I have used 2 springs in arrow
formation to counterbalance 10 gauge string in regular tuning. 3 of these short springs in
straight formation will counterbalance 12's. They offer the highest tension you can put in
your guitar but you will pay the price in maintenance as they are extremely sensitive
making adjustments [again, read the Sensitive Springs section]. For no logical reason have I
ever used more than 3 x 47's but if you want a "hardtail" floating bridge I'm sure 5 would
get you there! ;)

A read through the Trem Angle section and the Removing The Bridge section should get
you prepped for the task. With the guitar in tune and the nut locked, takeoff the string lock
block. There are now 5 holes in the trem block, and 5 hooks on the spring claw. If it's
factory you have 3 springs in the 1 3 5 holes/hooks with the spring lock on. To add springs
you'll have to use the holes for the spring lock [for an alternative read the last paragraph].
For a 5 spring setup just add springs to the 2 and 5 holes/hooks. To use 4 springs you'll be
using 1 2 4 5 leaving the center hole/hook empty. These are all straight spring setups. An
angled setup would be 2 springs in the 1 and 5 hole on the trem to the 2 and 4 claw and the
center spring straight [or absent, depending on the results you're trying to achieve]

After you've changed tension in whatever formation you're experimenting with, he guitar
was in tune when you started so now it's just a matter of adjusting the claw so the the total
spring tension matches the string tension at pitch. In other words, loosen the claw springs
until the guitar is in tune again, using the claw springs as your tuners. I always keep my
claw parallel to the cavity instead of at any weird angle [which some people believe affects
the feel of their guitars and why they do it, but that's just more experimenting you're free to
do if you want to spend the time ;)] You're not going to get the guitar into perfect tune this
way but you can get extremely close. Just remember that the springs will adjust to their new
memory so stop short of where you want to be and the adjustment will take it further, let
rest for an hour, tweak into perfection and lock and fine tune to play. If you just want to
quickly test the feel you can do a half assed setup getting it close to tune as possible, lock
the nut and you'll get a rough idea if you want to fine tune it more because it's close to what
you want, or you may know instantly you want a harder hold, weaker, whatever you're
trying to achieve with the change. Only you will know when it feels right and performs to
your needs so taking the time to experiment and find the best setup for you is time well
spent. Me, I happen to LOVE the fact the bridge pulls forward making string bending a
breeze, to me that's one of the best benefits of the floating system ;o}

If you're a mad crazy whammy user with violent tendencies toward monster pull-ups you
might want to consider using double eyelet springs [which have the eyelet on both ends
instead of just one] for any additional added springs, this way you can still use the spring
lock block to keep a spring from popping off [in the rarest occasion they would] 

26. Temperature and Setup

Simply

As a guitar heats up it goes sharp, as a guitar cools down it goes flat. These are basic
principles while playing. If you play a cool guitar you will warm the neck by your touch
alone and it will start to wander a little sharp on you.
Heat > wood expands > neck and body get longer putting more tension on the
strings/springs > putting more pressure on the truss rod causing the neck to also flatten out,
or even/usually go into backbow > pitch goes sharp.

Cold > wood shrinks > less tension on the strings/springs > less tension on the truss rod,
which causes excess frontbow > pitch goes flat.

Temperature effects neck relief differently. Metal shrinks and expands more than wood
does, believe it or not.

Heat > expands the metal truss rod and the neck will get more and more relief.

Cold > shrinks the metal truss rod and will straighten the neck, and many many times put
the neck into mild to severe backbow. During the winter almost all guitars I receive will be
in some degree of backbow, so no doubt yours will also.

These same principles work for Wet and Dry. Wet wood swells and dry wood shrinks.

Heat = Wet - They will have the same effects.

Cold = Dry - They will have the same effects

Going from Cold *and* Dry to Hot *and* Wet is Hell on a setup. Our guitars are usually in
a dry gas heated environment in the winter and then subjected to warmer wetter air during
the summer. With each change in season your guitar should be given a complete overhaul,
checking all the metal/wood contacts and readjusting the setup.

27. Noisy Piezo Output

If your piezo is making extranious electrical noises with quiet strings, volume knob turned
up - replace the battery, it's almost dead. It seems like the circut requires very little juice to
operate, but when current level falls below a certain point the circuit will start making
random electrical pops, hisses, and noises indescribable in type. We're talking a 9v I could
stick on my toung and not feel a thing, near dead. Always keep a spare 9v battery in your
case if you're gigging a Double Edge equiped guitar.

 
28. Picking Your Combo Lock
 

No, this will not get you into the safe at your local bank, but it may save you from the
aggravation of ruining a perfectly good case because you had a few too many and can't
remember the combination of your JEM1000 or UV1000 case lock.

We've all seen so many of these cases with buggered locks ripped open with screwdrivers,
missing tongues, or any myriad of lock "disease". These could be forgotten combination or
they could be combo's that through sloppy use have been changed in the process of
incorrect opening [opening in the way you would reset the combination].  If you have a
combo lock case and can't get in it, don't destroy the case. PICK the lock.

This is a very simple procedure. I use a .1mm hut shim but I have used a simple piece of
paper and it works just fine [paper used here as the brass shim doesn't show well against the
brass lock]. Slip the corner of whatever you are using into the slim gap between the first [or
last, order does not matter] combo wheel and the tongue. It must be in the gap between the
wheel and the tongue. It will slide in until it hits the barrel which is smooth [when on the
wrong number]. When the wheel is on the "set" number you will feel a definite notch in the
barrel. This is the notch the pin lines up with to free the latch and open the tongue. Turn
each wheel until the notch is on the set number and the latch will open. When finished use
the instruction here to RESET the combination to one you will remember [or, just pick it
again when needed! LOL]

Right Latch - use the gap on the right side of the wheel.
 

