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Can't get neck as straight as I want

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cederick
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Cederick

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Just got the Warmoth neck and it was a bit on the relief side, so it was a bit banana shaped.

Nothing to worry about, I thought.

So I took my wrench and tried to get it as straight as possible, but now I REALLY don't wanna turn any harder: it will NOT get straighter.

I like my necks really straight, I wanna have a consistent string height from nut to the 22nd fret.

My old Warmoth soloist was really easy to adjust, I got the neck as straight as it posibly can...

But this strat neck just can't go any further, I'm really afraid I will break the nut...

HELP!!!!  :sad1:
 
I just rewinded it so it's loose again. Maybe better wait until I got the whole guitar together?
 
I am impatient ...  :sad1:

I will get hardware in two three weeks and I thought that making the neck a bit straighter in advance would make putting together the guitar easier when all parts arrived


I mean the neck already was (slightly) banana shaped so maybe the neck was faulty to begin with? Stringing the neck wouldn't make it better

MY first neck I ordered was dead straight
 
You've worked in completely the wrong order.

Firstly, the neck will shift a little if wherever you are has a different climate to wherever Warmoth is. Most necks only need 24 hours or so to acclimate, now and then you'll have one that will take a bit longer. Even if your climate isn't too different, necks can still shift a little during shipping. So never judge a neck on first appearances, unless it is very clearly actually warped.

Secondly, you don't touch the truss rod until you've got the guitar together and strung up. You can't tell exactly how much force in either direction will be needed to balance the string tension, so if you try to adjust it before the guitar is completed you'll just be guessing wildly.

Third, you don't mess with the truss rod to change your action. That's the job of the nut and bridge. You adjust the truss rod to maintain the correct amount of relief in the neck so the strings can pass cleanly over the frets. Necks have to have some relief, mostly dictated by the string gauge, another reason why you can't try to get these things in order until the guitar is finished. I think far too many people have completely unrealistic expectations about what a 'straight' neck means and what consistent or low action really is. There will always be a curve, action can never be the same at the lowest frets and the highest. If you set it up as such, every time you fret a note you will just get a muted clunk as the string rests on all the other frets.

If anything, in my experience Warmoth ships their necks with the truss rod a touch too tight. I certainly would not be tightening it further.

Loosen the truss rod a little. Go slowly; it takes some time for the neck to adjust and settle. Turn the truss rod about 1/8th of a turn at a time, give it 45-60 minutes, then turn a little more. Don't turn more than half a full turn in one day. It's different whe you have strings on and the guitar's been used for a while, but on a brand new neck with no strings, you want to be extra, extra careful. You can't damage the neck by adjusting too slowly but you can write it off by adjusting too fast.

Once you've got the neck roughly back to how it was when it was shipped, find somewhere it can be stored where it will not get colder, warmer or damper than any other part of the house, i.e. not above a boiler, in a basement, etc. Then you've just got to leave it there until the rest of your parts arrive and put it together in one go. It only really takes a single afternoon to put a parts guitar together and there's nothing you can do in advance which will make it go any faster or easier; it's already as fast and as simple as it's ever going to be.
 
Cederick said:
.

I like my necks really straight, I wanna have a consistent string height from nut to the 22nd fret.

That's not even realistic. By design, the guitar neck is supposed to have some relief.
 
If you're trying to get the neck straight, then why are you trying to do your adjustments before assembling and stringing up?  :icon_scratch:

 
line6man said:
If you're trying to get the neck straight, then why are you trying to do your adjustments before assembling and stringing up?  :icon_scratch:

"I will get hardware in two three weeks and I thought that making the neck a bit straighter in advance would make putting together the guitar easier when all parts arrived"


I know it was a stupid decision, but seriously.. I only had it adjusted for like 5 minutes max before I realised I should have waited.
I turned it back (maybe too fast according to Ace Flibble) but now it looks exactly like when I got it, so I assume no damage has been done.

