Possible Scarf Joint Issue?

[aizenx]

Hey guys,

So here's the situation: I'm a long time Warmoth enthusiast and one of my builds has a roasted maple modern tiltback neck. Recently, I noticed a slight issue in my action/setup - i.e. my high E string started sounding like a sitar when plucked on the open string. It didn't used to do this. So, I thought to myself, "no problem, probably just the change in weather, I'll just set it up again and make the needed adjustments" (I've been doing my own setups for years now). I reset everything and now it plays and sounds great again.

Now here's the strange part - I'm noticing that I can now feel (very slightly) the "seam" in the back of the neck on the scarf joint where the 2 different woods meet. I was certain that I didn't feel it before, at least I am pretty confident. All my other Warmoth's with tiltbacks (3 others) do not have a seam that I can feel at all. They're totally smooth.

So anyway, long story short, I'm wondering if the neck shifted and the scarf joint is loosening (or wasn't properly glued in the first place), which is what has caused the change in action/setup to cause the E string to sound out of whack. I could just be being paranoid, but I'm hoping that nothing else happens again. I'll know for sure if the setup changes again soon. I just hope that it's not separating and maybe it's just the 2 different types of wood expanding or contracting which is causing the seam to be able to be felt.

Has anyone else had an issue similar to this? I'm just wondering whether I should just play it and forget about it, or should I contact Warmoth to see what they have to say?

Thanks in advance.

 

[stratamania]

It is most likely a low slot in the string nut (or possibly a dud string) causing this. If you press the string behind the nut does the sitar sound go away, if so, you need to sort out the nut slot (baking soda and superglue) or replace the nut.

Regarding the scarf joint, glued joints are stronger than wood so I hazard a guess for now that it is looking for answers etc. Let's investigate the nut first.

 

[aizenx]

It is most likely a low slot in the string nut (or possibly a dud string) causing this. If you press the string behind the nut does the sitar sound go away, if so, you need to sort out the nut slot (baking soda and superglue) or replace the nut.

Regarding the scarf joint, glued joints are stronger than wood so I hazard a guess for now that it is looking for answers etc. Let's investigate the nut first.

Thanks for the reply. As I mentioned above, I've already sorted out the issue with the setup. Plays & sounds great again.

I'm just concerned about the seam being able to be felt. Even glued joints fail from time to time (especially if not properly cured or if too little glue was used).

I guess the next course of action is to just keep an eye on it, but hopefully it's not a structural issue that could get worse with time. That's really my only concern.

 

[mayfly]

Hi there, I have not seen this issue on a warmoth neck, but I have seen similar things on other glued up wood joints. In the cases that I've seen, the 'bump' or 'seam' that you could feel was caused by the two different woods expanding / contracting at different rates. Now Roasted Maple is pretty stable, but I've seen this in other hardwoods even with a very good finish applied. In each of those cases close examination showed that the glue joint was still holding just fine.

In your case, try to see if the joint moves at all. If it is really letting go, you should be able to make it 'breathe' a bit by applying a bit pressure. Also, if there is an opening you should be able to slide something thin in there (feeler gauge?) without too much effort. If not, then I'm thinking that the joint is fine and it's just the wood moving around a bit.

 

[aizenx]

Hi there, I have not seen this issue on a warmoth neck, but I have seen similar things on other glued up wood joints. In the cases that I've seen, the 'bump' or 'seam' that you could feel was caused by the two different woods expanding / contracting at different rates. Now Roasted Maple is pretty stable, but I've seen this in other hardwoods even with a very good finish applied. In each of those cases close examination showed that the glue joint was still holding just fine.

In your case, try to see if the joint moves at all. If it is really letting go, you should be able to make it 'breathe' a bit by applying a bit pressure. Also, if there is an opening you should be able to slide something thin in there (feeler gauge?) without too much effort. If not, then I'm thinking that the joint is fine and it's just the wood moving around a bit.

Thanks for your reply!

Yeah, no gaps that I can get anything into and it doesn't seem to move when I apply pressure. I can just feel it under my thumb a bit.

I'm going to call it good and just play the thing. Hopefully nothing will come of it.

Thanks guys!