Action Higher Down the Fingerboard?

[ironhorse777]

Hi, I own a Fender Mexican Strat and I had it set up the way I wanted with a higher action but off late I have noticed that the action near the nut is low and further down the neck the action seems quite high and I also have a feeling that the intonation might be slightly off too. What are the fixes that my guitar might need?

[clintj]

Well, some rise is normal. The strings vibrate more at their midpoint and need more clearance. Some measurements or pics would be handy.

As far as the action, I would look at neck relief first and see if it has increased. Fret a string at the first and 17th fret simultaneously and see how much space is between the string and frets at around the seventh. A capo may come in handy for this. Intonation is about the last thing I set, and is easily checked with a tuner. Fret at the twelfth fret and see if it is in tune there (make sure the open string is in tune first).

Fender has step-by-step instructions on their website for basic setup, and if you want a good in-depth reference look for a copy of Dan Erlewine's book on guitar maintenance.

[ironhorse777]

Originally Posted by clintj

Well, some rise is normal. The strings vibrate more at their midpoint and need more clearance. Some measurements or pics would be handy.

As far as the action, I would look at neck relief first and see if it has increased. Fret a string at the first and 17th fret simultaneously and see how much space is between the string and frets at around the seventh. A capo may come in handy for this. Intonation is about the last thing I set, and is easily checked with a tuner. Fret at the twelfth fret and see if it is in tune there (make sure the open string is in tune first).

Fender has step-by-step instructions on their website for basic setup, and if you want a good in-depth reference look for a copy of Dan Erlewine's book on guitar maintenance.

At the 12th fret the notes are not sharp or flat it's jus that further down all the notes seem slightly sharp.

[terrapin]

You MIGHT have a bad body/neck allignment issue or possibly a neck relief issue. I wold suspect a body/neck allignment problem that may need a shim in the neck cavity to solve.