Late Lunch Report- Tuesday June 24th, 2014

Lunch- I am working the late shift today (1- 9). i am skipping dinner to lose a few pounds, I know (BORING!)

Today's topic: Do you find the change of seasons (like Spring to Summer) drastically affects your instruments or do necks and setups stay the same for you?

Are G&Ls more or less prone to needing neck adjustments as compared to other guitars in your arsenal?

My answers;
I have recently discovered that all of my basses have risen in pitch a full half step as more humid air moved in to my area with the increasing temps of the first days of Summer. These are basses that I played and tuned within 2- three weeks ago so what has normally been very stable has suddenly become very changeable with the oncoming Summer.

What is your experience in your environs?

Hey Bill,

No major changes in my G&L's with climate change. Could be because they rarely leave the house and are in the basement. The one or two and a tele that go out some have not required special attention either. I will pull a few from cases this week and see if there is anything noticeable.

Do you see a difference in your basses and 6 stringers? Mass of bass different effect maybe?

Sam- Since I am playing bass professionally, its basses that I see with the problem. I 'll have to check my guitars later tonight.
I'll let you know.

I see the same changes in my guitars. I only have two different brands of electric guitar and they both behave similarly. I see these changes within a day or two sometimes. It is one reason I keep them in their cases.

Hi Bill,

My guitars stay in the basement too, where they are generally rock steady. The one exception is my Les Paul, which needs a truss rod adjustment now that winter has arrived. It has the lowest action of any of my guitars which makes it more sensitive to seasonal variations.

The guitar that I keep on rotation in the house can often take days to acclimatise to the warmer conditions relative to the basement. My black and white Legacy has only just settled down after a week. I thought there was something wrong with it for a while.

Bill, this is perfectly normal here in this country. That is why I do my own setups. The neck has absorbed some moisture, gotten a bit longer and is tuned up a half step. Everything has swelled a bit from the winter. They will go down a half step by the middle of the winter if you don't retune them frequently. Different brands, no difference and the same is true with 6 strings. It is just plain physics. The relief will also be a bit different as the truss rod doesn't change. In the winter when the neck shrinks you will have more relief as the truss rod is longer in comparison to the neck.-- Darwin

Bill,

My guitars/basses also stay in the basement and are usually tuned a whole step below standard E-tuning. I notice only little variation when I take one out of the case but since it is tuned a whole step lower there is tuning involved no matter what.

- Jos

I know this is normal since metal truss rods don't change on their own and wood is always absorbing or losing moisture regardless of what finish is on the neck. I just wondered who sees a rapid change in humidity with season changes based on geographic location.

Jos- I don't think that tuning a whole step flat should have any bearing on the outcome of what I am asking. If the guitar's neck swells the truss rod will cause a back bow or loss of relief, as the neck gets incrementally longer.

Jos- I don't think that tuning a whole step flat should have any bearing on the outcome of what I am asking. If the guitar's neck swells the truss rod will cause a back bow or loss of relief, as the neck gets incrementally longer.

Understood. What I was trying to say is that since I have to tune anyway, I pay less attention on whether things have changed from when the guitar was placed in its case. The action and intonation are still pretty good any time I play an instrument. Pacific NW weather is very kind, never too warm, never too cold, never hot, hazy, humid, never too dry. But your completely right: the act of tuning it down is not making one iota of a difference in whether and how much water is being absorbed by neck and/or fret board.

- Jos

my stuff needs a 1/4 turn from cold and dry to hot and humid , that goes for all of them not just G&L's

I hear you Bassman.
I have no problems with G&L's with maple finger boards . I suspect it's because they are sealed .
Rosewood is a different matter entirely. All but one of my basses and guitars have a ski jump at the upper frets. Some worse than others. my guitar tech ( one of Australia's best says the G&L truss rod is ineffectual.
It's not a deal breaker in buying more but I think it's what a G &L expert I know means when he said G&L's left the factory with a couple of shortfalls.
For me I will only buy maple boards now
Thanks
Anthony

My three maple fretboard necked G&L's are at the whim of the weather.

I store mine in the basement as well, but only one stays in the case. The other two hang on a wall. I just don't 't have enough hangers up yet. I notice very little seasonal change in the neck compared to my other guitars. One G & L has rosewood and the other two have ebony. I always attributed the neck stability to the way the necks are cut and glued back together. As to the truss rods effectiveness, I always found my Legacy's to operate very well when I decided to change string gauges. I have never had to adjust my setup on my F-100 prototype.

I have never had to adjust my setup on my F-100 prototype.

How come you think that is?

~JagInTheBag

The only obvious differences is that the Legacy's are early 90s three bolt micro tilts and the F-100 is a four bolt. The F-100 also feels a lot heavier. I-ve never weighed them though. I could just be the balance.