Neck ache

[HarrySound]

After buying my Custom 24 I can now see how badly setup my SE is. (my fault but it came badly setup if i remember correctly, I just made it worse lol)
I need to get this guitar online as I have a fisherman triple play attached to it and would like to use it for drop tune stuff.
First thing I want to do is straighten the neck so theres very little relief.
Does anyone have any tips for sighting or measuring this? I don't think I can eyeball it with accuracy because we're talking about stupidly small amounts of movement.

 

[Jmartin]

You dont need anything to measure neck relief. Fret the strings at the first and the 14th fret at the same time. At the 7th fret there should be just enough room to slide a business card under the strings. Go from there and remove any frt buzz.

Two more things, be sure to re-tune between each adjustment, and make sure you are holding the guitar in a normal playing position while checking the string height.

 

[DHW]

A set of feeler gauges is like $5 at a hardware store. That and a capo and a finger and you can measure it accurately.

 

[Bill SAS 513]

IMHO, the most important thing to remember is to make adjustments in very small increments...and don't force anything. I have found PRS guitars extremely easy to work on...the PRS website has a lot of info on setting up action, and you might want to youtube John Ingram, he is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to getting them playing right...and remember to take your time. (trust me, this is from experience)

 

[AP515]

I just "tweaked" my Mira. It still played ok with only the slightest of buzz on the low E, but it just didn't feel like it used to. I turned the truss rod bolt about a 1/8th of a turn toward the high E string side and let it set for 10 minutes. The playability and tone came right back.

 

[László]

I'm so terrible at setups it's a sad thing, but I think Stew-Mac has sets of gauges and straight edges made for the purpose.

 

[The Fight]

Man totally know what you mean. I visited a friend last night and checked out her guitars. I noticed the action on every guitar was so hight and almost impossible for me to play. I remember having a conversation with her a wile back about how it was hard for her to pick up speed, now knowing this I've made plans to fix this problem next week. But yeah it's kinda hard to know until you know the difference. Good luck!