Left Latch - use the gap on the left side of the wheel.
 

Unfortunately both of these case locks have been ruined, their tongues ripped off the latch
with a screwdriver, and then removed and thrown away. But they are both working
perfectly and set to 000 now,  just for demonstration purposes obviously LOL

29. How to Reset You Combo Lock

Typed verbatum from Ibanez instruction card that comes in every new UV1000 case.

Set your combination

1. Choose 3 digits you can recall easily - address, phone, birthday etc.

2. Press the button in a direction toward the dial with your thumb and hold with your other
hand (Use point of ball pen) rotate the dials to the desired setting. Then, release the button.

3. Your lock is now set to open on the three digits engaged at the time you release the
button.

CAUTION

4. Accordingly - NEVER rotate the dials with the button held open UNLESS you make
careful note of the dial setting upon release of the button.

5. The manufacturer is not responsible for damage resulting from misuse, abusive handling,
or failure to follow instructions.

Remove the red arrow before setting lock.

* Please Note:

Make sure to cut down the red plastic pin before operation.

30. Cracked Neck Repair

This repair is basic woodworking so there's nothing complicated about the job and anybody
should be able to pull this off without any problems.

Here is a cracked UVMC neck. This neck was cracked when the guitar hit the floor
headstock first and is not the typical crack behind the nut you'll find from over tightening of
the nut, although the repair is the same for both. This crack is tough to see as it's nearly
perfectly closed so I'll save the multiple views until I spread it. This side shown got some
dirt in it at some point so it's a little easier to see the dirty line.
 

The first part of the job is spreading and gluing. What you'll need is any piece of lumber
long enough to mount the neck on, a few clamps, glue, paper towels, water, and a piece of
indiscriminate stiff [but thin] clear mylar, this one barely visible in my fingers I cut from
some product packaging I grabbed out of the trash can. [Due to organization [or lack of it]
the wood and clamps never made the shot ;)] Note that while I prefer Elmer's Carpenters
Glue for most glue repairs because it's thicker, I will use Titebond for this job because it is
thinner and therefore easier to work deep into the crack.
 

Time to spread the crack. Clamp the heel of the neck to the lumber, in this case a 1" x 4",
and then slowly and carefully clamp down the headstock end to spread the crack apart.
Where to stop spreading is a judgment call. Of course you don't want to break the
headstock off the neck, but you do want to open it wide enough so you can get the glue to
penetrate deeply into the crack. If you hear any creaking or cracking whatsoever STOP.
Spreading to this gap there was no sound and no worry of breaking.
 

Now you can really see the crack which runs from beyond the first fret up to the nut holes
and back to the first fret.
 
 

Time to glue it up. Run a decent bead down one side of the crack and using your finger pull
the glue into the crack to force it down in. You want to work fairly fast as you will have
limited time to work with the glue before it starts setting up on you.
 

Here you can see one side loaded with glue.

 

Do the other side.

 

Now that it's worked in I like to go back and do it all over again. Load it up with more glue
and repeat as above. I want to work as much glue into the gap as possible.
 

This is where you use the piece of mylar to work the glue as deep into the crack as you can
along the whole perimeter of the gap. It doesn't have to be mylar but it does need to be
resilient to the glue and still thin enough to get in deep. If you tried to use a business card or
anything else paper based it would instantly turn into a limp noodle when soaked with glue
and become worthless. Using this I was able to work the glue up to 3/4" deep into the
crack.
After forcing the glue deep with the mylar I will go back and do it all again. Load it up with
more glue working it in with your finger, twice. Then using the piece of mylar work as
much as you can as deep as you can into the gap.

The crack is now loaded up with glue, and lots of it. It's time to pull the clamp off and let
the excess glue ooze out. Alot will come out, but not near as much as you put it. This is
about 25% of what went in considering I loaded it with this amount 4 times.
 

Time to clean up the majority of the mess using a dampened paper towel. [note, I used a
toothpick I broke in half to clean the excess glue out of the nut mounting hole]
 

With it cleaned up it's time to clamp the crack itself. Hard enough to get it as close as
possible to flush but you do not want to squeeze all the glue out [if it was possible at this
point], the glue is what's going to hold this crack together, squeeze it all out and there's
nothing left to hold it ;) [Note that this was a tight gap crack to begin with so the force of
the neck closing itself squeezed out nearly all the glue it was going to, leaving very little to
come out during clamping] Of course if I used an all metal C clamp and a piece of wood to
protect the neck I would get a closer seam, but I would also squeeze out more of the glue
and since the strength of the repair is in the glue I'll just use my padded bar clamp and
squeeze as tight as possible.
 

After letting it dry for 15 minutes I've pulled the clamp and finished cleaning the remaining
glue off. Now you can see how far the two sides of the crack are still spread because of the
glue that's in the joint itself. Time to finish the job.
 

The materials you'll need to finish are 220 grit sandpaper, a paper towel, cloth, and tung oil.
[This neck is originally finished in oil. If you're working on a clear coated neck you may
want to use an airbrush and the appropriate clear for the type neck you are working on and
re-spray the finish on. Although, tung oil will also work to seal and put a sheen on ever a
clear coated neck.]
 

First step is to sand down the high side of the crack. Do not just sand, sand the high side of
the neck only. You want to get it nearly perfectly level before you start to sand across the
crack line and blend it out to the low side. Of course you only want to sand in the direction
of the grain even with 220. Some would opt for a faster cutting 100 grit but a slow and
precise job will be evident in the finished product using the finer grade.
 

