new neck and nut-width..pickup spacing.

[jdroost]

Just got my conversion scale neck installed (feels great).
On thing I needed was to go from a 1 11/16 to a 1 5/8 nut.
Compounding things...I have a Lonestar strat.
There is a fitment issue with lonestars as stated on Warmoth disclamer.
It's actually just a clearance issue with the pick guard (overhang hits it).
I had to install an aftermarket thin pickguard to make things work (this slightly moved the pickup a tad...see pic).

So the issue.....
I assume going from the 1 11/16 to the 1 5/8 nut has caused the pole on the high E to be far enough off from the centerline to create a noise loss (especially when bending).
Any ideas for a fix?
I cant really go to a wider bridge spacing because of bridge pickup pole spacing.

I would assume a different neck pickup?
Can somebody recommend a good neck pickup that pole spacing wont be so much of an issue?

Lastly...it "seems" like the stings on the high E are over further than the low E but maybe I just don't understand
proper string spacing.
This was a Warmoth installed nut...Is this correct string placement?

 

[stratamania]

It looks to me that the neck centre line is not in alignment with the body centre line. Or the pickguard is out of alignment with the bodies centre line.

You might want to try the original pickguard and use a shim from Stew Mac to give you clearance.

 

[jdroost]

It is a ebay special...so there is a chance the hole(s) are cut incorrectly I guess.
Any worry about the string spacing on high and low e?
Would that suggest an off center neck to body?
That seems like a much larger issue to resolve...
I ordered another lonestar pickguard to cut up around the neck pocket (happened top be on sale).
I am not sure what to do about a shim...do they make a spacer that just raises everything?
I suppose I can use a spare neck bolt plate to raise it up for now just to see if it fixes things.

Also sorry I did not post this in the pickup section  :toothy11:

 

[Fat Pete]

You should have enough waggle-room in the neck pocket to get the outer strings lined up better, but the difference between the 2 pickguards is 'interesting'.

Was the original neck 21 or 22 frets?

 

[jdroost]

You should have enough waggle-room in the neck pocket to get the outer strings lined up better, but the difference between the 2 pickguards is 'interesting'.

Was the original neck 21 or 22 frets?

22
also the offset on pickguards may be the same (will check later) but spacing is absolutely different.

 

[Cagey]

Sometimes you can loosen the mounting screws for the neck a couple turns, hold the body firm and reef on the neck a bit to get the strings aligned on the neck, then as you hold it in place, re-tighten the screws. Might take two people. From the looks of it, the alignment over the pole pieces will not be completely resolved, but side-to-side misalignment is not as critical as height when it comes to pickup placement.

 

[jdroost]

Sometimes you can loosen the mounting screws for the neck a couple turns, hold the body firm and reef on the neck a bit to get the strings aligned on the neck, then as you hold it in place, re-tighten the screws. Might take two people. From the looks of it, the alignment over the pole pieces will not be completely resolved, but side-to-side misalignment is not as critical as height when it comes to pickup placement.

Happened to bring it to work today and my bud helped me with this.
I was able to move it a bit.
Did not fix the pole deal much but helped with the string alignment.
Thanks for the tip.

Want to add that my strat has a neck angle adjustment grub screw in the bottom of the bolt plate.
The factory neck has a epoxy "dot" on the underside of this screw for the screw to push on.
I would assume this would be very bad to use this on a normal neck...so I also ordered some stu mac shims.

 

[Fat Pete]

...
Was the original neck 21 or 22 frets?

22
...

From Warmoth's 'known incompatibilities' list:
Lonestar Strat® - 22 fret neck with no fretboard overhang

This suggests to me that you might have more major issues. If you are replacing a 22 fret neck with no overhang, then the heel to bridge distance will be different from a standard Strat (which explains the pickup spacing) and you're likely to run into intonation problems. Have you checked the 12th fret to saddle distance? It should be 12 3/8" (plus a 1/16" or so on the top e) with a 24 3/4" conversion neck.

 

[jdroost]

...
Was the original neck 21 or 22 frets?

22
...

.

From Warmoth's 'known incompatibilities' list:
Lonestar Strat® - 22 fret neck with no fretboard overhang

This suggests to me that you might have more major issues. If you are replacing a 22 fret neck with no overhang, then the heel to bridge distance will be different from a standard Strat (which explains the pickup spacing) and you're likely to run into intonation problems. Have you checked the 12th fret to saddle distance? It should be 12 3/8" (plus a 1/16" or so on the top e) with a 24 3/4" conversion neck.

Intonation is prefect.. Did not measure though

** checked anyway...all good.

 

[Fat Pete]

...
Intonation is prefect.. Did not measure though

No need to if it works!  :icon_thumright:

 

[jdroost]

For the sake of documenting.
If anyone else trying to use a Lonestar Strat..my factory neck is 22 frets but HAS overhang. Apparently there are many different variations of this model neck.

 

[Cagey]

Want to add that my strat has a neck angle adjustment grub screw in the bottom of the bolt plate.
The factory neck has a epoxy "dot" on the underside of this screw for the screw to push on.
I would assume this would be very bad to use this on a normal neck...so I also ordered some stu mac shims.

Neck shims of any style/type are not going to change string spacing. They will change the angle of the neck relative to the body. So, if the distance your strings are from the frets is not a problem, shims aren't going to do anything for you.

Maybe consider some "rail" pickups?

Lotta different flavors of those things these days.

 

[jdroost]

Yea...have not messed with action and setup at all so I figured having some shims on hand when it comes time would help. If I had an actual spacer to shim up the neck (level space) it would solve the pick guard deal. I think one of the issues with the Lonestar is they machine the neck pocket slightly deeper.
Been eyeing the Air Norton S prior to this issue anyway so that should fix the pole deal for sure.

 

[Rick]

Other than major work, the best solution is rail pups for the mid and neck.  I'd use this git as a testbed for strat ideas.

 

[stratamania]

Yea...have not messed with action and setup at all so I figured having some shims on hand when it comes time would help. If I had an actual spacer to shim up the neck (level space) it would solve the pick guard deal. I think one of the issues with the Lonestar is they machine the neck pocket slightly deeper.
Been eyeing the Air Norton S prior to this issue anyway so that should fix the pole deal for sure.

That is exactly why I suggested it. If the original pickguard lines up better and the new ones the culprit providing all else is OK other than pocket shimming to clear the pickguard you may be good.

I don't see a point in buying a rail pickup to solve cosmetics if some other alignment is out that would be putting lipstick on a pig.

 

[jdroost]

New cut Fender pickguard.
Lines up much better.
So much for the ebay special...

 

[zebra]

Nice to see this all resolved nicely and that things worked out for you.

If, however, you're still interested in that Air Norton S pickup for some other application - it's a great pickup (at least in the bridge, where I've used it).

 

[stratamania]

Glad you got it sorted out.  :icon_thumright:

 

[jdroost]

Nice to see this all resolved nicely and that things worked out for you.

If, however, you're still interested in that Air Norton S pickup for some other application - it's a great pickup (at least in the bridge, where I've used it).

I have one sitting in my amazon cart.
Have a few setup kinks I need to get worked out 1st.
Was not one of the lucky ones who was able to "bolt it on and" go (have a feeling because it's a Lonestar)
Once I get it playable...it's on the list of upgrades.