Electric Guitar Neck Angle Adjustments
Neck Angle
Adjustment-
First I'll start by pointing out that neck angle (pitch) is different
than neck relief (bow).
The angle at which a neck sits will depend on
how the manufacturer has set the angle at the neck joint. Neck angle is
easily adjusted on instruments with bolt on necks as the neck can be
removed from the pocket and the pocket can be shimmed to pitch the neck
back or forward depending on the needs. When the instrument has a neck
joint that has been glued the neck must be steamed from the pocket and
adjusted, see neck resets for more information.
Why would a guitars neck angle need to be adjusted?
A fair
indicator that the
neck angle may be incorrect is an inability to adjust the action to the
ideal height before reaching the saddles maximum adjustment. Before
jumping to this conclusion be sure that the necks relief and
tremolo/bridge is set correctly. An example would be a guitar who's
saddles have been adjusted as high as possible yet the strings sit far
too close to the frets rendering the action too low. If all else is as
it should be, that instruments neck angle may be slightly overset (the
heel end is higher than the peghead). And of course the reverse can also
happen... the saddles may be completely bottomed out yet the action is
far too high. While I have found various items placed in a neck
joint to alter the necks angle ( match book covers, credit cards,
paper clips), I prefer to make a well
fitting, tapered hardwood shim that does not leave any
large gaps between the neck and the
body. The better coupling and surface to surface mating you have on your
instrument the less likely you are to loose valuable sustain and tone.
Of course sometimes the adjustment required is so small a paper strip
may be all that is needed.
Fender's Micro Tilt™
Adjustable Neck
Fenders Micro Tilt Neck Adjustment
- If you look at the
picture above you will see a tiny hole in the neck plate just between
the 2 lower neck mounting
screws. In that hole is an Allen head
screw. After loosening the string tension and the necks mounting
bolts, this screw can be tightened to press against a metal plate
mounted on the base of the neck.
If the screw is tightened without loosening the neck mounting screws, it
places a great deal of pressure on the screws in the neck making it
possible to strip or weaken those screw holes. Tightening the screw
against the plate effectively "tilt's" or rises the end of the
fingerboard and changes the necks angle. While this
makes neck angle adjustments seem even easier to do it yourselfer, I
still prefer to place a hardwood shim in the pocket instead of creating
a gap.
The
plate on the neck simply prevents the screw from "drilling" itself into
the neck.
For more information about neck angles it may be helpful to read my
section on neck resetting. If the neck on an
electric guitar is glued in place it must be removed before the angle
can be changed. While the following article covers
resetting necks on acoustic guitars, the concept is the same... click
here.
Neck angle should not be confused with neck relief. For
more information on neck relief (the bow in a neck) see
truss rods. You can also read about common neck problems like,
twisted necks, too much or too little relief and
more here.
