How Do You Know if You Need a Neck Reset

With time and the relentless pull of the strings, a flattop guitar is spring to undergo some changes. Slowly, the body changes shape. Not unlike some of us old guitar pickers, the instrument begins to show its age. The abdomen starts to beetle a piddling, the shoulders bend, and the neck pulls forwards a bit.

OK, I'll cease with that analogy.

A guitar can be thought of as being almost like a living system, though.

Under the strain of six strings tuned to pitch, the upper "shoulder" of the body rotates forward just a bit. The area around the soundhole dips down a niggling, and the top starts to "dome" around and behind the bridge. The back of the musical instrument may flatten a piddling, effectively becoming a trifle longer in the process. Each of these phenomena contribute toward the "forrad" rotation of the neck block and neck. Fifty-fifty though the neck remains straight through its length, it begins to "aim" toward a lower position on the bridge.

I'd like to reiterate i point I made in the commodity about

. Truss rods have no influence on neck bending. The truss rod helps to keep the neck directly, and controls neck relief from the nut to about two frets from the body. The truss rod tin only bear upon the flexible "shaft" portion of the neck. Its effect ends in the area where the neck becomes thicker at the heel, fifty-fifty if the truss rod extends further.

I believe that about all traditional flat top guitars will eventually show the demand for neck resetting. Mostly, the lighter built guitars will demand to undergo the reset operation sooner than heavier ones. For case Martin guitars seem to exist on a 20- or 25-year bicycle, on boilerplate. Afterwards the neck reset has been performed, the same forces of string tension will keep to alter the torso, and the neck will need to be reset again. I really don't know what the eventual event will be. Volition there come a time when the instrument stabilizes completely, or collapses completely? So far, the population of steel string flat top guitars is not old enough to reply that question. Certainly, nearly well fabricated guitars will easily outlast their owners. . .

With the irksome rotation of the neck in relation to the summit, the virtually obvious symptom is a change in cord height, or action, especially in the higher fret positions. In fact, if you know what you're doing, yous can ofttimes use the string height every bit the best indication of whether a guitar needs to have its neck reset.

I utilise three methods to make up one's mind if there's a cervix bending problem. I'll generally utilise the third one, just in the course of giving the guitar a full general looking over. Bear in heed that first, I'll brand sure that the truss rod is correctly adjusted and that the neck is accordingly straight.

Sighting down the fingerboard, I'll line upwards the corners of the frets and see if there'southward an credible bend in the fingerboard near where the neck joins the body:

The cervix is clearly too thick in that expanse to curve, but if the neck is out of alignment with the body, there may be an apparent upward curve of the end of the fingerboard. Often, guitars with cervix angle problems may show no such bend, considering the end of the fingerboard may dip downward at the soundhole, either as part of the original construction or as a outcome of the neck pulling forward and taking the fingerboard and peak forth with information technology. But the advent of a bend correct at the body is oftentimes a sign of neck angle problem.

If the fingerboard is reasonably directly, stop to cease, I'll lay a 24" straightedge on acme of the frets similar this:

I can't employ the straightedge if the fingerboard bends because it won't "read" the tops of the frets accurately to give me a sense of the neck angle.

At present, pushing the straightedge toward the span I'd like to see it "land" right on top of the wooden role of the bridge:

This is the way most guitars are congenital, and if the straightedge lays correct on the top of the bridge, and right on tiptop of the frets along the length of the cervix, then I know the neck angle is just right.

Unfortunately, this guitar shows a clear need for cervix angle piece of work:

The straightedge touches the bridge only i/8" from the meridian of the guitar.

This diagnostic method is very clear, but it doesn't account for the thickness of the bridge. If the bridge had been cut low in an effort to forestall neck bending work, then the straightedge might country correct where information technology belongs on tiptop of the span, merely the cervix angle may be less than platonic. I could measure the height of the bridge (non including the saddle) and hope that it'southward somewhere between v/16" and 3/8," or I could employ an even simpler method to bank check cervix bending.

Hither'due south a simple method for checking neck angle that doesn't depend on fret or fingerboard condition, or bridge tiptop.

Showtime, check to see that the neck is straight, then take notation of the action at the twelfth fret. Presuming that the action is reasonable, say, between 3/32" and 4/32" between the bottom of the low E string and the meridian of the twelfth fret, then simply measure the string elevation in front end of the span:

If there's nigh 1/two" betwixt the low E and the elevation, so the neck bending is just about correct:

If there'south less than 3/8" between the string and the top, so there's neck angle trouble:

If the strings are this close to the top, it means that the saddle and/or bridge take been seriously lowered to recoup for a "shallow" neck angle.

If I don't have a scale handy, I can easily estimate the difference between ane/2" and 3/8" visually, and by checking how my finger fits under the "East" cord:

Hither are some more indicators of neck angle issues:

The action is actually high, over 4/32"

AND the saddle is VERY depression:

Of course, there is such a affair as a "reverse" neck angle problem, commonly a result of poor industry or repair. IF the action is style besides low, and the saddle is really loftier, it usually means that the neck bending was set too far "back."

This high saddle is OK, merely information technology certainly can't stand up the strain of being raised, so if the action is non too low, so the neck angle is probably just right:

If, however, the action is super low, then I'd want to talk about reset the neck in the "forward" management.

Please sympathize that any and all indicators of cervix angle are subject field to interpretation. Virtually apartment top steel string guitars bear very close similarity to the geometry of Martin instruments. Other styles of guitar will certainly take other requirements for diagnosis of neck bending. Every player has personal needs and desires for activeness, and almost of the fourth dimension the "need" for cervix resetting must be determined in cooperation with the musician.

Often, it's advisable to exist tolerant of a "shallow" neck angle. Later on all, there are lots of different styles of guitar, and fifty-fifty more than different players and playing techniques. What'south advisable for a bluegrass fill-in guitarist may non be the right setup for a jazz picker's cutaway guitar.

All along, I've also been bold that we're talking near otherwise healthy instruments in normal humidity. Loftier humidity can cause the tiptop to "arch" upwardly, oft plenty to give the advent of cervix angle bug. Low humidity tin can requite contrary results.

There's really no substitute for the experience gained by working on and looking at thousands of guitars. A veteran guitar repairer can develop an intuitive "feel" which takes into account a wide variety of factors when diagnosing the neck angle of a guitar. Each manufacturer has a different set of specifications and builds to different tolerances; each has unique predictability of service and repairability. It's upwards to the luthier to stay current with the best methods of repair, which vary depending on the type, style, value, historic period, manufacturer and utilise of the guitar.

I hope you lot'll utilise this information to kickoff thinking almost your guitar every bit a dynamic system. Just like a living organism or an machine, a guitar can benefit from a "well instrument checkup" from time to fourth dimension.

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Source: http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musician/Guitar/Setup/NeckAngle/neckangle.html