Bolt-on necks - REALLY GREAT tip from Walter W.

[Dana Olsen]

Hey Fellas -

Walter has posted this tip many times here, and I finally tried it today on my CS Strat and my '56 Esquire/ Tele conversion. It made a DISTINCT AND NOTICEABLE IMPROVEMENT on those two guitars.

Here' the tip:

i will say that when i'm setting up a bolt-on anything from any company, one step is to loosen the screws a 1/4 turn or so while it's strung to pitch so the strings can pull the neck tight into the pocket. (then i retighten, of course.) usually i'll hear a slight creak and the guitar will go a little flat, telling me the neck was in fact not hard against the pocket. the instrument will usually sound a little better, a little more "solid" if you will, after this is done.

It made such a distinct difference that I'm going to go through the 'herd' and do this to all the bolt on neck guitars I own. THANK YOU WALTER for sharing a tip that makes a difference!

Thanks Walter, Dana O.

 

[doublee]

Good stuff. Along these lines I would be interested to hear from those experienced at drilling holes for neck plate because I will soon try my very first...and would prefer not to mess it up!

 

[Tonefish]

Yeah, that sounds good. I would have sworn I saw this earlier in another thread and it said 4 turns. I thought that was very risky. THis sounds much better.

 

[walterw]

i could swear that somebody originally turned me on to this as a G&L setup trick, but i've never seen it mentioned anywhere since.

 

[Boris Bubbanov]

It is a great idea. One caveat. If you have a guitar with a neck alignment issue, where someone loosened the screws a tad (just high and low E strings for positioning's sake, no real tension) and then tweaked the neck (usually toward the upper horn) before retightening - then on that guitar you will have to forgo this cool tip. If you have a nice setup, and you loosen the neck screws up and it veers out of alignment on you, this is what happened.


Bubbanov

 

[walterw]

actually, doing this trick and aligning the neck are one in the same procedure. you have to be sure that the strings are lined up right with the edges of the neck before you re-tighten, and if that means physically pushing the neck to one side or the other while re-tightening, that's what you do.

in fact, i'll usually push the neck back and forth a little while it's loosened to "un-stick" it from the body, at which point making sure it's lined up again is SOP.

 

[Rock Johnson]

Dang, Walter, you are the MAN. I've SO got to stop by your shop next time I'm in Va. Beach (I have family in Chesapeake).

 

[RvChevron]

The back and sides of the neck pocket on my strat just split in half!!!

Thanks Walt, F'ing great tip!!:BITCH See the pic below You @$#%'ing,,,,,,,.......






















































Sorry I couldn't help it. And Walt has always been helpful and kind!

 

[Dana Olsen]

actually, doing this trick and aligning the neck are one in the same procedure. you have to be sure that the strings are lined up right with the edges of the neck before you re-tighten, and if that means physically pushing the neck to one side or the other while re-tightening, that's what you do.

in fact, i'll usually push the neck back and forth a little while it's loosened to "un-stick" it from the body, at which point making sure it's lined up again is SOP.

Excellent idea again Walter - I forgot that there are folks who wouldn't necessarily re-check their string alignment when they do this.

Folks - EVERY TIME you loosen your neck, ya gotta check the string alignment - EVERY TIME!

Thanks, Dana O.

 

[walterw]

The back and sides of the neck pocket on my strat just split in half!!!

... ... ... you weren't supposed to use your foot!

i should point out a couple caveats, though.

some designs from the likes of ibanez or PRS don't have real pockets per se, but just an open-ended slot the neck sits in. these necks are just held in by the screws and the sliding friction of the wood-to-wood clamping pressure. loosen these things and the neck will crunch down into the pickup ring!

fine guitars like suhrs will have basically no play in the pocket; don't push and pull with too much force or you can crack something. (it shouldn't be necessary anyway, that caliber of guitar will usually line itself up just fine.)

finally, if there are shims under the neck and they're not glued in place like they should be, they can slip out of alignment, so be conscious of that.

 

[Member 995]

I tried this on my G&L ASAT this morning. Things definitely moved a bit when the screws were loosened. I don't notice any significant tonal changes, but we'll see.

Bryan

 

[james russell]

I tried it today on my personal favorite frankenstrat, which I know best of all my guitars. Been playing it since 1981, and all that.

When I first saw this thread, I thought "nah, my Strat neck fits tighter than the pyramid blocks". However, when I loosened that fourth screw, I couldn't believe the shifting crack sound, and also the amount I could feel the neck move. My old friend definately seems to have more resonance now. It's more acoustically alive when played unplugged as well. Bent notes seem to hang on longer. I'll be performing with it for a couple of hours later today, so we'll see how it all shakes out. I know it's all subjective, but I really know this guitar well, and can tell when things are different on it. Getting the neck seated deeper in the pocket has got to be a good thing. More purchase! Thanks Walter for such a simple, common sense idea, and thanks Dana for bringing it up.

James

 

[Tonefish]

redo intonation then?

 

[Rock Johnson]

I just did it on both of my bolt ons. Noticeable, significant improvement in sustain and resonance.

Thanks again, Walter.

 

[Dana Olsen]

redo intonation then?

It's always good to check the intonation, but I didn't have to re-intonate either of my guitars when I used this tip.

But I got more sustain and clearer tone ... for free! (GRIN)

Dana O.

 

[james russell]

redo intonation then?

Absolutely! First thing I did was fire up the Peterson strobe tuner and re-intonate. It didn't change a lot, but enough to have to turn a few screws a quarter to a half turn here and there.

James

 

[clarkydaz]

can i just get this right? you loosen the 4 screws a 1/4 turn, then retune to pitch with the screws slightly loosened?

 

[Member 995]

Loosen each of the neck screws a little bit with the strings at tension. Retighten the neck screws. Retune the guitar, as it probably went a bit flat.

Bryan

 

[CitizenCain]

3 for 4 here! One is a custom-built Esquire and the neck was fitting tight in there already

However, 2 partscasters and a Jimmie Vaughan Strat, positive results~! Thanks for a great tip.

 

[KHAN]

This is insane.

Instant improvement in clarity. It just feels more solid as chords ring out.

Amazing.

Thanks!