BigSteve22
Hero Member
- Messages
- 2,798
I read this group a lot more often that i post to it. That's usually because what I read is a lot more useful than what I would have to say on a particular subject. This is mostly an admonition to new builders, and a thanks to which ever member posted this information.
My recently built Warmoth Strat is the first Strat I have ever owned, but certainly not the first I had played. Everything went together rather well, I did nearly all the work myself except for the nut cutting. Played beautifully, with a nice low action. I was very pleased.
Recently I read a post by one of you fine gentlemen, or ladies, about the buildup of finish in the neck pocket. I hadn't considered that this was the case on my Strat, as it played and felt so well.
Well today, as I prepared for a string change, I decided to check the neck pocket, if only to assure myself that I didn't miss something that could effect my setup. Upon removing the neck, I discovered an ever so slight amount of finish encroaching at the distal end of the pocket. The little bump was miniscule, perhaps .005" at most, but it was definitely there. So I grabbed a small block of wood and a piece of 220 grit, and flat sanded the entire area until it was dead flat. I didn't expect much of a difference, but hey, it was maybe 5 minutes work.
I reassembled, and strung up. After coarse tuning with a Snark, just to get everything in range so the strings could stretch out before final tuning with my Peterson, I checked the intonation as I always do. EVERY string was slightly off! WTF, what was going on, I thought to myself. So I got out my action gauge and checked: The action had been lowered about .010" across the board at the 12th fret! Without buzz.
I reset the intonation, final tuned, and plugged in. As the title of this thread says: OMG! If the action was wonderful before, it is AMAZING now. My Strat plays better, IMHO, than any Fender I have ever played, and that includes a few +$3000 Custom Shop axes.
So Thank You very much to whoever posted the tip about the finish in the neck pocket. Just another reason to read this group every day!
My recently built Warmoth Strat is the first Strat I have ever owned, but certainly not the first I had played. Everything went together rather well, I did nearly all the work myself except for the nut cutting. Played beautifully, with a nice low action. I was very pleased.
Recently I read a post by one of you fine gentlemen, or ladies, about the buildup of finish in the neck pocket. I hadn't considered that this was the case on my Strat, as it played and felt so well.
Well today, as I prepared for a string change, I decided to check the neck pocket, if only to assure myself that I didn't miss something that could effect my setup. Upon removing the neck, I discovered an ever so slight amount of finish encroaching at the distal end of the pocket. The little bump was miniscule, perhaps .005" at most, but it was definitely there. So I grabbed a small block of wood and a piece of 220 grit, and flat sanded the entire area until it was dead flat. I didn't expect much of a difference, but hey, it was maybe 5 minutes work.
I reassembled, and strung up. After coarse tuning with a Snark, just to get everything in range so the strings could stretch out before final tuning with my Peterson, I checked the intonation as I always do. EVERY string was slightly off! WTF, what was going on, I thought to myself. So I got out my action gauge and checked: The action had been lowered about .010" across the board at the 12th fret! Without buzz.
I reset the intonation, final tuned, and plugged in. As the title of this thread says: OMG! If the action was wonderful before, it is AMAZING now. My Strat plays better, IMHO, than any Fender I have ever played, and that includes a few +$3000 Custom Shop axes.
So Thank You very much to whoever posted the tip about the finish in the neck pocket. Just another reason to read this group every day!