Hey all,

I have a '99 MIM Classic Series Stratocaster which I absolutely love after setting up all the electronics, bridge, and even adding a shim to the neck. Fits like a glove to me. The only thing is that when I bend the high E string from the 17th fret or higher, the the string frets out with a buzz. Maximum bend there is only about 1 full step before it frets out. I believe this is due to the 7.25" neck radius.

Is there a neck that I can swap that will give me the same feel, but will not fret out, or at least let me bend 2 steps?

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide!

hbreeder

Just raise your action or maybe lose the shim if its angling the headstock end back.

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No no and no

A few options for you if you definitely want another neck...
1 - You can purchase another neck with a flatter radius. You can try a 9.5" like the standard MIM and MIA come with. However, you may feel a difference towards the nut when fretting and chording.

2 - You can look at a compound radius neck. Say 7.25" as you like and have it go up towards 12"-16" around the 12th - 15th fret.

3 - You can see if there is a really good luthier near you that can add a compound radius to the neck you have.

Step and a half seems to be the physical limit of my 7.25 .At that point it is half way across the fingerboard.The radius is more limiting but the bends sound better to me,as they take a bit less effort to hit the pitch.Neck width has something to do with it also as the 7.25 seem to be slightly narrower.
I have some wide flat radius guitars that are like rubber bands and you really have to watch the bending pitch.

When I dig in Gilmore type bends are the vibe I seem to get with the 7.25.

Thanks for all the help, guys! It was actually worse before I added the shim, and the saddles had been lowered slightly to compensate for the angle change. Working better now that it did. I could raise the saddles, but that would compromise the excellent action that has worked so well for me.

It is not too much of a pain, I've learned to adjust my playing style around it as this has become my favorite strat that I've ever played. I'll keep at and thanks for all the support!