Should I Return It?

Barnezy

Hi guys,

I just recieved a Fender Classic 60s Lacquer. All is good aside from the high E string runs very close to the edge of the fretboard at the pick-up end. It starts at 2.5mm from the edge at the nut and finishes at 1.5mm at the last fret. On all my other guitars it the opposite, closer at the nut and more room at the other end. I’ve not noticed it effecting my playing, but I’m be conscious not to drag the string off the fret. 

Is this likely to be to be a production fault or is it a traditional guitar thing? 

It’s a shame, because everything else about it is spot on. 

interstellar

can you get a tech to check it out?   thats what i would do, it may be a simple fix...stick some pics up on here one of the nut and one of the saddles

interstellar

also is it a telecaster or a strat

guitars4you

If it is so close on the Top E side to the edge, then I have to assume it goes the other way on the bass E side - In which case sounds like a slight tweak on the alignment - Not sure what skill level you have and/or indeed desire to do simple tweak 

De-tune down a couple of tones to take some tension away - Loosen each neck plate screw a bit - 1/4 in protruding - Then hold headstock and kind of lever neck so more of the Top E string is now over the fingerboard - I've done this many times and easier to do than describe - Re-tighten neck plate screws - re-tune and it should be better - Very little room for negotiation on a perfect alignment

Such vintage style saddles and they can move of centre towards one side so check this - again de-tune and 'push' saddle back in line

Bottom line is that it should not happen - might be factory error or moved in transit - Not a big deal to adjust in the right hands

however if required you legal rights do protect you

Post a pic of the neck to the last 5/10 frets if that helps you and like wise the bridge/saddles looking up to the neck pick up area

Barnezy

Sorry it’s a Strat. That neck alignment method sounds straight forward enough. I’ll post some pics. 

skunkwerx

Barnezy said:

Sorry it’s a Strat. That neck alignment method sounds straight forward enough. I’ll post some pics. 

Hopefully that fixes it. I’ve had to do it on a couple guitars before. 

Funnily enough my bolt on Ibanez gio £150 job has great alignment and 0 wiggle room in the neck pocket.
Yet my fender has a small gap..

 

mistercharlie

I had to do,this on my partscaster. Of course, you expect it on a self-build. But it’s an easy fix. It might even self-correct itself when you loosen the bolts. 

robgilmo

It could be the neck pocket isnt cut correctly?

terada

I was always told that this could be quite common, and a quick yank of the neck is the solution.

fretfinder

terada said:

I was always told that this could be quite common, and a quick yank of the neck is the solution.

Exactly, no need even to loosen the neckplate screws if you're brave enough...! 

MattFGBI

This can happen on a bolt on. From your description I do think a little tweak in the alignment should sort it. 

Barnezy

Thanks guys. Nervous about doing this on the off chance it damages the finish, doesn’t solve the issue and then becomes non-returnable. 

I’ll play it some more tomorrow and see how I feel about it. Not massively in love with it so far, it’s a Classic 60s Lacquer Strat. Now thinking it might be worth swapping for a American Original 60 or a Clapton Strat. 

chrisjac2

Did you get in from a shop? if you did send it back and get them to fix or swap it. you wouldn't buy a new car then fix the tracking yourself ?

ICBM

Nor would you return a car because the seat needed adjusting.

It’s not a big deal on a bolt-on neck guitar unless it won’t go far enough to align properly - most have a little play in them. It’s daft to return a guitar for such a trivial adjustment.

skunkwerx

Its a very simple one too. 
Safest way to do it:

Slacken the 4 middle strings til there is no tension left in them. 

Slacken both E strings til there is just enough tension in them to keep them straight, but no more. 

This is so the outer E strings act as guidelines. 

Once thats done there is no tension pulling on the neck, ie pulling on the headstock. So its now safe to loosen the 4 screws on the back of the neck. 

Loosen them a bit, try and gently move the neck. If no joy, loosen some more. Dont loosen them all the way though.
I’m pretty sure they arent threaded through the body, only in the neck, so if they come out, you’ll need to carefully re-engage them with the thread in the neck. Its important, otherwise you’ll strip the thread, which is just wood remember. 

Once loosened, if there is play in the neck pocket you’ll be able to move the neck easily. 

If you’ve loosened the screws and there is no play, dont force it, there probably isnt any or enough wiggle room, and thats when you’re likely to incur finish cracks. These wont be structural or in the wood, and most bolt ons end up with them at some point. 
Theyre just in the lacquer. 

If you do have wiggle room, simply move the neck until both E strings run equidistant from the edge of the fretboard, or near as damnit.  

Then slowly tighten the 4 neck screws whilst making sure you keep the neck where you want it. 

Tighten them in small increments in a cross pattern. 

Top left, bottom right, top right, bottom left, for example. 

This method of tightening screws is useful for a lot of mutiple screw jobbies. It ensures you tighten them all with fairly equal pressure on the join, rather than tightening the top 2 all the way up tight with the bottom 2 loose, then tightening the bottom 2. 

Its also much less likely to cause any finish cracks for example. 

Do them up firm but not too tight. 
Theres no real torque measurements, so as long as theyre firm, you’re good to go. 

Retune to pitch and then make your mind up about returning it! 

DrCornelius

I've had a few 70s 3 bolt Teles where you'd suddenly notice you'd lost tuning midway through a song. You would yank the neck up toward you whilst pushing the body away toward the floor. You'd hear a satisfying crunch sound and voila, back in tune :-)

impmann

DrCornelius said:

I've had a few 70s 3 bolt Teles where you'd suddenly notice you'd lost tuning midway through a song. You would yank the neck up toward you whilst pushing the body away toward the floor. You'd hear a satisfying crunch sound and voila, back in tune :-)

Sounds familiar!

I had a *DREADFUL* Tokai Tele with a four bolt neck that had huge gaps around the neck pocket that did this. And yes, it was a Japanese one... It ended its days with an aquaintance of mine who embedded it in a Carlsboro 4x12 cab at a festival. Nobody cried.

Neil

Barnezy said:

Thanks guys. Nervous about doing this on the off chance it damages the finish, doesn’t solve the issue and then becomes non-returnable. 

I’ll play it some more tomorrow and see how I feel about it. Not massively in love with it so far, it’s a Classic 60s Lacquer Strat. Now thinking it might be worth swapping for a American Original 60 or a Clapton Strat. 

Don't try it yourself. What if you crack the finish?

Take it back to the shop and if they can't resolve it to your satisfaction ask for another one.