Lesson learned, but hopefully the neck is intact;

From now, I will try to not be tempted to set the guitar up even with all parts have arrived: I will put it all together, and then go to the PLEK place in Stockholm and have it set up there, I wont even try to tune it up, just put the strings on.
It's an Evertune bridge as well, and with my impatience I might screw the whole bridge up  :toothy12:
So with their expertise I assume the guitar will come back with excellent setup, and that my stupid attempt at speeding up the setup process in advance wasn't too destructive
 
I heard "crack" TWO times, and got scared as hell both times...
But it was just my wrist in a weird position holding the neck  :toothy12:
 
Coming to think about it; what I did cannot be worse than taking off the neck with a vintage truss rod to adjust it


Actually, I don't even think I turned the truss rod too many times either; three 1/5 (?) turns only before going back...  ???
It felt more stiff than my Warmoth soloist which turns very easily
 
The Warmoth Pro necks actually come with instructions telling you to adjust it before it's strung up. I think you're going to be fine, don't scare yourself out of ever touching a truss rod again.
 
Right. You don't really want to adjust it under tension if you can help it. Too much stress. Could strip the threads on the truss rod.

It's true a "straight" neck is not a Good Thing unless you're levelling frets. There has to be some relief, or the strings won't vibrate worth a damn. Even on thrash setups, there still needs to be about .008" at about the 8th fret. Anything less than that and the strings will either buzz or sound dead, depending on how well the frets are done.

Also, the old trick of sighting down the neck to decide whether it's bowed, relieved or twisted is NFG. Unless the neck really far off, it's very difficult to see slopes that subtle. Especially on necks with compound radii. Ideally, you want a machinist's straightedge and some feeler gauges. Sometimes you can get close enough for rock 'n' roll using a string under tension and fretted at the 1st and 12th to create a straightedge, but you can't really measure under that as accurately as you can a straightedge because the string easily displaces.
 
Jumble Jumble said:
The Warmoth Pro necks actually come with instructions telling you to adjust it before it's strung up. I think you're going to be fine, don't scare yourself out of ever touching a truss rod again.
If they do I cannot find that (looking in the yellow paper that came with the neck)
 
http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/necks/sideadjust.aspx

Neck Adjustment Procedure

1. Tighten the slotted heel-adjust nut (See A) until the fingerboard is perfectly flat (has no forward curve). This should cause the side adjust nut to be recessed into the heel approximately 1/16" (2mm).
2. Attach the neck and tune the strings to pitch.
3. Detune strings and make necessary relief adjustment using side-adjust nut (See B) and supplied allen wrench. Repeat as necessary.
 
Jumble Jumble said:
http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/necks/sideadjust.aspx

Neck Adjustment Procedure

1. Tighten the slotted heel-adjust nut (See A) until the fingerboard is perfectly flat (has no forward curve). This should cause the side adjust nut to be recessed into the heel approximately 1/16" (2mm).
2. Attach the neck and tune the strings to pitch.
3. Detune strings and make necessary relief adjustment using side-adjust nut (See B) and supplied allen wrench. Repeat as necessary.

Soooo.... In reality I did exactly what I was supposed to do?! :laughing11: :toothy12:
 
Hmmm, but I ordered a Modern Vintage neck, not Warmoth Pro?? :sad:



Cagey said:
Right. You don't really want to adjust it under tension if you can help it. Too much stress. Could strip the threads on the truss rod.

It's true a "straight" neck is not a Good Thing unless you're levelling frets. There has to be some relief, or the strings won't vibrate worth a damn. Even on thrash setups, there still needs to be about .008" at about the 8th fret. Anything less than that and the strings will either buzz or sound dead, depending on how well the frets are done.

Also, the old trick of sighting down the neck to decide whether it's bowed, relieved or twisted is NFG. Unless the neck really far off, it's very difficult to see slopes that subtle. Especially on necks with compound radii. Ideally, you want a machinist's straightedge and some feeler gauges. Sometimes you can get close enough for rock 'n' roll using a string under tension and fretted at the 1st and 12th to create a straightedge, but you can't really measure under that as accurately as you can a straightedge because the string easily displaces.
Yeah I know some relief but I talk about sso straight you barely can see it with your eyes
 
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