Quick luthiery/manteinance questions not deserving a thread

[Alberto7]

Some of you saw my NGD on that EBMM JP12-7 I got just a couple of weeks ago. Fantastic guitar. However, it does have two problems I am hoping to fix, one harder/more severe than the other one, but the harder problem is less immediate and worries me more:

1) Minor issue:
The neck seems to be slightly misaligned and the high E string slips every now and again. Tried loosening the neck bolts to re-align, but other than some creaking, the neck doesn't budge, and I really don't think I should be applying any more force than I have been. Will removing the neck and re-seating it help my case? Not a huge problem honestly, and I am happily waiting until the next string change to give re-seating the neck a shot. I have already emailed Music Man about this, but no reply yet.

2) Potentially major issue:
TL;DR: the neck is VERY straight and needs a tiny bit more relief. However, the truss rod is already fully loose and the adjustment wheel just unscrews. What are my alternatives?

To elaborate: I had no idea these instruments had single-action truss rods. I found this out just yesterday when I tried giving it a bit more relief, but the adjusting wheel just started unscrewing from the rod. I doubt anything is broken because I can tighten the truss rod and create a back bow just fine. I just cannot add any more relief because the wheel just screws out. The natural position of the neck seems to be either at a bit of a back bow or dead straight, and the strings (10-56 tuned to B standard) pull it to have a relief of maybe 0.003" using EBMM's method of measuring JPs (pressing 2nd and 12th frets). They claim the relief should fit a business card between the strings and the frets, although that sounds ludicrously large to me, as I normally have 0.004" to 0.007" relief on all my other (non-EBMM) guitars.

ANYWAYS, it isn't an issue right now because the fretwork on this thing is spot on perfect, but I fear it may become a serious problem in the future if the neck decides to back bow further with seasonal changes.
Any ideas on how to fix this?
I've read everything from doing a fret level with the neck at a slight back bow, all the way to reshaping the neck to a forward bow using moisture and a heat blanket. Are these the only alternatives? Maybe putting on 13s in standard tuning, tightening the nut, then just waiting it out for a few months to see if the neck settles there? It all makes sense to me at a surface level, but I need the voice of experience.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Asdrael]

For the neck alignment you can try reseating. Some necks require a good tap though when the screws are half a turn lose. If this fails, a tiny bit of sanding the pocket on the problematic side will help.

As for the back bow, from your information it doesn't seem like anything else than a heavier gauge (unless you go to much into heavier work like a relevel with a neck bow as you mention) will help with it. As long as it stays within specs ebmm won't do anything about it I think.

 

[crushingpetal]

Quick q: I have an Ibanez BTB ms with a graphite reinforced neck. Is it normal that truss rod adjustment takes like a day to have any effect?

At first I thought the truss rod was broken, but I realized that a 5 piece neck with graphite reinforment might just not want to move.

 

[Asdrael]

Some instruments take longer to adjust. You can help the neck move by holding the body against your chest and "helping" the neck move with your hand on the headstock after adjusting. It will still take a bit to settle tho.

 

[tedtan]

Quick q: I have an Ibanez BTB ms with a graphite reinforced neck. Is it normal that truss rod adjustment takes like a day to have any effect?

At first I thought the truss rod was broken, but I realized that a 5 piece neck with graphite reinforment might just not want to move.

IME, truss rod adjustments begin taking effect immediately, but can take up to a day or so to fully settle in.

 

[Crungy]

Quick q: I have an Ibanez BTB ms with a graphite reinforced neck. Is it normal that truss rod adjustment takes like a day to have any effect?

At first I thought the truss rod was broken, but I realized that a 5 piece neck with graphite reinforment might just not want to move.

I make an adjustment and play if possible, then check the next day. As long as it's not really out of whack, making a tweak and playing for a while has worked out for me.

 

[SalsaWood]

Quick q: I have an Ibanez BTB ms with a graphite reinforced neck. Is it normal that truss rod adjustment takes like a day to have any effect?

At first I thought the truss rod was broken, but I realized that a 5 piece neck with graphite reinforment might just not want to move.

Yea, most necks take about a day to fully settle again. Some will kind of click into place immediately and then they're pretty much 90% settled, but the last 10% always takes more than a few hours. This is half the reason to make small adjustments gradually instead of trying to land spot on the adjustment point, the other half being basic mechanical sympathy.

 

[Alberto7]

For the neck alignment you can try reseating. Some necks require a good tap though when the screws are half a turn lose. If this fails, a tiny bit of sanding the pocket on the problematic side will help.

