mylittledemon...

[MichaelE]

So far the Turner is great, but I have a question about your setup.

Mine is much higher than the LP and I wonder if Turner sets these up high intentionally because it's just the way the guitar is, or if I can lower it without it fretting out on me or without a lot of buzz.

How was yours out of the box?

The intonation is spot on, so they did a good setup, it's just a bit on the high side. Still very playable, but I wonder if it's set this high for finger picking?
I wouldn't want to screw up a good setup by lowering the action only to find it starts buzzing when finger picking it.

[goldustsongbird]

I know you're new and everything, but there's a great little feature here called private messaging. Maybe it would be a better idea to use that for this topic?

[MichaelE]

I thought about that, but the other members who own this guitar would not benefit from mylittledemon's answer.

We have spoken via PM in the past.

[mylittledemon]

Michael,

I do not know the fine intricacies of bridge adjustment. It was never something I learned (or was taught). The bridge is very similar to a stop matic Les Paul tailpiece. If you have a guitar guy (or gal) at a local shop that you trust, take your guitar to them. I was wary about this, as I didnt want to leave my Turner overnight with anyone.

Personally, I'd send mine back to Ed Roman (he offers a full warranty) with his Turners. At least, he did at the time I purchased one from him. I specifically asked Stephan to do a "low action" setup so mine has been fine from the get go. The first Turner I bought has a custom carved slim-tapered neck and was set up by RT. I wish I could be of more help.

[MichaelE]

No problem and I appreciate the information. You told me what I needed to know; I can lower the action without worry.

I'll use the same specs as the LP as a starting point and go from there. No one is going to work on this guitar except me. Been doing setups for a long time, I just wasn't sure what is normal for this guitar.

Thanks!

[chiliD]

My 2 cents:

Mine had fairly low action out of the box...but, I noticed as the nut started to wear, I got quite a bit of fret buzz from the low "E" and "A" strings. To solve this, instead of just automatically raising the action, I would insert a very tiny, tiny piece of tissue paper in the string slot of the nut. That worked for a while, then I went to a larger string gauge...necessitating a SLIGHT raise of the action to accomodate the larger strings...in doing so, the action "FELT" almost the same.

However, over time, that just increased the wear on the nut and now my poor little Model 1 needs a "nut transplant". But, who to trust it to. I haven't heard the greatest of accounts of Rick himself doing repair work in anywhere NEAR a timely manner, so I need to take mine to someone locally (SoCal)....anyone know not just a "good" repair tech, but a "GREAT" repair tech in the LA/OC area??

[mylittledemon]

Originally Posted by MichaelE

No problem and I appreciate the information. You told me what I needed to know; I can lower the action without worry.

I'll use the same specs as the LP as a starting point and go from there. No one is going to work on this guitar except me. Been doing setups for a long time, I just wasn't sure what is normal for this guitar.

I reckon I just need to get a book and learn this stuff!

[MichaelE]

It ain't hard once you've done it several times. It just takes patients and experience.

I lowered the top E to 5/64ths and the bottom E to 3/64ths and re-intonated. Life with my Turner is now good.

Normally on most mass produced guitars the strings rise from the nut to the bridge. Not on the Turner. The nut is cut tall and the strings are almost parallel to the bridge height as it was adjusted from the shop.

Now, the strings are actually going 'downhill' (ever so slightly) to the bridge. It's a wonder that a first fret barre chord isn't sharp with a nut this high, but it's really fine. No sharpness at all. And no buzzes or fretting out while bending on the upper frets. This guitar is really a work of Lutherie art.

It plays much nicer now, and I didn't think it could get any better!

chiliD, you don't need a guitar tech, even an outstanding one. You want to find a Luthier that will cut and seat the new nut correctly. Some of the best Luthiers are acoustic guitar builders who make nearly everything on the guitar that isn't made of metal. They could cut a nut for a Turner with no problem.

I consider myself a fair to midland guitar tech, but I would never attempt to cut a nut for any guitar. One, I don't have the neccesary skills, and two, I don't have the proper tools for the job.

[mylittledemon]

Michael,

yeah I reckon I could learn it if I was just shown how to do it a couple of times... I need to pay a good guitar tech for his time

Oh and your "fair to midland" description made me chuckle