Hi - I'm new here (1st post!) and have a question I'm hoping someone can help me with.
I have a MIM Stratocaster that I can’t get the recommended .010” of relief on the neck. With strings (9’s) tuned to pitch, if I lay an 18” straightedge along the entire fret board, and loosen the truss rod completely so that the nut is loose, the neck relief at the 8th fret is about .004”. If I tightened the truss rod (once the nut is doing anything) just enough to grab (1/8th of a turn or less) the neck goes dead straight so that there is no space between the straightedge and the fret. If I set the action to the recommended height (strings 1-4: 5/63”, strings 5-6: 3/32”), I get a fair about of fret buzz, which I think I could minimize if I could get the recommended relief. I can get the buzzing to an acceptable level by raising the action a bit. I’m assuming (although I haven’t tried it yet) that I would have more relief if I used heavier strings. According to the manual that came with the guitar (I did buy it new from an authorized dealer) if the neck doesn’t have enough relief when the nut is completely loose, I should take it to a dealer of service center. OK, I could do that, but I’m curious about what they would do to correct this condition. Can anyone enlighten me?

If it were mine i would leave the truss rod slack for a few weeks and see if the string tension slowly pulls the neck a little over time.

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+1

Hi hlarry14, welcome to the Forum.


I think that is a good suggestion.

I once was given an aftermarket neck that had natural backbow to the extent it wouldn't even come quite straight under string tension. However, a few weeks with strings on tuned to pitch brought it forward to straight, and restringing with a gauge higher brought it into frontbow enough for fine adjustments with the trussrod. Once that frontbow was achieved it could be restrung again with the lower gauge of strings and the tension now kept it in slight frontbow. It didn't bend backwards again.

I'm guessing they'd first try restringing with very heavy strings and leaving it alone for a few weeks to see if it came good. Otherwise they might do some tricksy stuff with careful clamping, as in this photo of a warped neck I worked on several years ago. This treatment also involved steam and repeated changes in temperature in an attempt to slightly reset the fibres of the timber. It worked:



On the other hand, if you bought the guitar new and it is still under warranty I'd just take it back to the shop. They'll either replace the neck or the whole guitar under the warranty - though it might take several weeks for new items to arrive from Fender, so be prepared for a wait.

Good luck - C

You're a master craftsman, Ceri.

HAND SALUTE!

(and a "+1" to your comments and suggestions)

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

hlarry14,

Welcome. I would take it back to the dealer and let them resolve the issue. That is the benefit of buying a new instrument. It also helps report quality control issues to Fender (or at least the dealer). If they had set it up correctly, you would not be having this problem. When you buy a new guitar you should be able to go home and just keep grinning.

Hope you get it cleared up quickly.

Hi – Thanks for the replies, everyone – I appreciate it! The guitar isn’t new now – I bought it new, but I’ve had it a couple of years. I think this kind of thing would be covered under the lifetime warranty, so that shouldn’t be an issue. I tried setting the relief when I changed strings a few weeks ago, so the rod has been loose for weeks. I’ll talk to my dealer and see what they will do for me – it’s not my main guitar, so if they can make it right I can wait a few weeks.