As for the back bow, from your information it doesn't seem like anything else than a heavier gauge (unless you go to much into heavier work like a relevel with a neck bow as you mention) will help with it. As long as it stays within specs ebmm won't do anything about it I think.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I'm not really counting on EBMM tbh. It's a 12-year old instrument with 2 previous owners. They might sell me a new neck, but I'm trying to avoid that for now. I think I'll just suck it up and try a set of 12s on it. I'm going to hate the stiffness of it so much

 

[Rubbishplayer]

Some of you saw my NGD on that EBMM JP12-7 I got just a couple of weeks ago. Fantastic guitar. However, it does have two problems I am hoping to fix, one harder/more severe than the other one, but the harder problem is less immediate and worries me more:

1) Minor issue:
The neck seems to be slightly misaligned and the high E string slips every now and again. Tried loosening the neck bolts to re-align, but other than some creaking, the neck doesn't budge, and I really don't think I should be applying any more force than I have been. Will removing the neck and re-seating it help my case? Not a huge problem honestly, and I am happily waiting until the next string change to give re-seating the neck a shot. I have already emailed Music Man about this, but no reply yet.

2) Potentially major issue:
TL;DR: the neck is VERY straight and needs a tiny bit more relief. However, the truss rod is already fully loose and the adjustment wheel just unscrews. What are my alternatives?

To elaborate: I had no idea these instruments had single-action truss rods. I found this out just yesterday when I tried giving it a bit more relief, but the adjusting wheel just started unscrewing from the rod. I doubt anything is broken because I can tighten the truss rod and create a back bow just fine. I just cannot add any more relief because the wheel just screws out. The natural position of the neck seems to be either at a bit of a back bow or dead straight, and the strings (10-56 tuned to B standard) pull it to have a relief of maybe 0.003" using EBMM's method of measuring JPs (pressing 2nd and 12th frets). They claim the relief should fit a business card between the strings and the frets, although that sounds ludicrously large to me, as I normally have 0.004" to 0.007" relief on all my other (non-EBMM) guitars.

ANYWAYS, it isn't an issue right now because the fretwork on this thing is spot on perfect, but I fear it may become a serious problem in the future if the neck decides to back bow further with seasonal changes.
Any ideas on how to fix this?
I've read everything from doing a fret level with the neck at a slight back bow, all the way to reshaping the neck to a forward bow using moisture and a heat blanket. Are these the only alternatives? Maybe putting on 13s in standard tuning, tightening the nut, then just waiting it out for a few months to see if the neck settles there? It all makes sense to me at a surface level, but I need the voice of experience.

Thanks for reading!

Regarding the neck bow, bar taking apart the neck to fit a dual action truss rod, the only option will probably be heat-treatment. Although I've done this once successfully on an old Ibanez Blazer bass, it is not a process for the feint of heart and it took me a few gos to get right, if only because I was being (overly) cautious.

I would definitely take it to a really good luthier (NOT a guitar tech!). I couldn't estimate what the cost might be, but from my experience, most of the time spent on this is waiting for the clamped neck to reseat. There are videos on yt showing how to do this.

That said, if it's not a problem now, why futz with it til you need to?

 

[Alberto7]

Regarding the neck bow, bar taking apart the neck to fit a dual action truss rod, the only option will probably be heat-treatment. Although I've done this once successfully on an old Ibanez Blazer bass, it is not a process for the feint of heart and it took me a few gos to get right, if only because I was being (overly) cautious.

I would definitely take it to a really good luthier (NOT a guitar tech!). I couldn't estimate what the cost might be, but from my experience, most of the time spent on this is waiting for the clamped neck to reseat. There are videos on yt showing how to do this.

That said, if it's not a problem now, why futz with it til you need to?

Thanks! What did you use for heat? A heat pad/blanket or something a bit more diy? Just curious. Not trying that any time soon for sure lol.

For now it's totally fine, but I more want to understand what my alternatives are for when the time comes. If there is something easy enough that I could do right now, I thought there'd be no harm to try that to prevent the issue from ever occurring, but it seems it really is more involved than that.

 

[Rubbishplayer]

Thanks! What did you use for heat? A heat pad/blanket or something a bit more diy? Just curious. Not trying that any time soon for sure lol.

For now it's totally fine, but I more want to understand what my alternatives are for when the time comes. If there is something easy enough that I could do right now, I thought there'd be no harm to try that to prevent the issue from ever occurring, but it seems it really is more involved than that.

A sock filled with dry-microwaved rice!

This system actually works pretty well, as you can mold the resulting "pillow" to the neck. And the dry, hot contents, while hot enough to do the job are not so hot they'd do damage (at least not to a poly neck).

Video here:

 

[Alberto7]

A sock filled with dry-microwaved rice!

This system actually works pretty well, as you can mold the resulting "pillow" to the neck. And the dry, hot contents, while hot enough to do the job are not so hot they'd do damage (at least not to a poly neck).

