NGD - Neck Angle Issues

earwighoney · May 2016

The delivery man today bought along a [insert brand] Single Cut electric guitar today (with set neck construction), which I have a suspicion the neck angle is a bit off.

Having a look at the neck, the last side marker on the bass side past the body join is pretty much touching the top of the body. Comparing the binding by the neck on the part which meets the body on the bass side to the treble side by the cutaway at the 14th fret there is definitely a greater visible amount of binding on the bass side than the treble side.

For my fretting hand, it does feel like there is a slight imbalance to the angle of the neck with the treble side of the neck is slightly twisted in position to where it should be.

A difficult to question to ask, but is my description of the issues above symptomatic of a neck set with the angle into the pocket which is off by a few degrees?

Bridgehouse · May 2016

Do the strings run true down each side of the fretboard?

ICBM · May 2016

Yes. Is it a Gibson?

WezV · May 2016

Gibson fretboards sit on top of the body, so the binding/ side dots should never be lower than that. Unless its a jnr

The description makes me think full width tenon, where the fretboard sits on top of the neck wood, not the body. I have seen some very costly singlecuts where the binding went into the neck join slightly. It even does it on my recent les Paul build by a small fraction of a mm. This in itself isn't an issue. But being deeper on the bass than treble is. To judge that you need to measure the corners of the fretboard to see how high they fit.

p90fool · May 2016

Why so coy about the brand?

earwighoney · May 2016

@Bridgehouse

I'll have a look soon and reply about the string direction.

@ICBM, ;

It's a Epiphone LP Custom Bjorn Gelotte.

@WezV

I'm not sure I fully understand the differences between tenon joints, but I think it might be a 'long tenon'? I had another look at the binding and it actually looks a bit worse than it actually is as the finishing by the neck join on the bass side has got onto the binding. I'd say it's a bit deeper on the bass side though, and I'm in agreement it's not much of an issue (I've had nylon strings where that occurred as well). I'll take a closer look when I can and get back with my findings.

@p90fool

No idea!

****

Had a play of the guitar after posting and it really is fantastic. HUGE neck profile and ebony board. Not sure about the pickups though...

DamianP · May 2016

You are comparing the height of either side of the fingerboard above the top. The top may not be the same height on both sides so it's not a reliable datum....................... Epiphones are very roughly made guitars. Their joinery is loose at best. They use a lot of filler to make up gaps so the things you describe aren't really very surprising...................... However, given the nature of the joint, it's unlikely to fail, so, assuming it all lines up and the bridge height is ok then it sounds like a regular Epiphone LP and nothing to worry about.

Sassafras · May 2016

Pics?

They're pretty much obligatory on a NGD.

WezV · May 2016

If its an epi the fretboard will follow the top and it will just be finishing that makes any binding seem like its being covered.

olafgarten · May 2016

I have an Epi Tribute Plus which should be similar to yours, on mine the side dot on the 21st fret is about .88mm away from the body (Measured with a Green Dunlop Tortex III).

ICBM · May 2016

Does it play well? If so it's probably fine.

I'm not sure about Epiphones having loose joinery. Most of the ones I've seen in close detail at the neck joint area seem more accurately made than Gibsons… although that may not be saying much.

thermionic · May 2016

Some Epiphones have an asymmetric neck (with the treble side being effectively slimmer than the bass side). This may or may not be a factor here.

earwighoney · May 2016

Thanks for all the replies.

I had a chance to take a closer look at the guitar and it seems my fears were misaligned. The strings line up well and are equidistant from the edges of the board for treble and bass.

Using a stack of plectrums at the 19th fret, the height of the fretboard from the guitar body top is pretty much the same from treble and bass. It was the slight untidyness of the finish getting onto the binding which probably caused me wrongly assess the situation! The tuneomatic bridge needed adjustment in height as well.

Something I did notice today is there isn't enough relief in the neck and I'll give the truss rod a slight turn.

The neck is largely fine now, the only gripe I have and it's something which I am possibly overtly pedantic about is the nut width is narrower than the advertised specification.

olafgarten · May 2016

earwighoney said:

Thanks for all the replies.

I had a chance to take a closer look at the guitar and it seems my fears were misaligned. The strings line up well and are equidistant from the edges of the board for treble and bass.

Using a stack of plectrums at the 19th fret, the height of the fretboard from the guitar body top is pretty much the same from treble and bass. It was the slight untidyness of the finish getting onto the binding which probably caused me wrongly assess the situation! The tuneomatic bridge needed adjustment in height as well.

Something I did notice today is there isn't enough relief in the neck and I'll give the truss rod a slight turn.

The neck is largely fine now, the only gripe I have and it's something which I am possibly overtly pedantic about is the nut width is narrower than the advertised specification.

Did you measure the nut width at the base or at the top, the nut on my Epi is slightly tapered.

earwighoney · May 2016

@olafgarten

I measured the nut at the base of the nut, not at the top. It's string spacing is the same as it's 'full size' counterpart of 34.7mm so I guess it wouldn't have made much difference nonetheless.

SteveRobinson · May 2016

This could explain it. The Epiphone neck joint is asymmetric so the bass side could potentially be below the level of the body.

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NGD - Neck Angle Issues

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