First ever Warmoth Strat! Natural binding trans red with black burst

[Tony Ounsworth]

Everything went better than expected!







Mocked up with a Jazzmaster logo.



The more I look at it the more I really think I've made the right call going with the seventies logo.

Anyway, this means I've been able to string it up for the first time with this neck, and to be honest it needs a lot of work to make it play how I'd like. Possibly the nut slots are too high. It definitely needs a string tree as the top E pops straight out of the nut if I do a tone bend on the 5th fret, and the action is pretty high, yet I get buzzes if I drop the saddles. Suspect the truss rod needs a tweak, but will let it settle overnight.

Talking of which, this is my first time with the Warmoth side adjuster for the truss rod (the only thing on the neck I don't like visually, although of course you don't see it often). Does this operate normally, or do have to do anything in conjunction with the heel adjuster?

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

String tree installed so the break angle for the top two strings is sorted.

More importantly that's all the drilling for the guitar done without any mishaps. Phew!

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Did you not read the big "READ THIS FIRST" note that came with the neck?

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

I have since I wrote that post, but it still isn't clear to me whether the first part of the neck setup has already been done, leaving me free to help myself to the side adjuster. It says the factory setting is that the side adjuster is set in the middle of its operating range, which sounds like where it should be to me (so you can either tighten or loosen it), but then goes on to say that you must first tighten the heel adjust until the side adjust is recessed about 1.6mm - but it already looks about that deep to me.  So do I need to touch the heel adjuster or not? Also I didn't know whether the side adjust adheres to the same "righty tighty, lefty loosey" rule as a normal one. I guess it must do, but I wasn't sure.

I find it all a bit confusing this extra adjuster, not to mention being an ugly blight on an otherwise gorgeous neck.

 

[Cagey]

In my experience, the side adjuster is generally set at the middle of its range as it comes from the factory. The heel adjust is wound up just enough to keep the truss rod from rattling around. But, vibration from shipping and handling may move things since they're not really held in place by anything, so that's why it's good to check it.

Since I always do a full neck setup on a new neck, I tighten the heel adjust until the neck is flat. Have my fun with it, then relax it to give between .008" and .012" relief. String it up to teach it a lesson, then use the side adjust to compensate if the strings pull it forward too much. It's the same move - clockwise pulls the the neck back, counter-clockwise allows string tension to pull it forward.

I wouldn't call the side adjust an "ugly blight", but it is sorta pointless in the grand scheme of things. Dual-action truss rods make for some remarkably stable necks. Chances are good that once you've got the thing set, you won't have to touch it again.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

Thanks Cagey.

Here's where I get confused though. The Warmoth documentation says (and I paraphrase) "If the side adjuster won't budge anymore and it's recessed then STOP! It's tightened to its max and would be about 1/4" recessed".

Now if that's how recessed it is when fully tightened, then the middle of its operation would surely be about 1/8" recessed? The paperwork says that it's set at this middle point from the factory, but this is not the case here. It's about 1/16" recessed at most.

So I'm puzzled. Has it already been set flat and the strings are now pulling it into having too much relief? The high action I've got would make sense if that were the case. And if so would that mean I can just start tightening the side adjust, given that it has a pretty large distance to go until it's fully recessed? I put the allen key in and tested it, and it moved incredibly easily.

 

[Cagey]

If the side adjust is very loose and seems to be at the outside of its range (sounds like it is), then you've got the maximum relief in that neck and it might account for the high action. It probably walked its way out during shipping.

Loosen the strings to where they don't have any tension on them, and pull the neck. Take a good, true straightedge and some feeler gauges, and measure how much gap there is at the 7th/8th fret. If it's more than .012" (.3mm), the truss rod is too slack. Tighten the side adjuster until you just start to feel some resistance, then use the heel adjuster to tighten the truss rod until the neck flattens down to where the gap is right. Re-install the neck and bring the strings up to tension. You'll almost certainly have to make some bridge or saddle height adjustments to get the string action where you want it.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

Thanks, but I don't have feeler gauges. Is there anything I can use instead, like a guitar string?

Also, I'm measuring the gap between the straight edge and the fret, right?

 

[Jumble Jumble]

With it strung up, put a capo on at 1 (it's important to eliminate the nut slot height), and then fret the bottom E string at the 17th fret. Then look at the gap between the string and the top of the 8th fret.

You don't have feeler gauges so things are going to be a bit approximate, but if there is a clear, obvious gap then that's probably too much relief. Cagey's talking about 0.008" of relief, which obviously is the diameter of the top string from a set of 8s. So if you have a bit of a 0.009" string you could use that to slide between, and if it just slides between easily without touching the string then yeah, too much relief. Or of course if you look at the gap and think "I could park a bus in there" and no measurement is required then the same thing applies.