Here you can see one side blended and getting close to ready to blend in the other side.
Note, only sand until the blend is smooth and complete, you do not want to remove any
more wood than is absolutely necessary!
 

All done and it looks great. Yes it's going to be lighter. Wood darkens with age and an old
neck is usually dirty too, but as you can't see, the crack has nearly disappeared ;o}
 

Take the paper towel and work some tung oil over all the now bare wood. Not alot, a little
tung oil goes a long way.
 

I usually don't leave it on more than a few seconds and then just wipe off the excess and
buff till dry and smooth. You can always do it over and over again to build up the oiled
finish if you prefer. As you can see this repair looks great. If I had been ultra anal I
probably would have finish sanded the dirt off the rest of the headstock too and re-oiled it
all just to get a more even look, but this neck does have some small clear coat issues on the
face of the head so I'm not going to get ultra picky about trying to make it look perfect. It is
a very good repair as you can't see though ;)
 
 

The only telltale sign besides the lightening of color in the sanded area is the dirt that was
left in the crack that was on this side to begin with.
 

Of course this repair needs to fully cure for 24 more hours before installation on a guitar,
but the repair is now complete and extremely strong. There was alot of glue that was forced
deep into the crack to ensure that it will stay closed, probably forever. Typically a glued
joint is stronger than the surrounding wood and I would bet money there's enough glue in
this joint that if it ever happened again it would crack in a different spot. How much money
would I bet? How much ya got, if it's enough I'll break it again to find out ;o}

31. Cleaning Matte Clearcoat

Matte finish clearcoat is a pain in the ass to clean. I personally do not like the finish because unlike
gloss finish, matte finish will scuff very easily and when it does, you can not polish the scuff out. It's
there for life. It also will trap the oils and sweat from your hands which any of you that have tried to
clean fingerprints off of one of these would know all too well.

Here's the last word in cleaning a matte finish

Kind of tough to find so if you can't find some in your local grocery store do a search on
Yahoo shopping for Scotch Brite High Performance Cleaning Cloth. Trust me, they're
worth every penning you'd have to overpay to get one. The have a texture that almost like
an eraser although very soft and will cause no damage whatsoever. Not only will
fingerprints literally just wipe off but they're perfect for just all around cleaning on a matte
finish also. If you have something that dried you can either scrape it lightly with a
fingernail to break it up or a touch of spit or water on the rag and let it do it for you, but you
will not find any better cloth anywhere for maintaining the matte finish on your guitar.

Even though I use these exclusively for matte finishes they also work every bit as well on
gloss finish. A big thanks goes out to Brian Hinson who discovered these in his infinite
search to find something that would work well on this JPM P4, a guitar I would typically
try and not touch the finish at all when working on because of how difficult it is to get the
fingerprints back off.
 32. JEM90th Pickguard Corrosion
 

Jem90th pickguards have been a problem since the model was introduced. They
cloud very quickly and are difficult to near impossible to clean. I have had some
good luck using a simple buffer and paint polish to remove light corrosion with
just the lightest staining left when finished, but I recently had a heavily corroded
guard that would not budge even using a bench polisher and black rouge. The
guard brightened considerably but hidden by the corrosion was considerable
pitting.

Fully corroded
After polishing - a combination of pitting shown here, with staining in the
following shots.
 

It was time to get to the bottom of it so I took it down to my local metal shop that
makes my saddle shims for an evaluation. They concluded it was polished
stainless and said that all they could do was try to continue polishing on their
bench buffer [same as mine LOL]. So I started calling everybody in the phone
book until somebody advised me about a metal finishing shop that wasn't in the
book. I called them and they said bring it down. They concluded the same thing
until one of the guys took it over to some serious arbor polisher [NOT like mine
LOL] and did a cut on the back with course grit, to reveal, brass. They are either
nickel plated [which would explain why they corrode so fast] or chrome on top of
polished brass. Either way when the sweat and oils start leaching through the
pores in the metal down to the brass it starts pitting, not much different that the
chromed brass under your toilet you inadvertently "wet" on those blurry eyed
mornings.
This was a full service metal finishing shop that did everything from plating to
powder coating, and a specialty in refinishing marine parts. They chemically
stripped the plating, cut the brass to the depth of the pitting, polish it, and then
chrome plate. The cost was $100 and the results, while not absolutely flawless,
were excellent and easily passable. I think you'd have to agree.
Although it sat in the case for 2 days and when I pulled it out there was already a
thin "film" on it, probably from the case evaporatives still attacking it. You
couldn't see the film unless you wiped the plate, which revealed perfect chrome
and a very light edge to the "film". It will be interesting to know what it would
look like after a few months in the case.
These are the tools of the trade. I have many more but these are the ones I will be using on
these pages.

Cleaning rags

9.6 volt DeWalt

Bottlecaps, wedges, pads, and clamps for blocking the trem

Old toothbrush

Needlenose pliars

Screwdrivers, #1 Regular and Phillips, #2 Phillips

Allen wrenches 1.5mm, 2mm, 2.5mm, 3mm, and 4mm

Factory truss rod wrench, 7mm

10mm deep well socket

Metal mm ruler

My trusty Sawzall

My jack hammer wasn't needed and wouldn't have fit in the shot anyway.

p.s. I only use the Sawzall when the neck pocket is too tight.

p.p.s Just kidding, I use it all the time.

Used Guitar Primer - Cleanup To Setup

Ever have a used guitar shipped to you? I'm never surprised at how absolutely
grunged people will sell and ship a guitar. Only once have I recieved one I didn't
have to touch, Mark Schloe take a bow for the GMC, I couldn't find anything to
do besides fine tune. If they all came that way my life would be so much easier!
This long tutorial is typically what I deal with on every used guitar that comes in
the door, granted this particular guitar is one of my babies so it did get some
extra time and just a little extra special attention.

