Neck relief (URGENT HELP)

[nikosss.b]

Hey Everyone,

I own a custom Warmoth Start with a black Korina body and pau ferro/goncalo alves 24 fret neck with side adjusting mechanism.

Its been with me for almost 2 years now and have always used 9-46 gauge strings. I decided to change to 10-46 gauge the other day and after I installed the new strings, I noticed that the action was quite high (obviously). I started messing with the bridge saddles, tried lowering the bridge, didn't do much difference. I went on researching about neck relief and how to fix it. I did the string test with the capo on 1st fret and measuring the gap on the 12th fret and noticed that there was no gap between the strings and neck. I messed with the relief from the side adjusting nut and it also didn't do much.

Next day I decided to go back to 9-46. I put back the strings on and the action was a bit off (since I messed with the bridge and neck relief). I measured the relief (with the method mentioned above), the strings were also touching the fretboard on the 12th fret. I decided to take off the neck and reset it using Warmoth's tip. After trying to make the neck as straight as possible, I noticed that the heel nut was almost loose, I don't know if this was the case before or if it's because the neck wood is pretty hard by nature.

So my guitar was playing nicely again yesterday but I'm afraid I messed up something with my neck. I will check the relief today. What do you guys recommend I do to make sure nothing is messed up?

I just need tips on how to make sure I have the proper relief, low string action, nut action, and fret leveling. What tools do I need? How can I achieve the best setup?

 

[dmraco]

I doubt you messed the neck up.  The woods you used are very hard and the double expanding rod is very stable.

If you followed Warmoths recommendations I think you are OK.  You are using lighter strings so you likely do not need much truss tension.

when switching to the 10s you likely only needed to slightly adjust the neck.  Messing with the bridge was an effort to compensate for a bowed neck that did not work.

Here is my method.  Everyone does it different so keep that in mind.  If you have a side adjuster, keep that almost centered per warmoth instruction.  I actually give it a quarter turn to left to loosen just a bit from center.

Before I put on a neck I use a straight edge to get it COMPLETELY flat.  I then put it on and string it up.  I then adjust the bridge so my string height is where I want it on the higher frets...20..21..22...what ever you have.

I then check the action on the neck.  The method you described for checking action works fine.  I tend to eyeball the neck looking down the E strings on both sides.  I do this by looking down the neck from the headstock.  I hope that is clear.  I look from this angle:

I am looking for the relationship of the fretboard to the strings.  I try to keep a small about of relief that creates just a bit more space around the 12th fret. 

Depending on how much bow is now present, you may have to take the neck off and adjust at the heel.  The side adjuster only goes so far.  If you do not have a side adjuster you adjust at heel or nut depending on  the neck.

Adjust and repeat if necessary.  Do not forget to loosen the strings before adjusting.  You may also need to tweak the bridge after your neck is adjust but it should be minor.

All of this is done assuming your action and the NUT is correct and the nut is cut to the proper depth.

Good luck

 

[nikosss.b]

Ok, thank you, I will do that. I will check for neck relief when I get back home by either measuring or eyeballing. If the neck has a bit of relief, I will not mess with it, unless over time it changes.

Otherwise, how can I measure proper nut action: I already did the test of holding the 3rd fret and making sure there's a tiny gap between the low E string and fretboard. Do i do that for all strings? How can I make sure the ANGLE of the slot is correct? How can I make sure the nut slots are not wider than necessary?

 

[nikosss.b]

So here's what I did, I looked at the neck from the side, couldn't really see a bow, it was more of a straight edge. I tried to do the physical test and there was just a tiny tiny space between the 6th string and the neck, like it was barely invisible but when I press the string to the fretboard I could hear a click sound.

I've loosened the truss rod to the max I suppose since any further than that and the nut would go out of the neck and the neck wouldn't fit in the pocket anymore.

All in all the guitar plays well but there is fret buzz especially on the low strings. I tried raising the bridge but the buzz didn't go until the bridge was really high and the action too high. This is why I am concerned about the neck bow.

The nut: I tested using the 3rd fret and I could see a small gap around the 2nd fret on all strings, so I assume the nut is fine.

Do you think that the gauge is really light for this type of wood and that I need to string it up with higher gauge strings for a bit to let the wood settle?