 

[Cagey]

Guitar string diameters are pretty accurate, so you could use one as a gauge. .001" off in one direction or the other isn't going to crash anything. For instance, the B string from a set of 9s is typically .011", from a set of 10s it'll probably be .012"-.013".

And yes, you're looking for the size of the gap between your straightedge and the top of the fret. If you don't have a true straightedge (most people don't), some guys will put a capo on the first fret, then hold the string down at the 12th-15th fret, and measure the gap between the string and the top of the 6th-7th fret. It's less accurate because the string can move out of your gauge's way while a straightedge won't, but it's close enough for rock 'n' roll and beats doing nothing at all.

 

[Cagey]

Hehe! Couldn't have posted those messages any closer if we tried.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

With it strung up, put a capo on at 1 (it's important to eliminate the nut slot height), and then fret the bottom E string at the 17th fret. Then look at the gap between the string and the top of the 8th fret.

You don't have feeler gauges so things are going to be a bit approximate, but if there is a clear, obvious gap then that's probably too much relief. Cagey's talking about 0.008" of relief, which obviously is the diameter of the top string from a set of 8s. So if you have a bit of a 0.009" string you could use that to slide between, and if it just slides between easily without touching the string then yeah, too much relief. Or of course if you look at the gap and think "I could park a bus in there" and no measurement is required then the same thing applies.

That's the standard check for neck relief innit? I've already done that. And yeah, it's "park a bus" levels.

I've got a steel ruler so could try that, but even I can tell that there is too much relief. The question really is can I just tighten the side adjuster, given that it's only recessed by about 1/16", and that's what Warmoth tell you should be your starting point?

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Well, is the neck straight when it's not attached to the guitar? They do say to adjust the heel adjust so that it's straight before you even put it on, right?

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

I didn't check it before I put it on. But the instructions say that when the neck is straight the side adjuster should be recessed by 1/16", which it currently is.

All the signs are pointing to the neck being straight when I got it. After all, if you put string tension on a straight neck you'll get relief, which is exactly what I've got.

If that's the case then surely I can just go ahead and tighten the side adjuster?

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

This is what's confusing me:

"The factory setting is with the side adjustment mechanism centered within its operating range"

Well then mine has moved from the factory setting, because if the max recess is 1/4" then the mid point would 1/8" and mine is at 1/16".

"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)"

Mine is already at 1/16". So surely this step is not necessary? Therefore I can move onto:

"Attach the neck and tune the strings to pitch.
Detune strings and make necessary relief adjustment using side-adjust nut (See B) and supplied allen wrench. Repeat as necessary."

?

 

[Jumble Jumble]

The important part of that first instruction is getting the neck straight, not getting the side-adjust to the right place. To get to the same result, remove the neck, make sure that the nut is 1/16" recessed, and then straighten the neck with the heel adjust. If the side adjust has moved, put it back to 1/16" and straighten with the heel again. Repeat that until the neck is dead straight and the side adjust is 1/16" recessed. It will probably be either 1 or 2 times, rather than loads.

Then attach the neck and string up, and if the strings pull the neck into too much relief, you have 3/8" worth of adjustment in the side nut to correct it.

 

[Updown]

You seem a bit lost so
What I would do is .....

Take the neck off & do the re-set procedure.
This gets it to where you should start from.
(someone stated that it could of moved in shipping) ... may have  :dontknow:

Then do the Neck adjustment procedure as outlined in the pdf for it.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

The important part of that first instruction is getting the neck straight, not getting the side-adjust to the right place. To get to the same result, remove the neck, make sure that the nut is 1/16" recessed, and then straighten the neck with the heel adjust. If the side adjust has moved, put it back to 1/16" and straighten with the heel again. Repeat that until the neck is dead straight and the side adjust is 1/16" recessed. It will probably be either 1 or 2 times, rather than loads.

Then attach the neck and string up, and if the strings pull the neck into too much relief, you have 3/8" worth of adjustment in the side nut to correct it.

Right, so even though Warmoth say 1/16" recessed = Neck Straight, I shouldn't assume that to be the case.

I'll pull the neck off tonight and check, but I'm not massively convinced I need to do anything other than tighten the side adjust. I'm used to making truss rod adjustments once a guitar is strung up. You would expect a new neck to have its truss rod slackened and to need tightening to counteract the pull of the strings - which is exactly what's happening here. If this was a normal neck I'd have tightened the rod by now.

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

By the way, how was your new neck in this regard when it arrived? Was the side adjust at the middle of its operating range (1/8")?

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I haven't looked yet - only screwed it on yesterday to fit the pickguard, and it's back off again now.