Video here:

This actually doesn't look so bad to do! Just slow. And, like you said, I'll be overly cautious to minimize risk. Thanks for the tip and for the video! I'll go back to enioy the guitar for now

 

[OmegaSlayer]

More of a practice request than luthiery stuff
Some of my guitars have really dry fretboards, how can I clean and condition them DECENTLY without removing the strings (especially on those guitars with floating bridges)?
I know the answer is change the strings, and yes, some of them do need a string change, but my back has been FUBAR for more than 25 days and I can barely keep standing, and changing strings already drives me into a pain condition when my back is not in lancinating conditions
Driving to bring them to a luthier is also a no no, because I can't drive for more than 20 minutes

(If you say check your back before your guitars, thanks, really, but I know what's going on my spine, already had one surgery to remove a disc, but it had a relapse and there are other 4 slipped disc, so I can only wait until the pain chills down a bit since it will never go away)

 

[Asdrael]

More of a practice request than luthiery stuff
Some of my guitars have really dry fretboards, how can I clean and condition them DECENTLY without removing the strings (especially on those guitars with floating bridges)?
I know the answer is change the strings, and yes, some of them do need a string change, but my back has been FUBAR for more than 25 days and I can barely keep standing, and changing strings already drives me into a pain condition when my back is not in lancinating conditions
Driving to bring them to a luthier is also a no no, because I can't drive for more than 20 minutes

(If you say check your back before your guitars, thanks, really, but I know what's going on my spine, already had one surgery to remove a disc, but it had a relapse and there are other 4 slipped disc, so I can only wait until the pain chills down a bit since it will never go away)

Might be stupid but try to apply some mineral oil on a cotton rag, pass the cotton rag under the strings, rub it on the fretboard like you would shine a shoe, and repeat with a dry and clean rag to remove the excess?

 

[Alberto7]

Might be stupid but try to apply some mineral oil on a cotton rag, pass the cotton rag under the strings, rub it on the fretboard like you would shine a shoe, and repeat with a dry and clean rag to remove the excess?

This. You can also use the EBMM fretboard conditioner wipes.

I'd block the tremolo in place, open locking nut, slacken the strings at the headstock a little bit and pull them to create some slack on the fretboard. Lock the nut again to prevent the strings from slipping out. Pull them to the side while you wipe the fretboard down. Once you're happy with the fretboard, just undo everything. Open the nut, tighten strings again, tune, lock nut, done.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

More of a practice request than luthiery stuff
Some of my guitars have really dry fretboards, how can I clean and condition them DECENTLY without removing the strings (especially on those guitars with floating bridges)?
I know the answer is change the strings, and yes, some of them do need a string change, but my back has been FUBAR for more than 25 days and I can barely keep standing, and changing strings already drives me into a pain condition when my back is not in lancinating conditions
Driving to bring them to a luthier is also a no no, because I can't drive for more than 20 minutes

(If you say check your back before your guitars, thanks, really, but I know what's going on my spine, already had one surgery to remove a disc, but it had a relapse and there are other 4 slipped disc, so I can only wait until the pain chills down a bit since it will never go away)

Pull up on the bar, remove the springs with a pair of pliers, gently return bridge to neutral and remove bridge. Repeat in reverse to reinstall bridge. If you do it right you won't even have to retune.

 

[Rubbishplayer]

More of a practice request than luthiery stuff
Some of my guitars have really dry fretboards, how can I clean and condition them DECENTLY without removing the strings (especially on those guitars with floating bridges)?
I know the answer is change the strings, and yes, some of them do need a string change, but my back has been FUBAR for more than 25 days and I can barely keep standing, and changing strings already drives me into a pain condition when my back is not in lancinating conditions
Driving to bring them to a luthier is also a no no, because I can't drive for more than 20 minutes

(If you say check your back before your guitars, thanks, really, but I know what's going on my spine, already had one surgery to remove a disc, but it had a relapse and there are other 4 slipped disc, so I can only wait until the pain chills down a bit since it will never go away)

At some point, those strings will need changing, so why not get a mate to do both?

 

[tedtan]

Pull up on the bar, remove the springs with a pair of pliers, gently return bridge to neutral and remove bridge. Repeat in reverse to reinstall bridge. If you do it right you won't even have to retune.

This. You can do it sitting down with the guitar in your lap and the guitar comes back in tune once you replace the springs.

 

[OmegaSlayer]

At some point, those strings will need changing, so why not get a mate to do both?

Sure thing, but the only friend geographically close enough sold his Jem 7V 7 because he wasn't good at changing strings on a floating bridge and couldn't set his head on doing it
But mostly, the idea of doing it myself is something that makes me look forward to a faster rehab

Not being able to play much is draining me as it's really what keeps my head straight and makes me relax from ordinary day stress

Thanks guys for the suggestion
I have done once what Max suggested, don't remember why, and couldn't think about it...head hasn't been very straight.
Really guys, thanks a lot, really appreciate it

 

[Rubbishplayer]

Sure thing, but the only friend geographically close enough sold his Jem 7V 7 because he wasn't good at changing strings on a floating bridge and couldn't set his head on doing it
But mostly, the idea of doing it myself is something that makes me look forward to a faster rehab

Not being able to play much is draining me as it's really what keeps my head straight and makes me relax from ordinary day stress

Thanks guys for the suggestion
I have done once what Max suggested, don't remember why, and couldn't think about it...head hasn't been very straight.
Really guys, thanks a lot, really appreciate it

Hey, chin up there bud. Hope things get better soon.