Strings & other things

[SuperSwede]

The high E-string on my tele just broke. I have been playing on the same Custom Light Exilir strings since I bought the guitar in early november! The Elixir´s is fantastic, they still play like new and are really worth the extra cost. I am going to buy another set of Elixir´s and before that I am planning on doing a little guitar maintenance.
I would really like a little faster action, and a less "sticky" playing experience. Any ideas on simple things to do to improve this?

 

[Tone2TheBone]

SS,

I love Elixir Acoustic strings. From now on they're all I'll buy.

Explain your action. What do you mean by "less sticky playing experience"? Sometimes I'll raise or lower the bridge or string saddles by a miniscule amount and voila...instant action gratification. Miniscule amount to me means the width of head on a flat head screwdriver (1/16 of an inch at a time"). Or sometimes I'll tighten or loosen the truss rod watching the neck to see it's curvature and that often changes my action tremendously too. These adjustments are also very small. Not sure if the actual changing of the action makes things better or if its my brain telling me it's going to be better by changing SOMETHING. But it works.

Tell us about your current action setup though I wanna know.

 

[SuperSwede]

Thanks Tone, I´m gonna check out the truss rod when I have bought new strings. What I mean with "sticky" is hard for me to explain, but it feels like my neck prevents me from playing as fast as I want (or perhaps as fast as I normally can play). I´ve had a healthy amount of red wine, so I can get back on this subject when I am not under such influence

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Ok, I'll get back with you too when I'm over this beer buzz. LMAO Cheers! *clink*

 

[SuperSwede]

My daughters Reno Crapocaster has a faster neck than my tele, so I guess it is a setup problem. However the strings is quite low already so I guess it must be something else.

 

[SuperSwede]

I tried to decrease the relief but the action was not better. And I got a lot of string buzz that strangely did not go away when I increased the relief again. I also think that the guitar tone is more "dead" now. I cannot understand why..
I dont have any good measuring tools, but surely there must be possible to return to the settings I have had before? I have been trying to find it for 2 hours now

Buzz buzz... thud..thud...buzz..

Perhaps its only my ears that deceive me...

 

[r_a_smith3530]

My daughters Reno Crapocaster has a faster neck than my tele, so I guess it is a setup problem. However the strings is quite low already so I guess it must be something else.

Look at the two necks together and describe the differences you see, things like fretboard material (Maple or Rosewood board), finish (glossy or not), and neck shape (U, C, or a V). Also look at the height of the strings above the board, and even the size of the fretwire itself. What is different that could make your daughter's guitar seem faster than yours?

Generally, for myself at least, I find Rosewood or Ebony to be faster than Maple. I seem to work faster with a non-gloss finish (gee, why are most of my axes glossy?!), and I prefer a "C" or mild "V" neck. I do prefer jumbo frets, not for speed, but rather for bending and vibrato.

 

[SuperSwede]

Both have rosewood fretboard and similar neck shape. The strings are much lower on the strat so I guess much of the faster action depends on that. The strat has a lot of buzz, and I prefer a good tone over low action.
The strat has a smaller type of frets, the tele has medium-jumbo.

 

[r_a_smith3530]

Both have rosewood fretboard and similar neck shape. The strings are much lower on the strat so I guess much of the faster action depends on that. The strat has a lot of buzz, and I prefer a good tone over low action.
The strat has a smaller type of frets, the tele has medium-jumbo.

Well, it looks like the fretboard and neck shape are cancelled out. You didn't mention neck finish (gloss or satin). I'd have to agree about a low action, that will definitely be faster. You can have both tone and a low action. That involves a good setup. Smaller frets are generally faster for straight up fretwork, but don't work as well for bends and vibrato.

 

[SuperSwede]

Well, at the moment I am more interested in killing the buzz that mostly occurs on the A and G strings after the 14th fret.
I cannot understand why it happened, I turned the truss rod 1/4 clockwise and when I got the buzz I turned it back 1/4.

 

[r_a_smith3530]

Check your neck with a straightedge. It sounds like either your neck is out of kilter, or you have fret issues.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

SS,

Turning the truss rod by 1/4 degree of a complete circle is A LOT.

What gauge strings are the Elixir Custom Lights?

 

[SuperSwede]

009-046

The neck _seems_ straight, I have checked it with a ruler, but yet the buzzing occurs on the high frets. I had zero fret buzz before I tried the truss rod, so I guess that I should be able to remove that buzz.