RustyShackleford
New member
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2023
- Messages
- 4
Hello all,
Long time reader/lurker here, i finally registered in hopes that you might be able to help me out with some set-up questions. My goal is to make my 2018 LP Studio pay more like my 1979 LP Custom. (I know it'll never be the same haha but i'm just trying to make the studio more enjoyable to play)
I'll try to make the story short and to the point...
My Dad bought the 79' custom used in 1984, and played it A LOT in numerous bands over the years...safe to say its been broken in nicely. It was his prized possession and took excellent care of it always.
In 2018 my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He loved his Les Paul, but he also always wanted a Strat. One day he said screw it, I'm buying a Strat...and i said yeah screw it I'm buying a Les Paul. We went to Sam Ash and my dad bought a New American Pro Stratocaster, and I bought a 2018 Les Paul Studio at the same time. I'm forever thankful for the memory of that day and playing our new guitars together. At the time i realized my Les Paul badly needed a set-up and the action was awful, but i figured I'll worry about it later on.
Sadly my dad passed not long after. I inherited his guitars. After that I just didn't feel like picking up a guitar for a long time.
Recently i started playing again, and i was reminded how terrible the set-up is on my Studio. I can't stress enough how perfect and low the action is on the 79' custom, it's by far my favorite guitar to play...but i don't always feel comfortable playing it. I'm a big boy but good lord the weight of that thing is insane, it just kills my back after a while. I scratch my head wondering how my dad played that thing for hours at a time and never walked like caveman after.
Most importantly though, aside from the weight, i'm terrified of something happening to it like accidentally dropping it etc... When i get the itch to play a LP i'd feel more comfortable playing my Studio which doesn't hold the same sentimental value to me.
Is there some secret mojo on my 79' custom that i just wont be able to replicate in terms of setup?
So on to the set-up of my studio...So far i have checked the neck relief which is good, i've adjusted the bridge so that my low E height is .06 and high E is .05 at the 12th fret.
My guitar left the factory with the low E at .10 and high E at .09.
I'm thinking my pickups are now too close to the stings since i lowered the action, can anyone tell me how close to the strings the pickups should be? I believe these are 498R and 498T pickups. Also how do i know when it is time to file or maybe i should upgrade the nut?
Any advice is appreciated!
Sorry for the long post, if you made it this far, thank you for reading my story.
Long time reader/lurker here, i finally registered in hopes that you might be able to help me out with some set-up questions. My goal is to make my 2018 LP Studio pay more like my 1979 LP Custom. (I know it'll never be the same haha but i'm just trying to make the studio more enjoyable to play)
Rusty Shackleford has shared 1 photo with you!
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Rusty Shackleford has shared 1 photo with you!
www.flickr.com
I'll try to make the story short and to the point...
My Dad bought the 79' custom used in 1984, and played it A LOT in numerous bands over the years...safe to say its been broken in nicely. It was his prized possession and took excellent care of it always.
In 2018 my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He loved his Les Paul, but he also always wanted a Strat. One day he said screw it, I'm buying a Strat...and i said yeah screw it I'm buying a Les Paul. We went to Sam Ash and my dad bought a New American Pro Stratocaster, and I bought a 2018 Les Paul Studio at the same time. I'm forever thankful for the memory of that day and playing our new guitars together. At the time i realized my Les Paul badly needed a set-up and the action was awful, but i figured I'll worry about it later on.
Sadly my dad passed not long after. I inherited his guitars. After that I just didn't feel like picking up a guitar for a long time.
Recently i started playing again, and i was reminded how terrible the set-up is on my Studio. I can't stress enough how perfect and low the action is on the 79' custom, it's by far my favorite guitar to play...but i don't always feel comfortable playing it. I'm a big boy but good lord the weight of that thing is insane, it just kills my back after a while. I scratch my head wondering how my dad played that thing for hours at a time and never walked like caveman after.
Most importantly though, aside from the weight, i'm terrified of something happening to it like accidentally dropping it etc... When i get the itch to play a LP i'd feel more comfortable playing my Studio which doesn't hold the same sentimental value to me.
Is there some secret mojo on my 79' custom that i just wont be able to replicate in terms of setup?
So on to the set-up of my studio...So far i have checked the neck relief which is good, i've adjusted the bridge so that my low E height is .06 and high E is .05 at the 12th fret.
My guitar left the factory with the low E at .10 and high E at .09.
I'm thinking my pickups are now too close to the stings since i lowered the action, can anyone tell me how close to the strings the pickups should be? I believe these are 498R and 498T pickups. Also how do i know when it is time to file or maybe i should upgrade the nut?
Any advice is appreciated!
Sorry for the long post, if you made it this far, thank you for reading my story.