Hey guys,

I took possession of a brand new American STD today. Upon checking a few things I noticed these measurements:

Neck Relief = .017

Action = 5.5/64

Intonation was perfect.

Pickup height was good

My question is, is the neck relief too much? Should it be tightened. It plays fine to me but maybe I'm wondering if It would play better with less relief.

Is the .017 wayyyy out of spec or is it considered in "normal range"?

Thanks guys,
Jazzyguy

HAPPY GUITAR DAY to you my friend!!! pictures please, or it didn't happen!

Hi Jazzyguy,

It depends how you measure it. The setup guide recommends .010" measured at the eighth fret with the string depressed at the first and last fret for a 9.5" radius. If you are measuring without depressing the string, then .017" is really good. Either way, you are close and the setup guide is just a suggestion, you can adjust to wherever is comfortable for you.

Scroll down to "Truss Rod" at the setup guide site.
http://www.fender.com/support/articles/stratocaster-setup-guide

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

I measured it at the 8th fret with both first and last fret depressed on the 6th string.

So, this measurement doesn't sound completely out of whack to you guys? Seeing is how the rest of the setup is good, I really didn't want to mess with it unless you guys think it would be beneficial for me to get to the Fender spec'd .010.

Thanks again,
Jazzy

yep rule of thumb on this board,
"IF YOU CAN SHOW PICS, IT DIDNT HAPPEN".
not that we are in disbelief, we are just pic nuts and
we will jump through hoop for pics of stuff that isnt ours.
welcome to the forum too.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

.017 relief and 5.5/64" action is a bit much. If you like how it feels and plays, it is fine. But, it can play much better .010 relief and about 3/64 - 4/64 would really make your neck feel faster!

4/64 at 17th fret and .010" relief is how I have mine set up but if you like the way it plays, what works for one guy may not work for another. Even with acoustics, I'm not an overly aggressive strummer or picker so I can get away with a little lower action.

On acoustics, I play a lot of bluegrass and have my action set a lot lower than most players in that genre I always figured if I need more volume, that's the sound guy's job not mine.

One nice thing about the strat, if you don't like something, changing it is just a matter of turning a couple screws and you can set it back to your starting point pretty easily.

Part of the playing experience for me is doing my own setups. 1) I don't mind doing it, and 2) I can't afford my own personal guitar tech.

Jeff

'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'

- if you're happy with how your guitar plays, my advice is don't mess with it!

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"I started out with nothing ...and I've still got most of it left!" (Seasick Steve)

Pics are coming guys, give me a few hours.

I might try to just adjust the truss rod a little then. By removing a little bow to get close to the .010 the action might lower too which would be okay for me as well. I guess I might need to adjust intonation after as well?

No more than 1/4 turn please. Given how little change you need, maybe 1/8 turn to start. Make the minor adjustment, wait 24 hours and see where it is before more adjustments.

Well... I messed with it before I read this post.

I was going clock-wise wayyyy less than 1/8 of a turn at a time. I would turn, then check, then turn, then check, turn, check, turn, check... until I got to roughly .010. Maybe it's .08-.09. Action changed slightly to now 5/64 which is fine for me. Intonation didn't change from what I can tell.

I obviously didn't wait 24 hours in between adjustments, maybe more like 30 seconds to 5 minutes in between adjustments. Is this a problem? I guess the what you mean is the neck will settle in after 24 hours? Would I get less/more after 24 hours?

Also, I'm working on a pic thread right now. I'll call it "NGD - CandyCola"

You managed. And now let that neck sit for a while, it has to react to your adjustments. Play the guitar for a few days and really dive into the experience before changing anything.

Cheers

David

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"Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc...and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons."