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Post subject: neck to body gap tolerance
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:35 am
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I brought home a new AM DLX ash strat and noticed a gap between the neck and body ( the thickness of 2 pieces of paper ) will this affect sound/tone of the guitar? Is there an allowable gap tolerance.


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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:46 am
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Is the gap between one side of the neck and the body or between the end of the neck and the body? A gap at the end of the neck won't allow the guitar to intonate properly and it will decrease your sustain. A gap on the side can allow the neck to shift if it's not attached tightly. It will also cause a loss of sustain. In my opinion, a tight fit on all sides (and bottom) in the neck pocket is best.


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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:51 am
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I can fit a 1.14mm pick in between the neck and body of my MIM, on one side. I can't say that it has caused problems but I am glad it's not at the end of the neck like you mention hi-fi. I've had it off in an attempt to square it up but it is simply narrower than the width of the rout on the body.

Could this be why I can't play like Stevie Ray? :roll:

n.


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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:57 am
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I doubt it'll keep you from playing like SRV, but it might keep you from sounding like him :)


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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 2:51 pm
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It should not have any sonic impact. The neck to body connection is what is important.


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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:05 pm
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As long as your strings are evenly aligned - Low & high E's, a bit of a gap won't do you any harm. yours doesn't sound bad at all.

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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 2:02 pm
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Still, the more wood from the neck that comes in contact with the wood from the body the better. The guitar will resonate better.


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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:31 am
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I remember in the late 70's we got new strats from the factory that had felt pads shoved in to fill in the gap on the side of the neck. It's rare that a factory produced strat doesn't have some small gap. I would first remove the strings, loosen the neck screwstry to pull the neck over to meet the body a bit and tighten the screws on the upper horn first then the lower screws last. I was able to lose a small gap in my blonde 57 that way.


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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 2:25 pm
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I have 3 Strats..

2 have perfect neck/body joints.. nothing fits there..

the other strat has a very small gap on the bass side of the neck.. enough to fit a thin sheet of paper (although only in the beginning of the upper part of the body/neck joint.. a bit more down and the sheet of paper doesn´t fit anymore). But for example, the pick I use ( .88 ) doesn´t fit in the gap... It´s quite small.. but it´s there. The treble side of the neck, on the other side.. is a perfect tight fit...

Ironically, it´s the strat that intonates better and has better sustain of the three.. it´s also the strat I´ve ever played that resonates better. No joke.. and that´s why I bought it 8)

A few months ago there was a picture of SRV playing on the cover of the UK edition of Guitarist.. that strat (it wasn´t the number one, it was an olympic white one I think) appeared to have quite a visible gap on the treble side of the neck/body joint.. it didn´t bother him at all...

I´ve seen quite a few old strats with gaps... and quite a few custom shops too...

In the end... all this about small neck gaps on the sides of the neck/body joints (and I´m talking about small gaps.. not gaps that go around all the joint guys) is, in my opinion, quite overrated.. as long as the guitar sounds good.. sustains well... can intonate well.. and the neck doesn´t shift.. you´re ok :wink:


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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:19 pm
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Thanks for the input on this . . . the GS replaced the Ash Strat with another. . . I didn't get a good feel from the new one and walked out with a Sherwood Green 62 Vintage Hot Rod . . . this one is sweet.


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