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Neck Reset on Electric
Hey fellow Wanna-B-Luthiers, I have a repair project i am trying to help a friend out with. My bandmates nephew bought a Strat kit guitar and after all is said and done, its a great looking guitar for a 14 yr old's fist build project. Only problem, the neck angle is all wrong and the strings are hitting the frets at the 14/15th frets. Nothing wrong with the bridge, saddle or nut, neck is straight with a functional truss rod. Bolt on neck is secure and tight but something isn't right in the neck slot and it looks to me like some shimming may be in order. Either neck is to thin at the block or pocket is too deep at the body
Now, I have been doing my own basic setup work (saddle/nut adjustments) on all my acoustic for years but never a electric and the idea of a neck reset/shimming is a bit new to me. After being brutally honest with the kid and letting him know the problem i recommended a real tech but he doesn't have the $$. So in the spirit of trying to help a youngster get something that is decent and playable for short $$ he gave me the go ahead to attempt the fix. I have read a bunch on these types of issues from many different places but can't find a single source that I can keep going to. Can anyone help with a online source that will kinda walk through the steps regarding proper neck angle and/or repair procedures when needed? I really want to get this into a playable place for him and I feel my understanding of the issues and knowledge of basic Luthiery skills can get him there without a costly tech bill. Thanks for any direction and help that may be given. Nick was going to post a pic but the whole Photobucket thing has got me hot under the collar and I need to move away from them
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'17 Martin D42 '13 Guild f512 |
#2
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jf45ir Free DIY Acoustic Guitar IR Generator .wav file, 30 seconds, pickup left, mic right, open position strumming best...send to direct email below I'll send you 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 & 0/100 IR/Bypass IRs IR Demo, read the description too: https://youtu.be/SELEE4yugjE My duo's website and my email... [email protected] Jon Fields |
#3
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Well that certainly makes it a bit easier
Thanks for that Jon
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'17 Martin D42 '13 Guild f512 Last edited by Rescon; 08-11-2017 at 04:52 PM. |
#4
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I have never been able to understand why Stew Mac describe these shims in terms of "degrees" rather than just giving the length, and the thickness of the thick end.
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#5
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It sounds like the neck pocket is too shallow.
You can deepen the neck socket with a chisel or you can flat sand the heel with sandpaper or belt sander. Steve
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Cole Clark Fat Lady Gretsch Electromatic Martin CEO7 Maton Messiah Taylor 814CE |
#6
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I'd suggest a router for either of these operations.
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#7
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That is what I use as well for deepening the neck pocket or re-setting the angle of the base,, well I use an overhead pin router, not everyone unfortunatley has access to a router when assembling these kit guitars. Hence the chisel suggestion
Steve
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Cole Clark Fat Lady Gretsch Electromatic Martin CEO7 Maton Messiah Taylor 814CE |
#8
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When the guitar came to me the next was straight (very slight relief) with 10's on it up to standard 440... and the strings were hitting at the 13-14 frets.
Am I thinking wrong but wouldn't deepening the pocket make things worse? Another note, the whole neck including end that sits in body pocket was painted. Is that typical or should the neck area be masked when painted so there is wood and wood contact with body. Actually, know that I think of it, the body pocket is painted as well with same finish paint for body Should I gently sand that paint off? Nick
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'17 Martin D42 '13 Guild f512 |
#9
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So far I haven't seen anything to indicate that the guitar needs its neck angle changed. Sounds to me like a guitar that needs fretwork and a setup, unless you can't raise the bridge any higher.
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"Still a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest." --Paul Simon |
#10
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The surfaces of the joint are normally finished. If the neck fits now, removing finish will make it loose.
Strings hitting frets 13 or 14 indicates that the neck has too much relief. If the action is too low, deepening the neck pocket will raise it. A shim added to the upper end of the pocket also will raise the action. |
#11
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Quote:
Steve
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Cole Clark Fat Lady Gretsch Electromatic Martin CEO7 Maton Messiah Taylor 814CE |
#12
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The key to anything is follow a set of mechanical steps and then tweak accordingly to how the instrument feels at the end. Steve
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Cole Clark Fat Lady Gretsch Electromatic Martin CEO7 Maton Messiah Taylor 814CE Last edited by Kerbie; 10-26-2017 at 08:23 AM. Reason: Edited |
#13
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With how nice the neck and frets look, I'm assuming he bought the neck pre-fretted. Could the frets be that low on a prefab neck to cause a low action problem like this?
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'17 Martin D42 '13 Guild f512 |
#14
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#15
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'17 Martin D42 '13 Guild f512 |