Problem with Tele neck.

[he_is_kyle]

I bought a fender standard telecaster less than a month ago (I can still return it), and have recently noticed some intonation problems which are exacerbated when i use a capo.

Generally speaking, one would just adjust the bridge saddles, correct?

Problem is, the neck is not set properly onto the body. It is secure, but the strings do not go exactly straight down the fretboard. As it is, the strings tend toward the "low e" side of the fretboard. If this is unclear i could post some pictures.

My question is whether or not this is affecting the intonation, or if it is affecting anything else. I talked to someone I consider knowledgeable about the neck, and he said it wouldn't be a problem, but that just doesn't seem right. Any help with this problem will be greatly appreciated.

 

[joeybsyc]

loosen the top 2 neckplate bolts "slightly" and tug the neck wherever you want it to align the strings to the fretboard... then retighten the bolts...the neck will definitely move and align the strings with the fretboard. In fact, alot of times you can do this without loosening anything if the neck is pulled that far outta whack, but i usually like to loosen the screws slightly just to be safe. Sounds wacky, but it works, and is a typical problem with teles and strats that's easily remedied.

 

[he_is_kyle]

That helped, but its still not perfect. Will this alignment problem affect the intonation at all? It plays great, so I don't want to return/exchange it.

 

[David Collins]

No. You're guitar is fine - there's a lot of room in a Fender neck to move side to side, and no reason you shouldn't be able to align it properly. Give it a yank and line it up. It's how Fenders work - always have, always will.

If you truly can't align it on center (very unlikely), then you can return it if your strings are slipping off the edges. Even then, intonation would not be anywhere on the list of concerns, and I'm honestly a bit curious as to how it is you have zoned in on that single factor as a primary concern.

 

[he_is_kyle]

I'm not saying that that is necessarily the problem. The strings aren't straight down the fretboard, and that doesn't seem right. As it is, there is more high e string between the nut and the bridge than there is the low e string. Because of this angle, it would make sense that the amount of string between each fret is going to be off, messing up the intonation from fret to fret. Right?

 

[The Real Tim]

I have this issue as well and I'm sure glad I found this thread. I haven't had any intonation problems in the 5+ years I've owned the guitar, but I'm just OCD about that kind of stuff.

My band is going to start recording our first proper release tomorrow, but I'll give the above remedy a shot when we're all done.

I'll report back with the results.