I've had this guitar for over a year and it's finally getting done. Terrible, I know,
but I also have 2 Donnies I haven't done yet either!! I'm too busy working on all
YOUR guitars! ;-) I actually took this (and 1 of the untouched Donnies) to
Jemfest this year! Shameful, I did want to have them 'show-worthy' by then.
Then again, there weren't any *cleaner* guitars there!! LOL (yes, Kev, your RG
Gear was clean, sit down) Why am I doing it now? I noticed it never made the
Gallery and got it out to take high res pics of it. That's when I realized I never
took pics of it because I never cleaned it. I was in the mood to take pics, and had
planned on doing this exact tutorial, so off we go!

Even though this is a UVMC the principles are the same for all Ibanez Floyd
equiped models. Hopefully you'll find some informative tips and tricks, there's
alot of information here. Those of you with advanced skills probably have your
own way of doing things, these are mine. If you know a trick share it with me, we
can never have enough! To see what tools I'll be using click here.
There she is, my 91' Fretwear Catalog cover UVMC also featured in the 93'
catalog on the accessories page and in other numerous Pocket Titan adds. It sure
isn't the dirtiest that's walked in the door, it's actually pretty decent,
comparatively, but grungy none the less!! Let's get to work!

1 note - PUT EVERYTHING YOU TAKE OFF IN AN ORDER SO YOU PUT

THEM BACK ON THE SAME WAY!! Nut pads used on the high E shouldn't be
used on the low! Pickguard screws from the bass side always have more finish
wear, the ones over the single and bridge has the most. Guitars just don't look
right if the wear patterns don't add up, these are picky details, but I'm PICKY! If
you're not don't even bother reading further ;-}

First things first, remove the strings. I use a few different blocking methods for
the trem and on this I used 2 - 2litre bottlecaps and a piece I made of very dense
cardboard that's thick enough to wedge the trem close to as high as it will go. Put
them under the back of the trem and just cut the strings with your snips or loosen
the string clamps at the saddle and pull them out [you'll have to anyway].

This is how I would block a Jem trem, notice the bottlecap wedged into the
crushed styrofoam that's conformed to the claw.
But if I'm just doing someting quick I'll more than likely grab my clamp. Throw
the bar in the trem and clamp it to the body. Notice the cloth over the body to
prevent dents or scuffs, and the styro wrap around the clamp shaft to prevent
anything else. The red feet of the clamp accessorize this DNA well, and are
rubber for soft grip and stick.
Back to getting these ancient strings off. Good time to tell you your allen wrench
for both the nut pads and saddle blocks is 3mm. Starting with the nut unlock
them all, remove all the pads, keeping them in order for when they go back on. 
At this time I'm also going to remove the string tree using a #1 Phillips. Careful,
you can flec the black around the holes if you aren't careful while unscrewing,
many times the screws are at an angle and under tension. Pull the truss rod cover
while you have the screwdriver in your hands. Begin removing the strings from
the trem, I'll remove them all at the same time and keep them bunched in my left
hand.. I snug the saddle blocks back up after pulling each string out since I'll be
working on the guitar at many angles and I don't want the blocks to fall out and
get lost. You can now pull the strings off the tuners and you didn't have to scratch
the headstock by dragging them out from under the string tree! Strings scratch,
scuff, wear, and stab, always be careful and only work under adult supervision. ;)
Here's what we have now.
Alot of work I'll be doing will require the neck off and there's no time like right
now. Support the neck while you remove the neck screws using a #2 Phillips.
Remember they have a distinctive wear pattern that corresponds to the plate, put
them back in the same holes or just leave the plate on with the screws in the holes
like I do. I'll use my DeWalt, you use whatever you want. After I've unscrewed
the plate the body should just slip right off the neck. If it's a tight fit I will usually
grab the neck body joint quite firmly and turn the guitar back over so I have more
control. To remove the neck you want to carefully slip it straight up and out of
the pocket [the neck will not come out if you try slipping it out toward the
headstock, straight up and away from the body is how to remove it], being
careful not to let it twist or cock in an angle on any plane.  It should slip right out
but some will be a hair snug or even tight and for these you want to just
*slightly* wiggle it in all planes to slowly work it out. Careful, slow, and steady
is the key. If your neck does not budge, STOP, and take it to a professional tech
if it must be removed.
How can you tell if your MC is faded? Look under the plate.
Is that sweet or what?!?! [Note - Japanese swirled UVMC's do not fade,  I can't
swear they won't if you leave them out in the sun for 10 years, but typically only
ATD swirls will fade.]

Here's a weak example of the typical Bohemia address ATD stamp in pink/purple
(also in black) and the factory UV77MC markings A-typical with an extra U.
Normal large red H line or inspectors mark.
Enough show and tell, I've got a guitar to clean.

NEXT

Time to clean the neck and I always start with the head. Take a 10mm socket and
remove the tuner sleves and washers.
All loosened, just look at that surface. That's not dust, it's years of atmospheric
buildup, assorted splatter, with a dust covering.
Let's introduce you to your rags. 1 will be used for clearcoat, pickguards,
headstocks, keep these as clean as possible. The other (the yellow) is my neck
rag, finger splooge, oil, and steel wool are not good things to be cleaning painted
surfaces with, don't mix them up! ;-}
First thing I'm going to do is blow on the head (alright, I know what you're
thinking!!!) just to move the loose dust off. Then use the rag to gently brush most
of the rest. If the surface is extremely crusty I'll actually blot it with polish and
just slowly smear it around letting the wetness break down as much heavy crust
as possible, then wipe off. Sometimes the crust can be as scratchy as steel wool,
this one's not that bad and I'll go straight to cleaning. To clean I typicaly use a
cleaner polish, no wax or silicones. Anything extremely mild that's made for
clearcoat will work. I have a favorite but they're out of biz now so my next bottle
will be an experiment. Use just a *few* drops on the rag and work small areas at
a time in small circles keeping it wet. Don't rub hard, you just want to break the
crust up and mix it with the cleaner. We're not polishing, we're cleaning. To
polish these polyester clearcoats you really do need machine power and a good
pad. If the headstock is fairly clean my preference for cleaner is, don't gasp, spit.
I hear you out there "Oh my god how gross, he's spitting on my guitar!" Yes I
am, live with it! I learned long ago that saliva has forever been known as one of
the best *natural* cleaners on Earth. You're going to use some in the next step :)
Face clean? good. Now start cleaning each tuner ferrule and washer. A little spit
on your rag will do the trick, just rub till clean. As you finish each stick them
back in their proper holes and when they're all done retighten them with your
10mm socket firm finger tight, you're only trying to keep them in place, not crack
the clear on the headstock. Flip the neck over and clean the rest of the tuners.
Here you see me with my metal mm ruler wrapped with my rag to clean between
them, yup, just damp with spit. If the tuners are really filthy it's much easier to
just remove them all. As always keep them in order, clean, then reinstall. Be
careful not to over tighten the tuner screws as they are not very strong screws at
all. The tight ferrule on the face is what keeps the tuner in place, the screw is just
secondary.
While we're back here let's tighten the nut, 2.5mm allen wrench, just finger tight!
The object is to snug up the nut not split the wood ;-) Your nut needs periodic
tightening as wood shrinks slightly over time, worse in drier climates. Even slight
shrinking will loosen the locking nut and other metal to wood connections like
the tuner nuts. Most guitars I receive have a loose nut and a couple loose tuners.
Loose parts will definitely impact tuning stability, tone, and create some very
strange resonance's as they vibrate.
Ahhhh, now isn't that nice?
Cigarette break and we'll move on to the fretboard.

NEXT

 
1    2    4    5    6    7    8    9

This rosewood board has some old crust on it.

Not too bad, but old crust is hard crust. I use the edge of a pick to scrape the heavy stuff off
in the direction of the grain of course. (here the board is already clean and I had to find
some crust to scrape to take the pic:) This picture does show the minimal fretwear that
doesn't need any attention at this time.
After you've scraped as much of the crust as you want the rest is elbow grease. If you keep
your players board clean every string change it's a breeze. On these old crusters it's a pain.
To clean in against the fret wrap the rag around your thumbnail. Always use your fingernail
flat against the board pointed into the fret, your fingernail tip is sharp and will mar the
board if you push into it.
There ya go, nice clean board. Looks terrible doesn't it?
That's what board wear looks like on rosewood, polished from playing and stained from the
old crust. You don't think I'm leaving that like that do you?! ;-) Time to get out the 0000
steel wool. Rub the entire board in the direction of the grain. This will also remove most of
the oxidation from the frets.
For the best results pinch the edge of the wool and get right up against the fret. The golden
rule is never rub against the grain, but, I will sometimes give a few light strokes against the
fret beacuse I know I'll be polishing those scratches out  pinching it up to the fret. This is
very time consuming but worth the results.
Notice the dramatic difference?
Better get to work, only 21 more to go!

NEXT

1    2    3    5    6    7    8    9

The wood looks great, time to finish up some details. Can you see the oxidation on the
sides of the frets?
Not in that picture you can't, trust me it's there. You don't think I was going to leave that
there do you? Use masking tape to tape the frets off with at least an inch of overhang on
each side. Fold one end of the tape so you can easily remove every time. Detack it against
your pants first before you put it on the wood, you don't need or want the full adhesive
power. It can actually leave a residue on the board, and on clearcoated maple can pull clear
off. Pinching the edge of the wool with your thumbnail (grow one) rub in the direction of
the fret. You'll see the oxidation disapear and the fret brighten and polish. Don't forget to
hit the top of the frets too. If you're seriously anal you can mask off each side of the board
up to the frets and polish the angled end of the frets. It's 4 am so I won't be doing this
tonight. After a few frets the tape will start to get dark and it's time to switch sides, then
replace, you don't want to wear through the tape.
Notice the difference in 21-24? (the 4 on the right:) It's a subtle detail but I notice those the
most. Back to work, only 20 more to go!
30 minites later the frets are shining. I'm cleaning the board of all the wool fibers and dust
with an old toothbrush. It gets it out of the pores and from against the frets very well.
Now that the board is raw and dry from wooling I'm going to add some oil back to it. I'll
use either bore or lemon oil for this. Lemon oil evaporates faster so it's bore oil on this one
and every guitar that's special to me. Bore oil is specifically made for the bores in
woodwind instruments, good stuff. Thanks to Rodney James for this bottle!
Easy, a little goes a LONG way. 2 drops in the tip of my rag and I'll stripe the wood
between about 5 frets at a time (down low and about 10 up high where they're skinny) to
unload the oil.
Go back and spread it around making sure to get right up against the frets. Reload and
continue on till the board is covered. By the time you get to the end it's time to start buffing
the excess off where you started. Buff till the wood is obviously no longer leaching oil.
Now this I consider finished. Remember what it looked like before? I'm happy.
Time for a cig or 2 and then tackle the body.

NEXT

 1    2    3    4    6    7    8    9

Body time. I usually start by brushing all the dust out of the nooks and crannies of the trem.
This would also be a good time to wipe surface buildup off the trem itself, it's far out of the
well and you have decent access to the sides. Your clean rag damp with spit works the best
on hardware. (This guitar is odd in that the trem was extremely low in the cavity when I
started, so low it had cracked the clear under it. I had the trem out earlier to analyze the
problem and cleaned it completely at that time) Removing the fine tuners to clean the flat
between them is a nice touch, but using the toothbrush works in a pinch. I removed these.
Clear pickguards, gotta love them. Everything from spilled beer to Cheeto's crumbs find
their way behind there, including lots of atmospheric crud. Everything is usually stuck like
a rock too. This one's fairly clean for having never been done, but far from *clean*. First
off remove the knobs and switch tip. Wedge a heavy pick under one side on the knob and
spin the knob.
This will give you enough clearance to get a pick under the other side. Work them back and
forth and the knob will slip right off. If you're worried about scratching the guard with the
pick [yes, it will if the clearance is tight] stick a piece of tape next to the knob where the
pick will make contact, Scotch or masking, no matter which. The clearance wasn't that tight
on this knob for me to worry about it.
The switch tip will come off with your fingers if it's been off before. If it hasn't the chances
are you'll need to use a pair of pliers. Use your rag to protect the plastic and only squeez
hard enough to grip the tip. I'm using channel locks to get the right jaw opening, pinching
more underneath the tip.
Remove the pickguard screws now, organizing them so they go back in their original holes,
wear pattern. The first time a guard is removed you'll hear it cracking as it seperates from
the clear, it's actually lightly glued on by the freshly sprayed and ultraviolet cured clear
when originally assembled. I've pulled 3 month old DNA guards that cracked. There's
actually nothing 'cracking', but that's the sound it makes as the guard releases. UVMC's
have guard mounted pickups so you can only lift the guard so far to work underneath.
GMC's, PMC's, and most FP's have direct mounts so the guards come right off. The best
cleaner to use under the guard? SPIT! ;-) Don't use your cleaner wax, getting the trails of
oil smears out from under it is a huge PITA. You don't want to rub too hard as even a clean
rag can leave light scratches in the underside of the guard. Also be careful to not break the
guard, it's very narrow and weak in several areas. Use care as you hold it wedged off the
body as the pickup screws are SHARP and you can easily scrape them on the clearcoat if
you're not careful and observant. Nothing like a nice scratch under a clear guard. You might
not see it, but I will. You'll have a lot of fun cleaning the rails that run between the
pickups!! LOL  When you're done wipe down the tops of the pickups.
On every clear guard there will be areas underneath that will just not clean or polish, you'll
find these on the clearcoat under the guard too. This is where the guard and the clearcoat
have been in contact and over years the remaining solvents in the clear etch the pickguard,
and the pickguard from contact makes the clearcoat matte finished. This can be machine
polished if you remove the guard. The guard off also makes for easy 'complete' cleaning,
but removing the guard without cutting the p/u wires requires removing all 6 p/u screws,
much easier getting them out than it is to get the p/u screws rethreaded with the springs
fighting you. If you go for it seek help! ;-) As soon as you're satisfied with your efforts
screw the guard back on. If you tighten the screws you'll notice really dark, clear, shinny,
oily spots around your screws. This is where the guard is in direct contact with the clear.
Just back the screw off till you see it disapear.
It's as good as it's going to get, time to reassemble.
NEXT

As found out before I started and alluded to earlier, this guitar needs an ample
neck shim even though it already has one. I'm not quite sure why and at this point
just want to keep working. I use folded paper, these guys that want brass should
hang out with Eric Johnson. I used a 5 fold on this one. This is a very think shim
and is being combined with the original shim glued in the pocket. A typical neck
shim will be a 3 fold single shim, a piece of paper folder twice. It's about as thick
as a buisness card which is also excellent for the job.

If you can't get you trem any lower and your action is still high (and you
loosened the set screws in the trem posts!) I can almost guarantee you need a
neck shim. Most of the guitars I import internationally do not have any neck shim
at all. Some do, Almost never is there one missing from a US  guitar. You'll also
never get a perfect fourth of pullup range out of any Ibanez with low action
without adding a shim.
Yea, I count 6 folds too, I reconsidered before I put the neck on and cut it to 5,
glad I did as the shim was perfect. Here it is in the pocket just where you want it.
[Today I tape these in place with Scotch tape [clear office tape to the
international crew] to keep it from shifting on reassembly]

Edit: 15 years later I still use a folded paper shim for it's flexibility in getting the
perfect neck angle [giving the right amount of pullup without getting the strings
too far off the body [and bridge higher than needed], but I will cover the area
from the body to 1/8" over the trem side neck screws so that the full screw
pressure is on the shim, and placing another shim exactly half the thickness and
half the distance between the headstock side neck bolts and the first shim,
splitting the distance and giving support in the middle of the neck heel [just to
shut up all the whiney "luthier" types that rant about the neck deflecting like a ski
slope if you don't fully shim the pocket [like a 1"+ thick slab of wood is going to
be deflected as much as the height of the shim by the pressure of the neck screws
alone [rubbish LOL]]]. So if you want to be extremely anal about using a neck
shim, use 2. [Stew Mac is now selling full pocket angled shims with their
explanation that if you don't shim the full pocket humidity can get into the neck
pocket! No mention of the neck deflecting though! Humidity? Sure, it's getting
into ever part of your guitar, your body under all that thick clear will shrink and
expand with humidity [and temperature] [note all the old checked Gibson
finishes] and your neck is swelling and shrinking depending on the humidity,
exposing fret ends in the Winter and covering them back up in the Summer. Mini
rant over [10/16]

