Just picked up an ibanez 2228 and have a question

[chimaira]

Hi i am new here, so if this question has already been asked im sorry, here goes, as i said i just bought an ibanez 2228. i was wanting to know bout the stock set up. first do these guitars come set up? i bought mine from zzounds and i dont figure they did anything to it. i took it to a local music shop and the "repair guy" said if it was a japanese j craft guitar it came set up dont bother adjusting it. being my first extended range guitar the action on the low side seemed rather high. i just felt like it should be lower. anyway what is standard height on the low side assuming the neck is adjusted correctly? mine has slight relief. i would say on the low side near the neck pickup theres 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch under the F# string. is this right? the action is low near the locking nut. just wondering, hate to adjust it if it is right...... thank you and happy thanksgiving all!

 

[Kronpox]

action doesn't have a "standard height", it's about taste. The guy who set it up probably just liked higher action than you, or maybe the neck shifted a bit while it was shipping and that is the result. Tweak it until you like it, and if it turns out to be no good, then tweak it back!

 

[Xaios]

Hi i am new here, so if this question has already been asked im sorry, here goes, as i said i just bought an ibanez 2228. i was wanting to know bout the stock set up. first do these guitars come set up? i bought mine from zzounds and i dont figure they did anything to it. i took it to a local music shop and the "repair guy" said if it was a japanese j craft guitar it came set up dont bother adjusting it. being my first extended range guitar the action on the low side seemed rather high. i just felt like it should be lower. anyway what is standard height on the low side assuming the neck is adjusted correctly? mine has slight relief. i would say on the low side near the neck pickup theres 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch under the F# string. is this right? the action is low near the locking nut. just wondering, hate to adjust it if it is right...... thank you and happy thanksgiving all!

I'd take it to a tech who doesn't make broad assumptions about how well a guitar is set up without looking at.

Yes, they are Japanese, but they aren't quite J-Craft.

 

[Adam Of Angels]

Yes they are quite J-Craft. They're Japanese Prestiges.

However, that means absolutely nothing about the setup aside from the fact that when it left the shop, it was more or less setup properly. Its very likely to have gone out since then. Being that your 2228 has a decent bridge, it shouldn't be hard at all to adjust the action to your liking.

 

[Xaios]

Nevermind, I'm getting all my terms mixed up, I'm thinking J-Custom. :doh:

Still, the tech should at least look at it before he decides it's okay.

 

[chimaira]

i do see where the man responded and my headstock says team j- craft right on the back.....anyway i was wondering, probably the obvious....the low strings are probably higher to accomodate the way they they vibrate at a higher more pronounced way compared to a higher pitched string i did lower it but it buzzes now more than it it did. so i guess i'll raise it back....

 

[arktan]

you can also change the F# string to something a bit thicker. I use a 74 now and i'm happy since the distance between the 24th fret and the F#-string is 1.9mm and no buzzing. But that's me and my guitar, maybe you'll prefer it to be a bit higher...

 

[chimaira]

well, lets see i went to ca house music and asked all the pertinent questions about changing string gauges and all i got was "oh leave it the way it came" hence they didnt want to touch it. they did mention they did sell one in the past and it was a lot of guitar, i even got the neck looks like an aircraft carrier from one person. so being that is a fixed bridge i can pretty much experiment right. i always do this buy something new and dont want to screw it up so i fret around and spend more time not playing than worrying about it. i have an esp ltd michael wilton and i jack with it like theres no tomorrow, but im familiar with the 6 string set up technique, and well an 8 string has freakin huge strings that almost resemble bass strings. is a 74 a bass string? the guitar shop person was like oh yes its a bass string.......i did notice 66 was the biggest guitar string they had.

 

[Roon4me]

I had the same problem when I first got mine. I felt fine, as in okay, but I thought that I could get it better myself. I tightened the truss rod two 1/4 turns, which if you are holding the guitar the normal way agianst you body you turn the little allen wrench down toward your nuts, remembering to tune the guitar back up after each. GO SLOWLY! even let it sit for an hour or so between turns. Then just lower the bridge a bit and it should be golden! I use a 70g on my F# for right now. I can tell that I will have to go bigger. probably an 80. That should be fun. Maybe I should keep the 70s for the B string?

 

[LordHines42]

you can also change the F# string to something a bit thicker. I use a 74 now and i'm happy since the distance between the 24th fret and the F#-string is 1.9mm and no buzzing. But that's me and my guitar, maybe you'll prefer it to be a bit higher...

I would rip that nasty 65 off of there ASAP! I'm bout to order an 80, or an 85 just to test it out. This guy on youtube says he uses an 85 and he likes that. I just upgraded from a 70 to a 74 and LOVE it. So I'd AT LEAST go with a 74

Also, make sure you order D'addario singles for that from juststrings.com, this way u can clip the ball end further down to fit it through the peg, cuz a 70 WONT fit all the way through, let along anything bigger. But D'addarios let u fit the shorter end through firstm then u can just clip the ball end further down where it needs to be. Try it.