string tension

[vtpcnk]

just got a new neck for my strat.

string tension is high. difficult to do bends and vibrato.

not sure what the issue is.

guitar tech says there is no bow in the neck or anything like that.

i use 9s. so the strings are quite light.

i had another neck on the same body and it was fine. not sure what is wrong with this one.

could it be anything to do with saddles or nut?

appreciate the insights.

 

[Cagey]

The only thing about a neck that will affect string tension is scale length. For instance, if you went from a 24.75" scale to a 25.5" scale, then given the same string gauges the tension would need to increase to reach standard tuning.

 

[Dan025]

eh, the nut is probably high making it feel stiff. the static tension is always the same for the scale length, it's a mathematical certainty, this is not what you are feeling. the tension in bends has to due with the total string length and the break angles over the nut and bridge, ironically most people say a longer string feels stiffer even though it has less "rate" because the extra bend distance makes you do more work pushing the string farther and you also interfere with the adjacent strings more so sometimes stiffer is actually less stiff.

but if it feels stiff just playing the guitar it's all in the setup. a high nut or too much relief causes you to work hard to press down on the strings. if all of that is right, it might be fatigue from a neck profile your hand isn't used to.

 

[mystique1]

A high action would actually make string bending easier, but fretting notes harder. I encountered the same problem with a Fender Classic Player Stratocaster a few years back. It had a 12" straight radius and no matter how I adjusted the action, the string tension felt stiff. The Am Std I had at the time with exactly the same set up and same brand 10-46 strings was much looser. It's 9.5" radius should have made it feel a little stiffer if you follow the usual reasoning. It's one of those things that beggars explanation.