Help! Guitar setup…

[JackBootedThug]

Son’s friend dropped me off a cheap import mic Jackson. Has the two point fulcrum trem. I have adjusted the neck and fucked with the saddles but the action is still to high. It looks almost like the bridge studs need to go in farther. I never really paid attention before but the bridge is off of the body some and I can see the block under it from the side. I noticed that one of the studs needed tightened because the bridge was moving on one side in a “wonky “ manner. I tightened both down and it stopped. My problem now is the action. Really still to high the farther you go up the neck. Gets bad around the 12th fret on. Any suggestions?

 

[SpiderWars]

From your description that does sound strange that the bridge is so high off of the body. Are you sure the bridge/studs are the original to the guitar?

If there is a ton of relief in the neck or a bad neck angle that will raise the action but not like you are describing. It sounds more like a bridge issue. Without a pic it's hard to tell.

 

[Geo]

How about some pics?

 

[JackBootedThug]

Gotcha fellas…gimme a few. I saw something sparkly and got sidetracked…

 

[JackBootedThug]

I did measure the bridge height and it appears to be approximately 1/8th off the body.

 

[JackBootedThug]

Weird. The action seems to have dropped a bit since yesterday…

 

[JackBootedThug]

 

[JackBootedThug]

Still feels off though.

 

[Geo]

I would say those bushings should be level with the top of the body. A little glue and a plastic hammer.

 

[JackBootedThug]

I would say those bushings should be level with the top of the body. A little glue and a plastic hammer.

I read that strat bridges need to be about an eighth off the body. It’s pretty much right there. These are worthless bridges for doing whammy shit. I would just as soon deck it on the body and be done with it.

 

[JackBootedThug]

Bridge bushings are moving..at least the one on the high e side is. Time to start over. Gonna glue them and deck it. No wonder I couldn’t get it to work.

 

[JackBootedThug]

Both holes are full of wood shavings. Way to go Jackson. Don’t care if it is Chinese….it has their name on it.

 

[JackBootedThug]

Holes are larger than the bushings. You think glue will do it?

 

[Geo]

Holes are larger than the bushings. You think glue will do it?

I would use some glue but use something like a paper towel to push them in with to take up the slack. They still need to fit tight.

 

[DanTravis62]

Holes are larger than the bushings. You think glue will do it?

White pipe thread tape?

 

[JackBootedThug]

Glue seems to be holding. I am done with these fuckin chinese clip on tuners. Fuckin garbage.

 

[JackBootedThug]

What a nightmare. Never again. Just need to intonate and its a wrap.

 

[GuitarGuy08]

I had a sterling that the bridge saddles started lifting out of that gave me issues like this. Took me a bit to find it. Looked like they put zero wood glue or anything in there. Popped some in and they never lifted again. Fixed the action. Other than that, the guitar was a really, really well done instrument.

 

[JackBootedThug]

Tested it out through my rig and it sounded pretty good for an entry level Chinese Jackson. Other than the bridge bushings everything else is pretty tight. Not sure what the fretboard is but I oiled it up yesterday after polishing the frets and cleaning the board. Dry as a bone. Today it looks like it could take some more oil. I lost my lemon oil so I used some Murphy red oil. Not optimal but it helped.

 

[JackBootedThug]

Here’s the culprit…