Complete EPI custom setup

[Roman Rist]

Here we have a an ordinary Epiphone LP custom. It is complete with normal problems people encounter and take for granted. Fret buzz, plastic nut, high action, too much relief in the neck, etc.

Well we are going to put some love into it. Why? Well, it is a guitar and the owner loves it. An Epiphone can play as well as any other instrument.

Here we go;

BTW, excuse some of the picture quality.

here it is, high action and all.



The first thing is to remove the stings and take off the mounting ring of the neck pickup. I want the pickup to drop to the bottom of the route.



Next we tape it all up. this prevents scratching and damage, not to mention keeping the steel wool particles away from the pickup.




Now we take the nut off. First I score a line through the finish. we do not want the nut to take finish along with it when we remove it.




I will tap at the nut with something hard and a hammer. my preferred tool for the tapping is a fret file.



Now the nut is off.




More to come

Roman

[gibiphone]

Thanks Roman. This string of lessons will be very helpful to many.

gibiphone

just north of the mexican line

[Roman Rist]

Originally Posted by gibiphone

Thanks Roman. This string of lessons will be very helpful to many.

gibiphone

just north of the mexican line

You are welcome. I don't want epi guys to feel left out.

[jkinnison90]

awesome. thanks for posting this. can't wait to see the end results of the setup.

[overdriver]

Very good of you to do this Roman, maybe flick could make it a sticky?

[Roman Rist]

Now that the nut is off, I adjust the neck. What I am looking for is dead straight.
This will reveal all the neck and fret imperfections.



Out comes my trusty fret leveling file. The file does not lie. It is straight and level and will seek out and destroy all high frets.

We take all the high tops off.



The file also discovers loose frets. On a lot of import guitars, the frets may "look" like they are seated well, but are loose. the file makes a different "chatter noise" when it hits loose frets.

I mark these with a black sharpie so I know which ones they are.




More to come.

Roman

[hell_monkey]

This thread is awesome, very helpful!

[overdriver]

bump

[socreddy]

Holy crap, look at that poor gutted thing!

Hey, thanks for putting this up though! Do you think you could put all your instructions and images on the first post?

[Roman Rist]

Now, all the frets I have marked with the sharpie get the super glue treatment.

I run a bead of ordinary superglue down each side of the loose fret and the wicking action causes it to go under and into the fret slot.



With a paper towel i wipe the excess off.


Before any super glue is fully hard and cured I scrape the fingerboard with a straight razor blade.



More to come.
Roman

[Hectgore]

Yay!So im guessing the you received the bone nut that is big enough for my guitar?Do you know when i can pick it up?
Thanks for posting this Roman im sure itll be of much help to the fellow Epi users!

[Roman Rist]

Originally Posted by socreddy

Holy crap, look at that poor gutted thing!

Hey, thanks for putting this up though! Do you think you could put all your instructions and images on the first post?

too late.

[Roman Rist]

Originally Posted by Hectgore

Yay!So im guessing the you received the bone nut that is big enough for my guitar?Do you know when i can pick it up?
Thanks for posting this Roman im sure itll be of much help to the fellow Epi users!

Hi Hector, you can pick her up tommorrow

[ruffdog64]

like the idea of the thread but i`m guessing this isn`t some i`ll be doing myself ,especially as i`ve just bought a epi les paul custom,is this a high expense job at a local shop?

[Hectgore]

Originally Posted by RFR

Hi Hector, you can pick her up tommorrow

Sweet.I may also bring the carvin but nothing is happening to that one i just need the knobs tightened a bit.Nothing big i just dont have the tool at home and i need to buy it soon lol.I may also get it analyzed to see if it needs anything big on setup(like the epi) if it does ill bring it in some other time.

Originally Posted by ruffdog64

like the idea of the thread but i`m guessing this isn`t some i`ll be doing myself ,especially as i`ve just bought a epi les paul custom,is this a high expense job at a local shop?

Yeah man i hear ya,the job depends on the tech shouldnt be more than 150 imo,depends on the tech.Oh and the new bone nut is around 50 bucks to install.

[stef]

i am with you RFR.. i am a complete newbie luthier, but i bought an G400 recently which had broken truss rod, unlevelled frets, the lot.
I managed tosort all of this out myself !
I removed the truss rod, brazed the broken end, and leveled all the high frets, using a sharp edge to cover three frets at a time, and find the high ones..which i filed..

i wouldnt hesitate a second to do it on a more expensive axe.

[Roman Rist]

Originally Posted by ruffdog64

like the idea of the thread but i`m guessing this isn`t some i`ll be doing myself ,especially as i`ve just bought a epi les paul custom,is this a high expense job at a local shop?

This isn't so much a "do it your self" thread, as it is to give you some idea as to what can be done and how it is done.

