RG8 Problems

[freeradicals]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here and certainly won't be my last! Recently ordered an Ibanez RG8 to my local music store, yet upon purchasing it and taking home I found that it was more or less straight out of the box from the factory. I think they tuned it, and the intonation does seem to be ok but I had expected that it would be setup and ready to go.

In fact, I am certain they are the same strings from the factory - so of course the gauge is way off. (tuned F# to E - gauge unknown). Upon chatting to the guy who works there, he seemed a little uneasy about having to set it up for me and in fact even said I should call Ibanez and ask them how to do it myself.

This post is not about bad service at a music store however, I just want to learn to set it up myself. I'm trying to find a step by step guide to setting up guitars (straight from the factory), the sort of things to inspect first of all, any tools for adjustment and measurement I might need, do I need to do anything to prepare the fretboard for a longer life etc etc. A procedure from A - Z so to speak.

All I've managed to find so far, is just a few little pointers here and there, more or less out of context and out of order - can anyone help me please! First thing first, I need some new strings but I've check out Circle K and it says that their strings 'will not work on through body strung instruments'. Is this correct?

Surely other people have been buying Circle K strings for their RG8?

Can anyone help me at all, because I don't even know where to start! I'm sure I can't be the only one who would appreciate this advice.

 

[Scruffy1012]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here and certainly won't be my last! Recently ordered an Ibanez RG8 to my local music store, yet upon purchasing it and taking home I found that it was more or less straight out of the box from the factory. I think they tuned it, and the intonation does seem to be ok but I had expected that it would be setup and ready to go.

In fact, I am certain they are the same strings from the factory - so of course the gauge is way off. (tuned F# to E - gauge unknown). Upon chatting to the guy who works there, he seemed a little uneasy about having to set it up for me and in fact even said I should call Ibanez and ask them how to do it myself.

This post is not about bad service at a music store however, I just want to learn to set it up myself. I'm trying to find a step by step guide to setting up guitars (straight from the factory), the sort of things to inspect first of all, any tools for adjustment and measurement I might need, do I need to do anything to prepare the fretboard for a longer life etc etc. A procedure from A - Z so to speak.

All I've managed to find so far, is just a few little pointers here and there, more or less out of context and out of order - can anyone help me please! First thing first, I need some new strings but I've check out Circle K and it says that their strings 'will not work on through body strung instruments'. Is this correct?

Surely other people have been buying Circle K strings for their RG8?

Can anyone help me at all, because I don't even know where to start! I'm sure I can't be the only one who would appreciate this advice.

Alright, firstly im having the same problem as you with the string gauge, but from what i've heard it will fit/work if your file the nut of the guitar and inside the tuning peg for the gauge string to fit, but im still not sure if the length of the string is adequate. Secondly this video should help you out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpPiXfgG-lw
I would advise you take the guitar to a professional to get it setup as there is a chance you may cause damage to the guitar, honestly i have no clue why the salesperson warded you off like that. Imo Take it to another place which have a reputable name or you know they will get the job done and get them to set it up to your specifications (tuning/action etc) and then afterwards look into how to set up your guitar yourself. There is plenty of online info/video on guitar setups etc.

 

[kris_jammage]

As for the Circle K thing, what that says and refers to is their Bass strings. Their guitars strings will be fine for any type of guitar.

And as suggested by Scruffy, if you are unsure about setting up the guitar then take it to a tech. You can always ask the tech for tips on how to keep the guitar in good shape after the set-up. You can then research further into setting up guitars/maintenance and go from there.

 

[azcamber]

honestly i have no clue why the salesperson warded you off like that.

in my experience with guitar stores, they are slightly intimidated by 8 strings in some way.

i brought my rga8 to a big chain music store here in phoenix and i was told by the guitar tech that it was the first 8 string he had worked on. then the next day i got a call that the truss rod in it was seized. needless to say i didnt believe it so i took it to another place, a guitar repair store. all the guy does is repairs and setups and had great reviews. guess what, truss rod... not seized.

 

[leechmasterargentina]

I never expect them to do a good setup job before giving me the guitar...Guess that as long as it plays well, they deliver it and call it done.

Did you get the Ibanez manual for your guitar? I recently bought an Ibanez Premium and it came with a very detailed manual with very precise information about truss rod, string height, intonation, pickup height, tremolo setup, or whatever I needed to set it up right. It didn't have everything, but the rest of the information came from manuals you can download from your model's section at Ibanez.com.

When I say precise, I mean that it comes with precise numbers to get a good setup which in my oppinion, is far better than saying "Regulate height until there's no fret noise". Of course I pay attention to that, but they know the exact measures for your guitar to work well.

Basics or setup are truss rod, string height, pickup height and for last, intonation. If you don't find information in your Ibanez manual, sure you can find all that in the web, but as I said, Ibanez manuals are very complete these days. The only thing you have to be careful of is the truss rod. Watch some videos at youtube about it just to be aware of this.

It's no rocket science, anyone can do this with just a couple tools. If you still don't feel confident, just take it to someone who can do the job, paid of course.

As regards to strings, I just use D'Addarios and the 8 string sets have ball end as any common string, so you shouldn't have problems with that.

