Anyone know how to set up a LAVA Me 2 carbon fibre guitar?

[Jack the Pearl]

I know there are no accessible truss rods in this guitar. I believe it is possible to remove and adjust the bridge saddle and the nut, but I don't know how different that removal and reinstallation might be compared to a wood guitar.

I expect to take delivery of my LAVA Me 2 in the next couple days, and I have a luthier I might take it to for a set up. But he builds premium quality guitars from wood that he cuts and ages himself. If he declines the job of setting up my new guitar, I want to know how much of a challenge doing it myself might be. I have some tools, and am game to try it.

Anyone know where to begin? Specifically, I need advice about removing the nut and the bridge saddle should it be necessary to lower the "action." All advice is welcome.

In my experience the nut can be either easy or hard to remove. For set up I would not see any reason for removing the nut unless you're replacing it with something new and different.

The saddle, on most guitars is an easy remove. But that depends on the electronics. Sometimes the saddles are wired in and best not removed. Like the nut the saddle should be able to be worked in place.

If the set up from the factory is not to your pleasure I would have it looked at by the luthier before I tried anything. I'd pay just for an appraisal and if he or she was willing to set it up to your liking I'd go for that before messing it myself. I've done a lot of messing around with guitars and discovered the hard way that experts are experts because they are experienced and know what they're doing.

[Jack the Pearl]

The luthier is my first plan. I'm looking at the possibility of doing the work myself because, while difficult, it would be preferable to deciding that the guitar is hard to play and I've wasted the purchase price. But first, I'm going to cross my fingers and hope for the best.

[Jack the Pearl]

OK, here's my question: Assuming I don't want to saw or sand on either the nut or saddle while either is installed in the guitar (I don't), who here knows how to remove either nut or saddle?

Are they held in with conventional adhesives?

Have you asked the maker or vendor about this?

[Jack the Pearl]

I don't have a number for the maker. I think it's in China. As for the vendor, that's Amazon. They won't know, but I may call them once they deliver the guitar. If I find the setup needs to be tweaked.

I'm getting the impression that no one who has responded knows the answers to my questions. Nothing to be ashamed of there. I don't know either!

No shame here--I'll gladly admit total ignorance. Just suggesting options I would explore. For example, Amazon has a question section where buyers can ask other buyers questions.

[Captain Jim]

There have been a few posts here about the Lava Me guitars, but nothing about doing a set-up on them as I recall. Hard to find a "knowledge pool" when most of us haven't had experience with them.

[CRM]

Go to Stewmac online they have all the video's you need for setting up your guitar......good luck on your new guitar hope it comes setup-ed to your liking

[domen]

I have a lava me 2, I have removed and filed with a very fine sandpaper the saddle. I had to file a lot to get almost what I wanted. the operation is simple and no prior knowledge is required, just patience. better to mark a line with a marker. the saddle can be removed and reinserted without problem. I don't feel the need to do the same work on the nut, as the action on the early frets is decent. Before doing all this I emailed the manufacturer who even sent me a spare nut and saddle in no time.

[Jack the Pearl]

Amazon delivered my guitar about a week ago, and I've played it each day since it arrived. In a nutshell, I'm not going to return it.

I bought this guitar on the assumption that it will require much less care than my wood guitars. I plan to leave it at our house up in the Arizona mountains (3500 feet higher than the house in town). The guitar can handle the normal regional fluctuations in temperature and humidity. So I can leave it in the mountains without fear of damage. This is important to me. I have a small car that gets cramped when my wife and I load it up with the dog, food, water, baggage, a guitar, and all our usual truck. A guitar I don't have to carry back and forth between the two houses will be a blessing.

There are good things and bad things about this, my first carbon fiber guitar. Each of us has their own preferences about the guitars we own, and I do too. These are my own opinions; you may disagree.

GOOD

1. The guitar was packed well. It survived its boat ride from China without any visible damage, so that's a relief.

2. The guitar sounds good. It doesn't rumble and chime the way my Sitka and Rosewood dreadnought does, but it's a different kind of beast so I don't mind its different voice. It's clear, clean, musical, and quite loud.

3. The neck shape and dimensions are comfortable for me. It's an individual thing but for me it's a nice neck.

4. The neck is flat and straight with no visible relief. Given that there is not an adjustable truss rod, this is important. I don't have the tools or expertise to tell if it has high, low, or loose frets. I have a luthier that can figure that out. I've played it some and didn't discover any problems with the frets, so I'm hoping there are none.

BAD

1. The action from the factory is impossibly high.

2. The factory installed strings (12-53) are much too stiff for my liking. coupled with the high action, this guitar is not comfortable to play. I'm hoping a luthier set-up will mitigate this problem. I've already bought a set of 11-52 strings for the luthier to install.

3. The real fly in the ointment here is that the intonation is way, way off so playing any more than cowboy chords may be hard on the ears. I'm hoping the luthier can fix that. The way the bridge saddle is mounted might make that hard, but we shall see.

Frankly, it's the possible problems with the bridge saddle mount, and with the nut, that has lead me to take the early advice in this thread and leave a set-up to my luthier friend. I still think this guitar will serve the purpose for which I bought it. I hope the set-up will make it fun and easy to play.

More to come on the final outcome.

[Jack the Pearl]

I got it back from the luthier today and for the price I paid ($75) I think he did a set-up, perhaps a bit of extra fussing with the nut and the saddle, and little else. So that's a testament to a sound build and a sound design by the factory.

The action and the intonation are perfectly adjusted at this point so I'm playing in a new set of strings, and getting ready to take my new guitar to its mountain home. I thought the neck was dead flat and straight, but John (my luthier friend) showed me that there's just a hint of relief in the neck. It's enough that, even with the 11-52 strings and the lower action, there's no buzzing and the guitar plays easily.

My thanks to all of you that advised me to take this guitar to a qualified professional for the set-up. I like a guitar that's fun and easy to play. And I'm playing for a couple hours every day to get the benefit of the lessons I'm buying. So being able to do so on a guitar that doesn't make my arthritic hands hurt is a blessing.

It's also a blessing to know where to get the kind of sound advice you all dispense. I know just enough about this stuff to know what the questions are, but not necessarily the answers. And as for actually doing modifications on the nut and saddle, I'd be feeling my way in the dark anyway so I'm glad I left all that to people who know their stuff.

[Melt in the Sun]

Glad to hear it! When I read your post I was thinking all your BAD could be completely fixed with a good setup, and I'm happy to hear you got it.

[Philk54]

If you slacken the strings you can just slide the bridge out , and then carefully use emery or similar to rub the bottom of it. You need to keep checking how much you have lowered it and then repeat if you need it lower. Be careful it’s not easy to build it back up.Did this on my ME2 and worked perfectly.I was told they set action high as not adjustable so reduce height to suit , if they set it low people can’t easily raise it.

[Jack the Pearl]

It's been more than two years, and all is still well with my carbon fiber LAVA Me2. Have to thank you all again for good advice.

This guitar is just what the doctor ordered for my use and situation. It's stable in a house with an HVAC controlled climate (50-75 degrees F, very low humidity) that is more than a mile above sea level. The tuning only changes on this guitar if an unusually long time goes by between uses. That is, the strings stretch because I leave it tuned and, therefore, under tension. Pick it up after a couple months and all the strings are slightly flat; all to the same minimal degree.

Perfect. Plenty of room in my small car for my wife, the dog, and all our truck without having to fit a guitar in there.

Happy Holidays to each and every one of you.