Hi guys,
I've just started to learn guitar again after giving up. This time I got a teacher. I finally figured out why I kept giving up, because the strings were really tight. My teacher said that there is an allen key thing especially made for Gibson guitars to bend the neck close to the string, something like that. I have searched ebay and google, but cannot find out where to buy.
I would prefer to buy in Australia, but if it is only available overseas, then so be it.
Please help.
I don't want to buy $100+, online is usually, I mean always cheaper than a brick and mortar shop
Playing about with adjusting the truss rod yourself may not be a 100% fix, especially if you want to achieve good intonation up and down the fretboard with minimal fret buzz. It sounds like you also need lighter gauge strings and, if it's adjustable, the bridge set-up may need to be tweaked to achieve a better string height.
The best solution is a one-off trip to a professional guitar technician to get the instrument set up to suit your hands and playing style. These guys are wizards at fixing playability problems - they do it all the time. Any music store should be able to direct you to a reputable local tech.
What iseenya said.
Not sure how much a guitar tech would cost. If you have a $3000 Gibson then I guess yes, it's a good idea to have it properly setup. If you plays a $200 Chinese made Les Paul looks-alike — then I am not sure whether it's worthwhile. There are many videos on YouTube teaching you how to set up a guitar, or get your teacher to have a look.
The allen key will tighten and loosen the neck. This can only alter the total angle. You need the bridge and nut lowered. It was [is?] a common practice with Martin guitars, as they were always shipped with a really high action, on the same principle that it is easier to shave some length off the end of a piece of wood than put some on :-) That way, the owner could adjust the guitar [or have it adjusted] to suit there own requirements. It also applied to their `Sigma' line when it was Japanese made and finished by Martin U.S.
I found that with my Sigma, Martin `Marquis' lights worked well with a sweet sound, but on a Gibson, you may end up drowning in saccharine with those. [g,d,r]
Not wanting to knock, but your asking for a ` Gibson Allen Key' is an indicator that it may pay to let someone else do that adjustment. The purpose of that rod is to take up any looseness that developed due to changes in climate and aging, and is used when you start to get rattles and flexing from the neck. You can very easily warp the neck if you over tighten - and at that stage, it's be a waste of time anyway as you are now set up for bottle-neck anyway :-p
Any guitar shop mate.