Les Paul Problem

edenfield99

So the strings on my Les Paul don't seem to run straight down the neck and the high E is very close to the edge of the fret board and slips off during playing. Not all the time, it is playable but you have to take more care than I'd like when applying vibrato or playing certain chord shapes.

I never noticed it being like this when I bought it (it was second hand) however I fitted a bigsby using a vibramate system and it's definitely there when I've taken that off. I did notice that when the vibramate was fitted the bridge would rock with the motion of the trem. I removed the bridge last night to see if I could sort it and the thumbwheels seem very loose in the studs (the studs themselves seem to be firm in the body) when screwed down to the height I'd set it at.

I'm guessing the trem has damaged the threads and when string tension is applied it is pulling the bridge down on the body and therefore the strings across to the treble side. Does that sound a reasonable diagnosis or is the wobbly thumbscrews normal and I'm missing something else? If I'm right I'm guessing I'll need to replace the studs and the thumbwheels (I'm not sure which has the damaged threads, probably a bit of both??)...how easy is this (removing the studs specifically, I don't want to be pulling at something that is glued in and risk damaging the body) and is it something I can do myself (the school prize and a GCSE A grade in CDT nearly 30 years ago if you want some idea of my technical level  ) or should I trust it to a tech? Any thoughts on the above would be appreciated.

Oh, and I understand it could just be shoddy Gibson quality control and I hadn't noticed it in the past

ICBM

Have you got the bridge on backwards? Neck alignment issues are common on Gibsons, so they 'fix' it by allowing the assembly workers to notch the bridge saddles with the strings in whatever position gives the correct string alignment - this means that the string grooves are very often not in the centre of the saddles. If you then reverse the bridge, the grooves will be off-centre in the opposite direction and the strings won't line up on the neck.

It can't be anything to do with the bridge studs even if the posts are a bit loose, because they cannot have moved sideways across the top. If you have got the bridge on the right way, it must just have been done wrong at the factory (again possible!) and you need to either file the saddle tops flat and re-notch then in the correct positions, or replace the bridge.

edenfield99

I think it went back on the same way it came off before I put the bigsby on. It is the "right way" round although I know it could have been changed round in a previous set up and I hadn't noticed. I'll swap it over later and see if it improves things. Off to a tech if it doesn't as I don't have the files to do the repair. 

ICBM

edenfield99 said:

I'll swap it over later and see if it improves things.

Just have a look at the grooves first, if they're not off-centre in the same direction that the string alignment is wrong that will save you a bit of effort, if it's not obvious that it will fix it.

It's not at all unlikely it was on the wrong way before you got it though, I can't begin to remember how often I've seen this. I'm just working on a Yamaha SG that came to me like that, although being a Yamaha the grooves are centred and the string alignment is fine, of course .

edenfield99

Thanks @ICBM, have a wisdom on me for all your help. My other two main guitars have floating bridges, it makes string alignment much easier....