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  #1  
Old 10-12-2020, 09:13 AM
ChrisN ChrisN is offline
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Default A different neck angle question

Les Pauls came with neck angles anywhere from 3.5 to 5.5 degrees, with, I believe, 4 degrees being the goal that kept the pickups/bridge/tailpiece lowish. Start getting to 5 degrees of angle, and the bridge has to come up, strings are then up, and pickups must be raised.

Anyhoo, while I know it's not necessary, I should just practice and not worry about it, etc., I'm also curious about the neck angle on my old LP Studio so I got one of these Digital Level Protractor Inclinometer things. A big part of this hobby, for me, is the mechanical side of things.

My question is, how do I situate the guitar body and neck for use, and where/how do I place the device? I assume it has to be zeroed to a level surface, and a carved guitar body is a challenge. Do I measure from the top? The back? Body on the table and neck hanging into space?

I have a straightedge I could place on the fretboard, as well.

Thanks for any input.
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Old 10-12-2020, 10:20 AM
John Arnold John Arnold is offline
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Since Les Pauls have flat backs, I would reference it from the back.
Lay it in a level table and place the inclinometer on the fingerboard. Since you want the back to be flush with the table surface, the neck will probably need to hang over the edge.
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Old 10-12-2020, 01:18 PM
ChrisN ChrisN is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John Arnold View Post
Since Les Pauls have flat backs, I would reference it from the back.
Lay it in a level table and place the inclinometer on the fingerboard. Since you want the back to be flush with the table surface, the neck will probably need to hang over the edge.
Thanks, John. That worked great. I was mentally locked into trying to do it from the top, for some reason. I got the guitar on a fairly level surface, topside down, placed the inclinometer on the back of the body, in the middle, pushed the Reference button, which set the display to "0", then placed the inclinometer on the back of the neck at various points. All were mostly in the mid-4s, as I suspected because of where the bridge/pickups had to be.

Worked great. Thanks again.
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Old 10-13-2020, 06:46 AM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisN View Post
Thanks, John. That worked great. I was mentally locked into trying to do it from the top, for some reason. I got the guitar on a fairly level surface, topside down, placed the inclinometer on the back of the body, in the middle, pushed the Reference button, which set the display to "0", then placed the inclinometer on the back of the neck at various points. All were mostly in the mid-4s, as I suspected because of where the bridge/pickups had to be.

Worked great. Thanks again.
Neck angle is normally referenced to the fret board plane, and more accurately, the top surface of the neck before the fret board is added. That's the number you most often see as a builder because it deals with neck attachment prior to the addition of a fret board which is in some cases tapered in thickness.

If you are measuring the angle of the neck's rear surface remember that the number won't be correct because the neck is tapered from the nut to the heel.

That's a small amount of correction, but small amounts neck angle will make a significant change in string height over the body at the bridge location.
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Old 10-13-2020, 11:17 AM
ChrisN ChrisN is offline
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Originally Posted by Rudy4 View Post
Neck angle is normally referenced to the fret board plane, and more accurately, the top surface of the neck before the fret board is added. That's the number you most often see as a builder because it deals with neck attachment prior to the addition of a fret board which is in some cases tapered in thickness.

If you are measuring the angle of the neck's rear surface remember that the number won't be correct because the neck is tapered from the nut to the heel.

That's a small amount of correction, but small amounts neck angle will make a significant change in string height over the body at the bridge location.
True! I finally figured that out when I couldn't get a consistent reading at every point on the back of the neck, hence my need for "all were mostly in the mid-4s." I'd love to get a single number coming from the top, but it's the original plane due to the curvy body top that's the challenge for me. Thanks for the clarifying info.
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