Neck; Action - Ibanez Guitar Manual

NECK

The neck bears the tension of the strings. The curvature of the
neck is subtly affected not only by the state of tuning and the string
gauge, but also by changes in temperature and humidity. For this
reason, the neck contains an internal truss rod that allows the cur-
vature to be precisely adjusted. Tune the strings accurately, hold
the guitar in playing position, and press the first string at the first
fret and at the fret that is nearest to the point where the neck joins
the body, as shown in Figure 8. (It is convenient to use a capo
at the first fret.) Measure the gap between the string and fret at
the eighth fret. Do the same for the sixth (lowest) string. For each
string, the gap should be in the range of 0.3~0.5 mm (a slight bow
in the neck).
Although the symptoms may vary depending on the type of neck
and on how the neck is joined to the body, problems such as ex-
cessive string height, string buzz for high notes, or intonation diffi-
culties may be due to an excessively bowed neck (Fig. 9 A), which
will cause this gap to be larger. Conversely, problems such as in-
sufficient string height, string buzz for low notes, or muted notes
may be due to a neck that is bowed in the reverse direction (Fig. 9
B), which will cause this gap to be smaller. Do not simply make a
visual judgment of the situation. Rather, determine the problem
based on the symptoms that occur, and make the appropriate ad-
justment.
The truss rod nut is located at the headstock end of the neck. Us-
ing the Allen wrench or socket wrench included with the guitar,
tighten the nut toward the right (Fig. 10 A) if you want to bend
the neck in the convex direction, or loosen the nut toward the left
(Fig. 10 B) if you want to bend the neck in the concave direction.
Make adjustments in quarter-turns, alternating steps of tuning and
adjustment.
* You must take appropriate care when adjusting the neck. If the
truss rod nut does not turn as you expect, or if you are unable to
make adjustments accurately, do not attempt to force the adjust-
ment, but contact your dealer or the Ibanez Corporation.

ACTION

Action refers to the distance between the frets and the string, and
is an important element in the playability of the instrument. After
adjusting the curvature of the neck, tune the guitar accurately, and
then measure the distance between the frets and the string to de-
termine whether the action is adjusted correctly. As shown in Fig-
ure 11, place a ruler at the 14th fret to measure the gap. The table
shows typical gaps. If the action is too high, the guitar will be more
difficult to play. If the action is too low, strings will buzz or be muted,
and sustain will be poorer.
The method of adjusting the action will depend on the type of
bridge your guitar has, so make adjustments as described in the
adjustment manual for your bridge.
The action will also be affected if you adjust the neck or change to
a different gauge of strings, so you will need to readjust it.
* For strings not shown in the table, make adjustments so that the
distance increases gradually between the first string and the low-
est string. A string may break if you significantly raise the action, so
loosen the string before you make this adjustment.
Maintenance Manual
8th fret 8th fret
Fig. 8 Fig. 8
Fig. 9 Fig. 9
Fig. 10 Fig. 10
Fig. 11 Fig. 11
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