# Brand New Ibanez RG Prestige and Action is way too high???



## Hendog (Mar 5, 2014)

I need some help. This is my first Prestige and I was under the impression that it would show up perfectly setup.

I need some guidance. The action is way to high. I have NEVER needed to adjust a truss rod in 17 years of playing guitar. I would rather not start now with a brand new Ibanez Prestige. I'm assuming the guitar was setup correctly in Japan so I shouldn't have to adjust the bridge/saddles. 

The problem has to be neck curvature and a truss rod adjustment is needed, right?

I'm frustrated. Someone please help me out.


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## Toxic Dover (Mar 5, 2014)

Guitars, no matter how expensive, never come perfectly setup from the factory...

Check your neck relief. Fret your low E on the first fret and the 14th / 15th fret, then check the distance between your 7th fret and the fretted string... If it's more than a business card or so worth of space between the fret and the string, or if the string is touching the fret, you need to adjust your truss rod by either loosening it a bit (putting more bow in the neck) or tightening it a bit (taking bow out of the neck). Truss rod adjustment is extremely easy, just take your time and make small adjustments - a little goes a long way. 

Once you check your neck relief and if it turns out it's fine, then it's a matter of doing a normal setup and adjusting the saddles/bridge to your liking.


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## Mik3D23 (Mar 5, 2014)

Even if a guitar was setup in Japan you should not expect that to perfectly last on it's journey to the US, unless it was made out of metal. Chances are you're correct and it needs truss rod adjustment, which usually ends up meaning slight saddle adjustment as well, and then intonation adjustment. Some stores/websites are better about QC and checking their guitars setup before they leave than others. Adjusting a truss rod is not a scary procedure either, as long as you employ some common sense. 1/8 turns at a time, especially if you're worried, and then tune it and let it settle for at least a few hours.


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## Hendog (Mar 5, 2014)

Thanks for the input.

I called Zzounds and the guy told me to screw the bridge (Gibraltar II) closer to the body. I'm fairly certain this is not true.

I guess I need to do a full setup before I can judge this instrument but I'm not sure about it yet.

BTW, it's a RG652FX.


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## Chuck (Mar 5, 2014)

No they are right. Like mentioned above, no guitar will ever come setup perfectly from the factory. Climate change will affect the guitar in transit causing the woods to shift, which eventually makes the action and other setup points go off the mark. You will need to check the neck and adjust the trust rod accordingly. Then you can move the bridge down closer the to body. Once you do that you should be good to go. If not, report back here and I'm sure someone will be able to help further.

By the way, if you have never adjusted a truss rod in 17 years then you have clearly been doing something wrong


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## fortisursus (Mar 5, 2014)

Don't worry it would be hard to break a truss rod. Also when adjusting the truss rod note that the relief will continue to change over the course of the day as the neck settles. I personally life to make small changes over the course of a couple days to get it just the way I like it. Just look in the manual and it should list the factory setup specs, and how to adjust everything from the truss rod the the gibralter equipped bridge.


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## Hendog (Mar 5, 2014)

Chuck said:


> No they are right. Like mentioned above, no guitar will ever come setup perfectly from the factory. Climate change will affect the guitar in transit causing the woods to shift, which eventually makes the action and other setup points go off the mark. You will need to check the neck and adjust the trust rod accordingly. Then you can move the bridge down closer the to body. Once you do that you should be good to go. If not, report back here and I'm sure someone will be able to help further.
> 
> By the way, if you have never adjusted a truss rod in 17 years then you have clearly been doing something wrong



At least you read the whole post! lol

To be fair, half of the 17 years I've had a guitar tech so I should have said "in 5 years".


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## Metal-Box (Mar 5, 2014)

I highly, highly recommend taking it to a skilled guitar tech for initial setup, considering you are inexperienced. Adjusting a truss rod is not hard, but it is something that should be done with great care and consideration. Also, there may be intonation adjustments that are required once the rest of the guitar is set up. Remember, the guitar is a system and a lot of the adjustments affect other adjustments and it is a balancing act.

For the record, I would practice setups on a cheap guitar first, not a on a brand new, $1,000+ guitar.

That's just my opinion and I am sure I may sound like a gigantic wuss, but you may even be able to glean some info or tips from the tech while you are there. Shouldn't cost more than $50.


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## rreeves (Mar 5, 2014)

I recommend setting up the guitar yourself. This is how I learned: IBANEZ RULES!! tech - setup


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## TraE (Mar 5, 2014)

Metal-Box said:


> I highly, highly recommend taking it to a skilled guitar tech for initial setup, considering you are inexperienced. Adjusting a truss rod is not hard, but it is something that should be done with great care and consideration. Also, there may be intonation adjustments that are required once the rest of the guitar is set up. Remember, the guitar is a system and a lot of the adjustments affect other adjustments and it is a balancing act.
> 
> For the record, I would practice setups on a cheap guitar first, not a on a brand new, $1,000+ guitar.
> 
> That's just my opinion and I am sure I may sound like a gigantic wuss, but you may even be able to glean some info or tips from the tech while you are there. Shouldn't cost more than $50.


This. It's really not that expensive to get a guitar properly set up, and it's well worth it IMO. It's certainly useful knowing how to perform regular maintenance on your guitar, but adjusting your truss rod isn't something you'll have to do on a regular basis.


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## Jonathan20022 (Mar 5, 2014)

Check the relief, get it to a flat point so you can work with it. Then set up your saddles/bridge at the appropriate height and check for any kind of buzzing. So yes, turn the bridge screws lowering the action until it's good enough for you and not buzzing everywhere. If there's any specific buzzing for example on the lower frets, add relief to the neck so it'll bow very slightly allowing those notes to breathe a bit. Vice versa, if you're buzzing up top turn the truss rod the opposite way, getting rid of the bow and flattening the board.

Guitars usually need a setup from the factory, so if you don't feel comfortable making those adjustments ask around for a local tech and ask them to show you how to do all this. It really does help, my tech taught me everything I know.


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## pushpull7 (Mar 6, 2014)

I'd say play it safe and take it to a tech. They will know if there is an issue where you need to send it back (well, the odds are better that way)

Most ibby's I've had have required clockwise tension on the neck, but unless you have some idea of what to do, refer back to taking it to a tech.


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## Daf57 (Mar 6, 2014)

Yeah - I'm gonna echo the professional tech suggestion here. Especially for the initial setup. Doing it yourself is, of course, awesome and preferred in the long run but if you are not experienced and want to get to playing and not tinkering just yet then take it in and have it set up for you. There is plenty of time in the future to hone your DIY setup skills.


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## pushpull7 (Mar 6, 2014)

Daf57 said:


> There is plenty of time in the future to hone your DIY setup skills.



I dunno dude, with the zombie apocalypse coming and all.....


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