Strat Neck Back Bow (convex forwards)

jaymenon

I recently got back my Floyd Body and Martin Sims Strat Neck with a nice nitro finish (Thanks Rich - great job).

For a few weeks however, the neck was off the body and not under string tension - so it now has a ‘reverse bow’.

With a set of 10-46 there isn’t enough arc relief - even with the truss rod completely loosened the strings are buzzing around the 4th fret.

With a set of 11-49 if I loosen the truss rod all the way, it’s just about playable.

So to try and re-introduce a little bit of Arc relief (with the 11-49 strings still on) 

1. I’ve inserted a pen under the strings at the 7th fret to create a little bit more forward traction on the neck...

2. Placed a capo at the 15th fret

3  Also blocked off the trem to not allow it to move forwards - or else some of the tension will be taken off by stretching of the tremolo springs.

So by changing the angle of the vectored string forces this (at least in principle) converts a greater portion of the strings tension from a shearing force to a bending moment without actually increasing the tension...

Let’s see in a weeks time...

Are there any better / simpler ways to solve this problem please?

[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/7HhDBzP.jpg)

andy_k

maybe try 11-52, or try tuning up, in Bonamassa's last rig rundown, hes using 11's tuned to F on one of his nocasters, I wouldn't even attempt that, but he's getting the best tones these days.
YMMV
cheers
andy k

ICBM

Tune it up a long way - if you don't mind risking string breakage, at least to G is safe, and probably A... bearing in mind that 13s are a normal gauge on an acoustic, so it's definitely safe to tune a 13-gauge B up to E. If anything breaks it might be the 11.

Leave it like that for a few days and it should fix it if it was OK before.

WezV

ICBM said:

Leave it like that for a few days and it should fix it if it was OK before.

This is the key thing.  If you know it was okay before there is no reason it won’t be again... just let string tension do it’s thing

Bond123

If only the neck had been built with a two-way rod the problem would have been solved in a few seconds.

jaymenon

Thanks guys - a two way truss rod, yes indeed.

However, the arc relief is coming back nicely - already with 11-49s I feel like tightening the truss rod a little bit.

If I leave it for another week, I should be able to put 10-46 strings back on, with the truss rod somewhere in the middle of its movement range.

Feeling nice