I have a Kingston electric guitar I bought in an antique shop that was it pretty bad shape when I bought it. I took it apart, sanded and repainted it, put it back together, and now the strings are too close to the fret board which causes the strings to be muted. I have tried adjusting the nut, adjusting the bridge, and adjusting the truss rod, but with no effect. What should I try next??? Thanks!
It depends on what's causing it. You don't say if the strings are too close to the frets through the entire range or just part of it. Causes that come to my mind, from the easiest fix to the hardest:
1. The bridge is too low. Cure: bridge height adjustment
2. The neck relief is off. Cure: truss rod adjustment
3. The nut is too low. Cure: new nut, properly fitted
You've already listed those as things you've tried; if you did them right, you can move on to:
4. The neck angle is off - the peghead is too far back from the face of the guitar. Cure: neck reset. If it's a bolt-on neck, you can use a shim at the bottom of the neck pocket - I've used business cards for this.
5. The neck is warped. Cure: reshape the neck (this is a tough project - it may involve removing the fretboard and planing, or using heat and steam)
If the strings are too low because of select frets being too high (or the others being too worn, depending on how you look at it), fretwork is needed. Whether that's tapping down frets that are popping up, dressing frets, or replacing some, the difficulty level will be between 3 & 4 if it's a set neck, or between 4 & 5 if it's a bolt-on.
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