Set the neck into the pocket carefully so you don't disturb the shim and firmly
hold it in place. Lift them upright or turn them over as a unit, you're not going to
stop squezing them together till the last neck screw is seated. I turn them over.
The neck plate still has the 4 screws in it the way I took it off. By dangling the
plate over the holes the screws will slip right back where they belong in one
stroke, lay the plate on the body and screw it back on. Start with the bridge side
screws cause if you don't get this side seated the neck angle will be off. If you
screw in a neck side screw first sometimes the bridge end of the neck will catch
in the pocket and not seat. These are the tightest you will tighten anything on the
guitar, but we're still not talking *grunt* tight. You can crack the clear in the
relief contour at the corner of the plate by overtightening. 1/4 to 1/2 turn past
snug is plenty. My torque setting on the DeWalt is 14 but I always just screw
them till snug with the drill and finish torquing them by hand. This is a picture
from removing the plate so it's apears the wrong screw is being tightened last,
tough, it's time for a picture and I didn't take one putting it back on! You can also
hold the body and neck vertical for reassembly and I do many this way as gravity
is taken out of the picture. How I hold a guitar to rescrew the neck is more a
factor of how I'm holding it at the time more than having a preference ;)

Now that the neck is back on we can reinstall the string tree and string her up. I
always leave the ball end ON and just feed the string through the hole up to the
ball. Your 3 year old stabs himself on the stub string ends of old style stringing
and you'd be doing it this way too. I've been doing it almost 20 years. You have
to cut the ball off the low B, the windings won't fit through the hole. Thread the
string through the hole pointing away from the bridge so you can kink it back
tword the bridge around the post. Slip them under the string tree and snip an inch
past the saddle block.

As you can see I get all the strings cut and locked before I start winding them
down.
As good a time as any to adjust all the fine tuners to the same height. Make sure
they're screwed in enough to have 2 full turns of adjustment to back out.
Hold the string taut as you wind it up and remove the slack, only remove the
slack! Start at the low B and work your way to the high E. When the slack is
gone I remove the additional wedge under the trem and let it rest on the caps
alone. If you leave the trem level like this without any string tension to couteract
the springs, the knives will slide up the trem posts and the trem will pop off. It
happens very rarely but when it happens on a DNA you never risk it again, and
why I use the additional rolled paper wedge till there is string tension back on the
trem.
With the strings now closer to the board I can check the neck alignment. Ooops,
see how close the low B is to the edge of the neck?
Loosen the neck screws a half turn and pull the neck in the direction it needs to
go, snug the screws and check it again. Sometimes you'll have a neck that you
have to actually force into position and hold with a death grip to keep it in line
and get the screws tight again. If it's too far still you have a slight amount of
adjustment at the nut, put the wedge back under them trem, loosen the nut
screws, and slide the nut as far in the direction needed. Hold it while you tighten.
This won't give you any more than a quarter mil of correction but sometimes
that's all you need. If you need more the next step would be to evenly sand the
side of the neck pocket. Just a little here will change the neck angle quite a bit.
This one was easy.
With the trem now resting on the caps I can quickly tune the strings up to a few
half steps flat of true. Pull the caps out from under the trem and finish tuning, it
should be close enough that this is resonably quick.

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Oooops, looks like the old strings were .008's LOL

If you can't tell why you should vist the Trem Angle part of the Tech section. The trem is
angled far forward and I'm not close to tune yet. One quick look inside the trem cavity tells
me the claw is way too far out. Screw the claw in to add enough string tension for 009's. I'll
eyeball this in to about where I know it should be.
This is normally where it should be with a .009 setup.
After getting the strings in perfect tune could you believe the angle was perfect, I never
touched the claw again! ;-) Check out that knife edge. Where's the knife edge? You didn't
visit the Tech Section did you?
Time to clean the nut pads and get them back on the nut, do not tighten yet. A huge part of
a double locking trem keeping tune is stretching in the strings. Just grab the string around
the end of the fretboard and yank it back and forth with vigor! I'll usually work the string
from nut to bridge from around the 9th fret to the pickups, and back again. The high E you
have to be 'delicate' with but it won't stretch much anyway. The bigger the string the more it
will stretch and they need to be stretched hard until you can stretch them good 2 times in a
row with miniscule change in tune. Have fun with the low B! LOL I pull harder than
shown, I just can't do it and take a picture at the same time.
With all the strings stretched and at aproximate pitch it's time to check the neck bow. I do
this by eye, sighting down the edge of the neck into the glare of a light, getting the glare
right on the edge of the frets illuminating just their end edge. This I can't show you in a pic
or explain how much bow I want to see. Preferrably on the bass side I want to see minisclue
bow from the end to about the 7th and then smooth bow to the nut, with the trebble side
straight. That's a perfect situation, but not all necks cooperate. You can also check bow by
fretting at the 1st and 24th fret and checking the gap in the center of the neck, around the
9th. (try fretting at the first and fretting at the 24th with your elbow while you try and take a
picture!:)
This neck has a little more bow than I like, and it's very smooth even bow down the whole
neck, both trebble and bass sides, a little more on the bass. I'll give the truss a few 1/4 turns
and see what happens.
Just slightly straighter but as I figured, it starts to backbow from the 3rd to the nut, this
neck is destined to the bow it has. This isn't a problem, it's just not *perfect*. Guitar necks
will take on many different personalities and you need to adjust them to play as well as that
neck will. Minor inconsistencies can be taken care of with fretwork. I checked to see if any
serious fretwork would be needed as that would be done before the board was polished.
That way you clean all the fret dust, which can be considerable, out of the woods pores
with the steel wool when you polish the board. I'm moving on to the action.

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On a 7 string I personally like the low B 2.5mm off the top of the 24th fret and the high E
1.5mm off the top. I just dial this in by eye, I don't need to measure. Of course I'm backing
out the set screws inside the trem posts using the 1.5mm wrench before I turn the posts.
Many times you will need to loosen the post to unlock the setscrew, it can be too tight for
the little wrench (and your fingertips!) I always back both posts out a hair before I back out
the set screws.

Here is a pic of the post with the set screw extended. They screw out the bottom and will
not come out through the top of the post. The set screw locks the post threads against the
threads of the post anchor and is critical to eliminate play between them, causing tuning
instability.
Now I can go ahead and adjust the action height using the 4mm allen wrench in the trem
posts. If the trem posts bottom out and the action still isn't low enough, guaranteed more
neck shim is needed. Go back to page 6 for details.
When the action is right don't forget to retighten the set screws! I just tighten them finger
tight, but I'll turn the posts down just a hair to really lock the threads together. With the
neck shim that was added earlier the trem now sits exactly where I want with the correct
height, sure am glad I went with the 5 fold shim! The point of the trem where it meets the
guard is between .5 and 1mm above the guard on the bass side and just slightly under on
the trebble. This is just my personal preference, you can adjust yours anyway you want by
the thickness of the shim, the thicker the shim the greater the neck angle, the higher the
trem sits on the body, the thinner the shim the deeper the trem will sit in the cavity, this
would be after both configurations were setup with the same action.
After the height is right it's time to check all the frets. Fret every note on the board to make
sure you don't have anything choking on a high fret. On the unwounds do this by bending
the string at least a full step to check for areas that choke. I like at least 3+ steps of clean
tone and why I set my trebble side at 1.5mm. You might have to readjust the action slightly
depending on the neck and how good your eye was at setting it up. ;-)
No problems with this one, I'll have to show that fix in another segment. Time to get it in
perfect tune and check the intonation. Open string and harmonic at the 12th fret, all in tune
and perfect. Unfortunately, this is a terrible way to check intonation. Fret each string at the
24th fret (or last fret and transpose) to check the intonation, and checked that way, this
UV's intonation is WAY out. With the trem at perfect angle and in perfect pitch, hook the
Edge adjust intonation tool up to the high E saddle and snug up. Loosen the saddle screw
using the 2mm allen wrench and adjust the saddle.

If the fretted note is sharp the string needs to be lengthed by moving the saddle away from
the nut. Back off the string at the tuner to aid the tool. If the fretted note is flat the string
needs to be shortened moving the saddle toward the nut. Retune the string and check the
24th, if it needs further adjustment continue until it's correct, then clamp down on the
saddle screw, retune the whole guitar to perfect pitch, and move to the next string. Continue
until done. I can't recomend the tool highly enough! They can be ordered through Stew
Mac, unfortunately they have to be purchased as a set so you will get all 3 varients for $56.
Before I bought the tool I'd grab my clamp to pin the bar to the body. It's fairly easy to
move the saddle with most of the string tension off unless it needs to be moved a long way
to lenghten the string. Unwind the tuner in this case to get enough slack. 
From the saddle pattern it was obvious this intonation wasn't changed when the string
gauge was and was still factory set. It's just been intonated for the first time. Shame. I'm
locking down the nut pads and moving on. Finger tight only!! You'd be amazed at how
many people will strip a nut overtightening the pads. If the tuning changes when you lock
the pads down there's a good chance it's the pad turning as you lock it down pulling the
lower string sharp and the higher flat. There's a trick to just seat the pad before applying
that last finger tight torque which usually elliminates this. If your string tree is not low
enough both strings under the pad will pull sharp as the pad stretches the string, check and
lower the tree if necessary.

Time to put the truss rod cover on while I'm here. I'm going to adjust the pickup height
now, a #1 flathead screwdriver will do. Turn the screw clockwise to raise the pickups,
counterclockwise to lower. Set them where you like them just not so close the magnetic
field affects the strings, this will kill sustain and sometimes pull the string slightly sharp.
This is where I set mine.
Next is just to microtune with the fine tuners and play it for a stretch to check all the details.
Of course I plugged it in and checked the electronics when it came in the door but now it's
got fresh steel and will show it's character. I always wash my hands first as I don't want to
clean the board much when I'm done, I've already done that. When I've had enough it's time
to wipe the board down and finish cleaning the body. Just like I did the headstock and with
the same cleaner polish, work a small area at a time making sure your rag is clean. This is
where 1 piece of wool fiber in the rag will leave alot of scratches on the body. No need to
use pressure, I'm just cleaning and the surface of this is perfect, just dirty. Any serious
polishing should be done with a buffer and good pad but minor polishing can be done with
the same polish, but NOT on a rag. You put it on your finger and use your finger like you
would the rag. The rag will collect polish buildup which will scratch, your finger won't.
Polish as long as your finger can stand it and wipe off the residue. If you're trying to get
deeper scratches out you can wetsand it down starting with 1500 paper and mineral spirits
to wet, and ending with 2000. This will require a machine buff afterwords if you want a
truely professional result. If the scratches are even deeper start with 1000. If the scratch is
extremely deep it should be touched up with clear first.
After wiping the rest of my fingerprints off the entire guitar from working on it, it's finally
done. This job was started at 1 am and it was 7 am when I finished. I took a few short
breaks and of course had to answer emails all night, but even without pausing to setup for
each picture this is a time consuming job. Think the results were worth it?

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I do!
DONE