Fly setup

[KenanJ]

Hey guys,

Is there a ressource here that document the full setup of a fly? Like string height neck adjustement and all ? (I'm already aware of bridge setup )

Cheers

[mmmguitar]

That's a good question, @KenanJ. If there is, I'm unaware of it - I think because, aside from the quirks of the Fly trem, the guitar gets set up like any other, and Ken made the adjustments very easy (e.g., the bridge radius is fixed; so one simply adjusts the rear bridge height screws a quarter turn at a time until the desired action is achieved).

The only esoteric aspect of the setup I tend to chime in with is that Ken's nut-slotting jig produced a slot height seemingly intended for the neck relief to be set to "zero" before the final action and intonation adjustments (i.e., if you don't have a notched straight edge to aid in adjusting the neck to be straight, you can make do by tightening the truss until the first fret notes begin to buzz, then backing off the tension until the notes ring as clearly as you prefer). The downside to the factory nut height being so low is that as soon as a string wears lower in the slots (typically the G; because it moves the most with trem use and "saws" into the slot), you get that tell-tale "sitar" sound from the open string buzzing (a steeper back-angle from the rear of the nut to the tuners could have helped with this). That being said, it's all a matter of personal preference.

If you're referring to factory setup specs, someone else might have this.

[KenanJ]

That's a good question, @KenanJ. If there is, I'm unaware of it - I think because, aside from the quirks of the Fly trem, the guitar gets set up like any other, and Ken made the adjustments very easy (e.g., the bridge radius is fixed; so one simply adjusts the rear bridge height screws a quarter turn at a time until the desired action is achieved).

The only esoteric aspect of the setup I tend to chime in with is that Ken's nut-slotting jig produced a slot height seemingly intended for the neck relief to be set to "zero" before the final action and intonation adjustments (i.e., if you don't have a notched straight edge to aid in adjusting the neck to be straight, you can make do by tightening the truss until the first fret notes begin to buzz, then backing off the tension until the notes ring as clearly as you prefer). That being said, it's all a matter of personal preference.

Honestly all Parkers I had (all of them bought second hand) had very few setup issues to none. But being someone who really get along with any setup as long that's not too crazy, I would like to have some height recommendations from users here to check wether my setup is in the good ballpark.
Knowing also that I have some hardness issue on an high e string I wanted to check the height but I don't have any reference :/

[vjmanzo]

Considering what Marc said about personal preference, here’s what have going on my of my Flys:

With D’Addario 010’s:
-the action* is set to a little lower than 4/64” at the 24th fret
-the neck relief** at .012”
-the string height at the nut is .010” when pressing the 3rd fret

*The 4/64” action height is the open string height.

**Neck relief is measured with a straight edge or by pressing the first and last fret and the relief is the middle point between the first and last fret

In summary from other posts, the factory measurements for bridge height are on page 7 of the manual:

The relief measurement at the factory was 7 thousandths of an inch at about the 4th or 5th fret with frets 1 and 12 pressed. The 5th fret is about halfway to the 12th fret, which is why Ken chooses to check at the 5th because "as the string gets shorter it needs less relief".

We also have a #SetupPreferences link you may find helpful.

#SetupPreferences

[KenanJ]

Hey @vjmanzo !

Thanks a lot would you be kind enough to give metric conversions for me

[Fox]

In summary from other posts, the factory measurements for bridge height are on page 7 of the manual:
IMG_5811.jpeg

oOoh there are the official measurements!

.070 and .050, yep, that checks!

That's 1.77 and 1.27 millimeters for those who don't speak Freedom Measurements.