Second user MM Blues questions

[Deleted]

Hi all I just bought a Blues from EBay and think the poor girl needs some attention. The action on the bottom E at the 12th is about 6mm and 1mm at the 1 st also the tailpiece and maybe some of the string ball ends are actually touching the body, is that normal? Needless to say she needs new strings so some Newtones 15-56 are on order.
There also seems excessive relief/bow in the neck so is that a truss rod tweak? Do I need a nut job and /or a bridge change to bring it down in the 2.5 to 3mm range at the 12th? Is 1mm excessive at the 1 st fret? Where /who can be trusted to do the setup coz I don't want to exacerbate this fine lady's problems with my misguided tinkering. Many thanks in advance.
MM blues serial number is MMB 0180 09

[Michael Messer]

Hello greenattheblues,

It sounds like a truss rod tweak is required. If you are not confident about doing it, you should take it to an experienced resonator guitar repairer. Whereabouts are you based?

String ball ends touching the body shouldn't be a problem, but if you want to lift them off, the front of the tailpiece can be bent down a little.

A couple of photos showing the problems would be helpful.

(I have moved this thread into the Main Street board because I try to keep all MM guitars related stuff in one place).

Shine On
Michael

[Deleted]

Hi thanks for the reply, sorry I posted in the wrong section. Here are some pics of the issue. I'm happy to try tweaking the truss rod I think it's only a minor adjustment that's needed. Can or, should it be done at normal tension and before or after new strings have been fitted ?
Attachment DeletedAttachment Deleted

[Michael Messer]

Hello greenattheblues,

The tailpiece is fine, that is quite normal for a single cone National-style guitar.

The neck angle could be tweaked a little to straighten it and make it play better. Turn the truss rod screw a quarter turn at a time with the strings in tune. I would do it with the strings that are on it now, then it will be ready to play when you fit the new ones.

I am sure it will be fine

Shine On
Michael

[Deleted]

Thanks, what sort of action might I obtain ? I'm a beginner slide player and fumbling picker from a plectrum background so I need some compromises on the action height I guess.

[Michael Messer]

Just take it down to approximately 3.5mm and see how it feels. You don't want it too low for slide.

Have fun!

Shine On
Michael

[Deleted]

Mine is about 4mm at 12 fret, but I'm used to it.
3mm should be good for both - I don't think yours is too far off that already, its a great guitar!
TT

[Deleted]

So, just to clarify, cranking the truss will bring it down with no adjustments needed on the nut or saddle ? Thanks for all the advice

[Michael Messer]

It should do. Make sure you know how many turns you make, so you can reverse the process.

Shine On
Michael

[zak71]

Jul 4, 2014 11:03:41 GMT @greenattheblues said:

So, just to clarify, cranking the truss will bring it down with no adjustments needed on the nut or saddle ? Thanks for all the advice

No, tightening the trussrod will straighten out whatever relief the neck might have (and some -a little bit - is preferable to none at all, unless you play with an extremely light touch a 100% straight neck with no relief will produce lots of fret buzz).

If you "crank" it (something you should never do - adjust it in SMALL increments - 1/8 to 1/4 turn at a time, re-tune, repeat as necessary) you will end up with a backbowed (convex) neck - not good. I've seen enough broken trussrods - not an inexpensive repair - thanks to overzealous "cranking" by people who did not understand what it is the trussrod actually adjusts. It ISN'T action. It's the straightness of the neck that is adjusted. If your action is PERFECT at the nut and near the body joint, and ONLY high in the middle of the neck - then that's a job for the trussrod. Otherwise, leave it alone.
Adjusting the trussrod is NOT a substitute for correctly adjusting string height.
If you're not sure of what you're doing, do some reading:
www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/repair/acoustic-guitar/truss-rod.php
www.acousticguitar.com/How-To/Truss-Rod-Adjustments