 

[CrashRG]

I don't have any experience with 8 strings (yet) but I have had experience with Circle K. Very unprofessional in my opinion, I emailed them with some questions about string gauges for my RG7621 and it literally took them 3 months to email me an answer.

As for set-ups, I'd say your best bet would be to find a local guy that knows his shit and have him do it.......I made the mistake of having a guitar set up at a Guitar Center once and they almost KILLED my guitar, not to mention wired my pickups wrong.

 

[freeradicals]

Thanks for your replies everybody. I think I agree with what most people said, and that is to take it to a professional but still learn how to maintain in the meantime. My problem is I live in a pretty small town which has two music shops and one luthier. It's hard to have a perspective of whether the music shops are any good as there is nothing else to compare to.

The one I bought from - it goes without saying - I will never visit again. The second store may be just as bad, who knows - they are not even an Ibanez dealer so they probably have had very little experience with Ibanez, or more importantly, eight string guitars.

I think I'll get in contact with the luthier - and see if he's comfortable/capable of having a look at my RG8 and giving it a proper setup. I'm only a little unsure, because from glancing through his windows he seems like he works only on classical wooden instruments - violins, cellos etc. If that falls flat, I suppose I can drive to the next biggest city and try my luck there.

leechmasterargentina, I did get an instruction manual with my guitar but it's thin and fairly undetailed (from 2011!) - but upon checking the 2013 manual on their website, I see that the 2013 is far more detailed.

I looked at an D'Addario 8 string set (D'Addario Electric Guitar 8-String XL Lite Top Heavy Bottom, .010 - .052, EXL140-8) are you using something like this?

According to another thread here, (http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/extended-range-guitars/226738-daddarios-rg8.html) it was said that this set has a really heavy low E string (.054) for 27", then a lightish F# (.074).

I might go with what someone else said and get something like a 7 string set of ernie ball slinkys and then play around with a 74 - 80 for my F# and see what feels more comfortable. If that feels ok, I may not need to file the nut and tuning peg to fit.

 

[Given To Fly]

I'll walk you through the Circle K ordering process:
- Go to to circlekstrings.com
- On the left hand side click 8 string guitar sets
- There are 4 pages of string options. Go to the bottom of page 2.
- The two sets at the very bottom are 10 - 90 and 10 - 94, decide which one you want or get both! In my opinion .94 works well for E but is a little tight for F#.
- Order the strings. When you receive them, go to a guitar tech to have them file the nut if you haven't done that already because its' likely your guitar will need it. Treat yourself to a full set up.
- Go home and play your guitar. If you still want D'Addario or Ernie Ball strings after playing on the Circle K's then I'll be slightly concerned. Circle K wound strings are really that much better than any other company I have ever tried.

PS - You can get different gauges on the other strings if you would like but I strongly recommend a .90 or .94 for the 8th string. Good Luck!

 

[freeradicals]

Thanks Given to Fly,

Shipping is immense to Australia, so I might get a couple of sets, maybe three from these guys.

I didn't think I'd have to go as high as .90 for my F# - I thought most people weren't even going as high as .80?

I'm thinking about getting an extra set of strings so I can tune from Low B to High A, extra chug and extra widdly widdly; I don't know if anyone has had experience doing this in regards to gauges.

As far as I know octave4plus.com has .007 - but I don't know if this group is reputable or not.

 

[kris_jammage]

I didn't think I'd have to go as high as .90 for my F# - I thought most people weren't even going as high as .80?

You dont have to get a .90 if you dont want. Its all personal preference really.

I Like a .74 for F# on my RG8, although I will be going up to .80 for Drop E. Its not going to be super tight but thats the way I like it!

As previously said, try out a few different gauges to see what you like.

 

[freeradicals]

Thanks for your replies everyone - I'll be sure to try out a variety of gauges and see what works best. As long as there's no fret buzzing, and the action is not too high - I'm not fazed by tight strings.

 

[Aiwin]

I don't have any experience with 8 strings (yet) but I have had experience with Circle K. Very unprofessional in my opinion, I emailed them with some questions about string gauges for my RG7621 and it literally took them 3 months to email me an answer.

As for set-ups, I'd say your best bet would be to find a local guy that knows his shit and have him do it.......I made the mistake of having a guitar set up at a Guitar Center once and they almost KILLED my guitar, not to mention wired my pickups wrong.

I have no doubt that your GC experience is as bad as you've described it - a bad tech or an inexperienced one can screw anything up - but I live in Chicago and the GCs around here use an outside vendor for their maintenance and repair work. Their vendor, Third Coast, is great and I go directly to them now, in fact.

My point is just that these things probably vary by location.

 

[Go To Bed Jessica]

Some people seem to think 8 string guitars are some weird sort of alien technology.

I have also been hesitant to order from CircleK because of the shipping cost. I really want to try them out, but don't want to order a while bunch of stuff to make the shipping worthwhile - or pay insane shipping for a small order.

I just found out about a Curt Mangan 9-86 set from someone on this forum and am running them on my 26.5 scale Schecter. Easily the best set I have used on this guitar.

 

[Deadnightshade]

Just a heads up,I had to get the appropriate string-thru hole drilled in my RG8 for a Circle K .90 's taper to pass inside successfully.Your mileage may vary,but I'm just throwing it out there.