haunted neck... updates and video lol

KaiserSoze

Senior Member
Messages
309
Hi.  Standard thin, compound radius, 24 3/4, maple laminate with ebony board, 6130 frets, bridge is wilkinson trem, nut is from Warmoth.  Its been on the guitar for less than two months.

First, on a Know-what-I'm-doing scale I'm about a 7.4 out of ten, so not a complete newbie.

Second, I'm impatient, just sayin'

Third, my initial setup went well and playability was very good for a couple weeks.  It needed minor adjustments as things settled, but nothing huge.

After about 30 days it got to the point that I would need to tweak the relief, set the action, and play for a while.  The next day I would pick it up and there would buzzes all over the fretboard.  Check relief and set action again, fine for a while, next day, action is higher and buzzy.  Same room, temp, humidity.

Change strings, same brand and gauge, set up, plays good, next day, buzzy.  And now my relief is about a business card height and I can't get action better than 1.5mm at the 12 fret without buzzy frets, and not just one or one spot.  Plays like an acoustic.

My question is if its normal to have so much movement after this long?  I can see things settling for a while, and a trem adds a factor to the setup, but this seems like something else.  I would think that maple/ebony would be a stable neck, but something is moving or twisting and I can't figure it out.

Maybe I just need to start from scratch.  Thoughts?

 
There could be a number of factors.

Is the neck finished?
What are the humidity conditions like where you live, do they fluctuate frequently/drastically?
Has the fingerboard been levelled/dressed and the guitar set up professionally?

I've seen a few necks take a while to settle, but many factors could contribute to what you're experiencing.

I would call your sales rep at Warmoth before taking any further action, let them direct/counsel you as to what would be your most appropriate next move.
 
Yeah, I tend to agree with TFS.  Call the big W and ask how to best trouble shoot this.  Sounds odd to me.

-Mark
 
Thank you.  The humidity is low (winter) and doesn't really fluctuate.  I didnt feel the need to have any work done on the frets as they were fine out of the box and I haven;t had anyone do a setup but me.  Plus, theres not really any skilled luthiers around me who I think could do more than change strings or pickups.  I'd have to ship the guitar somewhere. 

The neck is unfinished but I thought it would be okay for the time being until I put a finish on it, particularly with that wood combo and that the neck is laminate.



 
your neck will likely continue to go every which way if it remains unfinished ...... maple is like a sponge for moisture.... getting a hard finish over all the maple parts "should" take care of the instability.
 
RobR said:
your neck will likely continue to go every which way if it remains unfinished ...... maple is like a sponge for moisture.... getting a hard finish over all the maple parts "should" take care of the instability.

+1

Also, I didn't see it mentioned if the neck was a Pro, Total Vintage, etc. (not that it matters per sa, its just that more info. = better). You need to get a finish on the neck ASAP. Remember, once any moisture is absorbed, its a biotch getting it back out again (however miniscule the amount) if at all. In addition, the Ebony and Maple will absorb at different rates, and like two tectonic plates - the joint between the maple neck and ebony fretboard will weaken further over time adding to the instability.
 
Even a hard finish - aka lacquer or poly - will allow some moisture into the neck, especially for a neck with an unfinished (non-maple) board.

Here in Fl, we have DRY summers inside (its air conditioned!), and humid winters (windows open to normal temps but humid air).  Therefore I get seasonal changes that happen fairly rapidly.  I try to get my "winter" (humid) set up settings sort of on the "low" side, knowing that when the neck dries, the relief will increase.  Yes I guess I could use humidifiers in the cases... but I dont.  When the necks boards shrink in dry A/C environment, the relief increases, and when they grow in humid conditions the relief decreases.  I pretty much play with "non optical" action in the A/C summers, but... its acceptable
 
I have 3 warmoth necks - all maple backs that didn't move a hair!  Even the Wizard - set it and forget it.

FernandoDuarte said:
KaiserSoze said:
By hard finish I assume that means "not oil".  Spray lacquer will work?

Tru-oil is accepted.... others, no...
 
fdesalvo said:
I have 3 warmoth necks - all maple backs that didn't move a hair!  Even the Wizard - set it and forget it.

If they're hard-finished, that's no surprise. If not, then you should consider that not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer or emphysema. But, that's not the way to bet.
 
Cagey said:
fdesalvo said:
I have 3 warmoth necks - all maple backs that didn't move a hair!  Even the Wizard - set it and forget it.

If they're hard-finished, that's no surprise. If not, then you should consider that not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer or emphysema. But, that's not the way to bet.

Does that mean you're quitting??
 
Sure. It's not hard. I've quit thousands of times. Probably quit again tonight at some point.
 
For the record, I quit five years ago and it was hard but very worth it. Kind of like practicing with a metronome...

I think what I'll do is finish the neck and start from scratch on a setup.  I'll also take the opportunity to try some staining of the maple neck while its off since I've wanted to experiment with that anyway.  Stain, then a clear coat.  Sounds fun.
 
Update in the haunted neck. I thought I'd give it a couple months in case it needed to settle or something.  It's gotten progressively worse until it needs truss rod adjustment and syring height adjustment every day to make it playable. Now I can literally set it up and it will be buzzing along the entire fretboard within fifteen minutes. Can add or take away relief, doesn't matter. About as stable as cardboard. My only guitar so I'm bummed
 
You never gave us the details on the neck.

Warmoth Pro, Vintage Modern, neck profile, etc. You mentioned maple but not if it's a maple fingerboard. Hard finish, but what did you use and how much did you use, etc

It would also help to know what bridge you have on your guitar and how you like your setup. Is your neck straight or does it have some relief? How low is your action? What kind of conditions are you keeping/using the guitar in. Is it mostly at home or are you in a different venue every night, or something in between?

Put another way, more details or we just be guessin'.
 
Here's the first sentence of the first post:
Hi.  Standard thin, compound radius, 24 3/4, maple laminate with ebony board, 6130 frets, bridge is wilkinson trem, nut is from Warmoth.  Its been on the guitar for less than two months.
He played it for a while without a finish, then applied a hard finish to it in February.
 
AutoBat said:
Here's the first sentence of the first post:
Hi.  Standard thin, compound radius, 24 3/4, maple laminate with ebony board, 6130 frets, bridge is wilkinson trem, nut is from Warmoth.  Its been on the guitar for less than two months.
He played it for a while without a finish, then applied a hard finish to it in February.

Whoops - wipes egg off of face

In reply #5 ORCRist asked for more details and I didn't see then in a following post.
 
Thanks for previous info.  I'm pretty much assuming its a lost cause so I wasn't looking for a fix, just looking for the sympathy I'm not getting from my wife :)

The thing just won't stop moving.  Has a Tru-oil finish, bridge is solid and adjusted correctly, nut is right, frets are quite level, truss rod has tension and moves fine.  Theres just play in it somewhere and I can't ever just pick it up and play.  I love the guitar and components, I'll just have to find another neck somewhere.
 
Back
Top