I am sure some guys will DIY, but for the most part, the thread is informative.

If and when you go to a luthier, you will have a bit more knowledge and understanding.

[Hectgore]

Oh yeah Roman i may have to bring you a couple more people who need some work on there in the future.
My cousin who just started playing guitar REALLY needs a setup,he has a schecter damien and while a great guitar it has the action VERY high,Think as high as my epi.So its just a matter of him getting the money for the basic setup.
Theres also my friend who says his guitars fine but it may need a setup to get it feeling even better!

[ruffdog64]

My problem is i`m new to playing and having bought a new epi lp custom i look at some of the threads and all i see is change this /change that and wonder if i`ll even notice the difference, will i?

[FLICKOFLASH]

[Bizarro]

This definitely should be made into a sticky. Very informative. Thank you for this. I am looking forward to the rest of the story.

[Hectgore]

Originally Posted by ruffdog64

My problem is i`m new to playing and having bought a new epi lp custom i look at some of the threads and all i see is change this /change that and wonder if i`ll even notice the difference, will i?

Ah,well thats what im going to see tomorrow too lol.Ive never had my gutiars setup profesionally,but this one really needed it.I bet theyll be a big difference in playability though.

I say you should at least get a basic setup
fret level,fix the nut,adjust the truss rod,adjust the action,fix the intonation and etc.

The rest can wait until you want to mess around with pots and electronics.
Maybe someone here knows of a tech near your area thats really good.

[Roman Rist]

Originally Posted by ruffdog64

My problem is i`m new to playing and having bought a new epi lp custom i look at some of the threads and all i see is change this /change that and wonder if i`ll even notice the difference, will i?

A lot of new players experience this phenomena. As you get better, you WILL be able to tell the difference.

I would be willing to bet though, that you could tell the difference right now..

There is all the factory hype about "pro set up". They are not.

It takes me hours to do a good setup, the factories simply do not have that luxury of that time. Out the door is the motto.

What a lot of players fall into is the "this is as good as it gets" syndrome.

I will do a setup for some one that previously liked the instrument...........and then we made it better. It does make a difference.

Roman

[ac4rd]

Romeo, when the monsters get together to talk, THEY say, "That Roman, he's a MONSTER!" :-) You are just flat amazing, and it is INCREDIBLY nice of you to share a bit of your amazing skills and experience with the rest of us! THANK YOU!

[Roman Rist]

Now I do a complete scraping of the fingerboard. There are a couple of reasons for this.

1) I get all the super glue off.

2) I smooth out the inlays and make sure all are level to the rosewood

3) It always appears on import guitars that there is some type of coating on the fingerboard. When they are brand new, they do not look and feel like wood, but wood with a plastic coating.

I don't know exactly what it is but I don't like it. So, I scrape it off and get to real wood!

Also, we need a good surface for the oil to seep into.

4) This is also the point where we start to "Roll" the binding.

I do this with the razor blade. As I am scraping I take the blade at an angle on the edge of the binding and take off the square edge.

[Roman Rist]

At this point, with a smaller file I take all the sharp edges off of the ends of the frets. People get used to them, but once they are gone it feels much better!



Now, I lightly go over the tops of the frets again with the larger fret file.

[Sinmastah]

Thanks Roman, you are the man! This will help a lot of people, espicially because a lot of newer people start with Epi's, and they don't know how to do a set up. People with Gibsons have been there and done that.

BTW what do you do with white gunk in the fretboard cracks. I heard a toothbrush works, but didn't help.

[Roman Rist]

Originally Posted by Sinmastah

Thanks Roman, you are the man! This will help a lot of people, espicially because a lot of newer people start with Epi's, and they don't know how to do a set up. People with Gibsons have been there and done that.

BTW what do you do with white gunk in the fretboard cracks. I heard a toothbrush works, but didn't help.

Thanks, man.

I think the white gunk is left over buffing compound. The factories buff the fingerboard and frets to make it "look good"

When do the work on the fingerboard it is gone.

Roman

[Sinmastah]

Originally Posted by RFR

Thanks, man.

I think the white gunk is left over buffing compound. The factories buff the fingerboard and frets to make it "look good"

When do the work on the fingerboard it is gone.

Roman

It didn't come with it from the factory, I think its from skin cells and sweat, I forgot that you are supposed to wipe the fret board down when you play for a while. At least thats what I've been told. I'll see if I can get a pic up.

[Roman Rist]

Up to this point most of the work has been rough work. Now it is time for some finesse.

With a very fine file, I start to roll out the binding edges. this rounds and smooths then out.


Here is a shot, not a good picture mind you, but anyway a shot of the fingerboard after the file and the edges have been sanded.

If you will notice in the bottom left, there is an old fashioned fingernail board. this works great!