Strings
The strings are D’Addario EXL110 (.010-.046). To change them, feed the string through the string ferrule on the back
of the instrument, over the saddle, and to the tuner post. Make sure to leave enough slack in the string to get two
or three good wraps around the post. More wraps than this will cause tuning problems later. Tune the string to pitch,
then stretch the string at the 12th fret. Repeat these steps until the wraps are tight and the string stays in tune.
After playing It’s always a good idea to completely wipe down the body, fretboard, strings, and hardware
prior to putting your guitar away. The natural oils from your fingers can, over time, damage the finish and
hardware of your instrument.
Any quality guitar polish/cleaner can be used on your Michael Kelly instrument if it has a gloss finish. We
recommend not using furniture polish because it will leave a filmy residue that will build up over time.
You should only deep clean your fretboard once or twice a year so you don’t disturb the natural moisture
of the wood. Cleaning too much could dry out the fretboard and create cracks in the wood. It’s also
important to oil the board twice a year. We recommend bore or mineral oil for this. Just remove the
strings, apply a small amount of your preferred oil to the fretboard and let it sit for a while to soak in.
After about 30 minutes wipe off any residual oil and restring.
The first step is to
“eyeball” the neck by
turning the guitar on its
side and looking down
the fretboard. You will be
checking to see if the neck
is straight, has a back-bow, or too much relief. Make sure
your guitar is tuned to pitch before checking the neck. Some
players like a perfectly straight neck and some like to keep
a bit of relief in their necks. A perfectly straight neck might
not work if you pick hard and still like very low action. If
that’s the case a small amount of relief will be better for you.
Sight down the neck from the headstock to see how much
of a bow or back-bow the neck has. To do this hold the neck
up to eye level and sight along the edge of the fretboard
on both treble and bass sides. If the neck is bowed, you will
have to tighten the truss rod. If the neck has a back-bow you
will have to loosen the truss rod.
Place the 4 mm allen wrench supplied with your guitar on
the adjustment nut of the truss rod and turn gently in small
increments. Turn the allen wrench towards the treble side to
loosen and towards the bass side to tighten. Keep checking
the neck with each small turn until the neck has the desired
straightness.
Make sure to not tighten the rod too much (when it
becomes hard to turn) because it could result in stripping
the threads or perhaps even breaking the rod itself.
Once you have made your adjustments to the neck you
might have to adjust the action of the strings to prevent fret
buzz.
Fretboard
Maintenance
Cleaning &
Maintenance
Truss Rod
Adjustment
More Relief
(loosen)
Less Relief
(tighten)
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Hybrid 55 Owners Manual
1
MichaelKellyGuitars.com
Back-bow
Up-bow/relief
