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#1
02-08-2011, 08:37 PM
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Proper Acoustic Neck Angle?
I have recently acquired a fairly new, Larrivee L-03 Acoustic Guitar. After tweaking the action to my liking (about .010 of relief and 3/32" on the bass & 2/32" on the treble at the 12th fret) I noticed that the treble side of the saddle looks a little lower than I am used to. This made me look into neck angles and according my research you should be able to run a straight edge from the top of the frets on the neck and it should reach the top of the bridge. Mine is right below. When I measure the string height from the top of the bridge to the bottom of the string I am getting the same measurements as the 12th fret. So the high e string is sitting 2/32" above the bridge measured at the saddle itself. I am wondering if I have a faulty guitar that didn't have the neck angle properly set or is it normal.
Last edited by stratmansblues; 02-10-2011 at 10:24 PM. 
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#2
02-08-2011, 08:46 PM
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If it plays fine I wouldn't worry. The neck angle is a bit low for what I build. I prefer a bit more saddle exposed. A straight edge on my guitars on a fretted fretboard hits about 1/16th above the bridge. Another thing that can be done is to have ramps placed by the bridge pins. This will increase the break angle a bit.
Is there any change in at the 14th fret where the neck is attached to the body?
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Andy
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#3
02-08-2011, 08:50 PM
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Quote:
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#4
02-08-2011, 08:54 PM
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Is the fretboard straight where the neck attaches to the body? Look down the entire fretboard from the headstock to the bridge. Some guitars with a poorly set neck will have a slight valley at this joint. One of the sign of a neck that needs to be reset.
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Andy
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#5
02-08-2011, 08:56 PM
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It has a dip in the fingerboard right after it meets the body. I have seen that same dip on a lot of acoustic guitars.
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#6
02-08-2011, 09:05 PM
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A dip....not a hump. This shows the the neck angle is off a bit. A perfectly set up guitar will have the neck straight from the headstock to the end of the fretboard including the neck body joint with only a bit of relief. It is not that unusual to see a slight change at the neck body joint.
Was this guitar new? A new Larrivee shouldn't have a dip. Since the guitar plays fine and you can set the action to your liking, I wouldn't be too worried. Eventually you might be heading towards needing a neck reset. This is typically done when there isn't enough room to lower the action to your liking and when it is clear the neck angle is off. That could be years from now.... Enjoy the guitar
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Andy
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#7
02-08-2011, 09:24 PM
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Quote:
Last edited by stratmansblues; 02-10-2011 at 10:31 PM.
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#8
02-08-2011, 10:28 PM
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Quick and easy way to check neck angle, from Frets.com;
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musi...neckangle.html
__________________
"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." Henry Van Dyke "It is in the world of slow time that truth and art are found as one" Norman Maclean,
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#10
02-09-2011, 12:49 AM
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It looks like the fretboard is angled back down when it hits the body. I have seen this on numerous guitars...
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Bryan
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#11
02-09-2011, 03:23 AM
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I did a set-up on my Larrivee OM19 a couple years ago and installed a WAHI saddle. My saddle protrusion above the bridge appears to be very similar to what you are seeing. Mine plays and sounds great. I wouldn't worry about it.
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Karl Larrivee OM-19 Sandy Creek Mountain Dulcimers Flea Ukulele "Love in a memory, sparkled like diamond. When the diamonds fall, they burn like tears" -- Nancy Griffith
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#12
02-09-2011, 08:35 PM
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Well the guitar plays fine and it sounds as it should. It sounds like I may be worrying about something that isn't really a big deal. Considering what I paid for the guitar, if I get a few years of playing time out of it that would be all I can ask and by the time it would need a neck reset, it will probably be traded or sold off. I usually don't keep guitars too long anyways being that there is always something else I am wanting. That you all for your input.
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#13
02-09-2011, 09:01 PM
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Also, from what I remember, the last time I was looking at acoustic guitars, I was looking at two identical Martins. One of them had a saddle that looked even lower than the one on my Larrivee and the other one looked normal. I ended up buying the one with the taller saddle thinking that I would have more room for adjustment over time and I didn't even think about the neck angle.
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#14
02-09-2011, 09:01 PM
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But with a conventional glue in neck I have seen this many times even on new off the wall models and in expensive ones. the amount of saddle does not look that bad if all other measurements are in spec like action and relief. My 816CE is fairly close to looking like that. Action though is lower than factory specs but it came shipped that way from Taylor.
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2010 Taylor 816CE 2012 PRS P22 Black Gold Wrap Around.
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#15
02-09-2011, 09:02 PM
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Taylor has an interesting view on neck angles in this article.
http://www.taylorguitars.com/global/...k_and_neck.pdf
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