Jackson Adrian Smith SDX problem

[SIXER]

Does any one that owns on of these have a problem with the high E string falling off the board when you fret it? If so were you able to fix it? I heard you could change the nut to a original floyd nut and it will fix the problem. You have to drill new holes though.

[Rich#6]

first is the neck straight in the pocket? sometimes the neck is an an angle. are the strings even on both sides?

[DonP]

Didn't notice this on mine, but I did notice sanding scratches in the maple fretboard, mostly in the higher frets. I bought this used, so I don't know if some dickwad scratched it up trying to polish the frets and gave it back to GC.

If you guys can look at you maple fretboards (maybe even rosewood) and let me know that would be great. Any way to fix the scratches? I'd need a clear poly or something.

I still have time to return it.

Thanks.

[SIXER]

Rich,it looks like the high E string is closer to the edge than the low E. Looks that way on my strat too but it doesn't have that problem. I did a search on google and i found a thread were a lot of people were having this problem. No one on here has mentioned it though.

[SIXER]

Didn't notice this on mine, but I did notice sanding scratches in the maple fretboard, mostly in the higher frets. I bought this used, so I don't know if some dickwad scratched it up trying to polish the frets and gave it back to GC.

If you guys can look at you maple fretboards (maybe even rosewood) and let me know that would be great. Any way to fix the scratches? I'd need a clear poly or something.

I still have time to return it.

Thanks.

Don, I have the maple board and there is no scratches on it.

[Ripley7t]

I had a DK2S with this problem a few years ago. I sold it. All I have seen are glowing reviews of the guitar so far. I would return it and grab another. I love surfing GC used gear. Lots of great deals to be had.

[Awake69]

It could be just a quality control matter with the one you got. For example, the first Adrian SDX I got was white with the rosewood board. After playing a day or so, I noticed the trem wasn't returning to "zero" after bombing. When I got to the GC, the tech opened the back cavity and noticed the routing for the Floyd was askew, which is why the trem kept rubbing against the wood. They returned it and got me the maple one I really wanted.

That's the thing with these, I've heard people either get a total pile of crap or a really awesome guitar. Not surprised that the first few runs had some QC issues.

Trade it for a new one...that would be my advice on this.

[SIXER]

Thanks guys! I'm sending it back to the dealer i bought it from. They are paying for the shipping to.

[chrisolson]

I have the opposite situation. Low E wants to slip off. Also, the springs in the neck pickup were too big, and the middle didn't have any.

Beyond that, very happy with it.

[DonP]

Sam Ash has a new AS SDX in. I looked at the fretboard and no scratched.

I think someone took steel wool and tried polishing the frets, and ended up scratching up the fretboard.

I think I'm going to take it back. It was $415 after TN taxes, not the greatest bargain for a Made in India guitar.

[Todd Taylor]

Hi,I have the maple and had the same problem with the high E,I had heard of this problem before I bought the guitar.YOU need a R2 nut,It comes with a R3 nut,There will be a little gap between the nut and the first fret but I am sure you can live with it,I bought this guitar because of the neck because it's so sweet....I upgraded the guitar to all chrome hardware and a Bill Lawrence L-500XL and a original Floyd Rose,A red pearloid pickguard and a big brass sustainer block and the guitar rings like and acoustic now!I also put a chrome headstock decal over the black one and chrome dot fretmarker's over the black one'sand chrone decals over the pickups and it's a total transformation,I tryed to post picture's but it didn't work

[DonP]

Todd,

Look at the suggestions I left you in that other thread about how to post pictures.



FWIW, the new SDX at Sam Ash appeared OK to me as far as the high E string.

[VitaminG]

loosen the neck bolts slightly. Push the neck towards the floor until the E strings are the same distance from the edge of the fretboard. Retighten the bolts.

[gerryl98]

loosen the neck bolts slightly. Push the neck towards the floor until the E strings are the same distance from the edge of the fretboard. Retighten the bolts.

??? All my Jacksons, Charvels, and Fenders for that matter have no play in the neck pocket whatsoever. If it's off center to the point it's coming off the fretboard when playing, it should be stamped B stock!!!!

I came across a used DK2M that didnt have the strings centered over the fretboard. I showed it to two luthiers. Both agreed that the studs for the trem were slightly off. So I had him dowel the existing stud holes, redrill new holes and install real FR studs. With parts, he only charged me maybe $50?

That has now definitely been on my mental checklist when doing a visual inspection of a guitar.

[VitaminG]

really? The tolerances of every one of your guitars are so fine that there is NO play at all in the neck pocket? You're not concerned with the natural contraction & expansion of the wood with changes in humidity & temperature that your neck isn't going to crack that neck pocket? Especially considering that the neck & body are generally made out of different types of wood and so swell at different rates. Paint coverage is rarely perfectly uniform around neck pockets either, and neck lacquer isn't always perfectly applied. 4 coats or 5? Hand sanding before & during the paint process means that parts aren't precisely the same from instrument to instrument. What about the natural variability of wood? How does the grain vary between supposedly identical bodies/necks? Were all the pieces dried exactly the same? These things may not be visible or affect function or playability, but they do mean that no two guitars are exactly alike. We are talking about production instruments here, not Master Built works of art. But with MB guitars, there's probably even more variation in the handcrafted parts.

Making a neck adjustment like I suggested is like a golf shot - you only need a tiny adjustment at the tee to make a big difference on the fairway. Why do you think you find things like shims in neck pockets on production guitars? Because a thin piece of paper in a neck pocket can make a big change to the action of guitar.

My 20 year old Fusion Plus used to have the same issue. It was easy to drag the high E string off the fretboard when you were playing around the middle of the neck. I don't know what caused the problem - maybe it took a knock at some point in its life before I bought it. Loosen the neck bolts slightly, push the headstock towards the floor by all of a millimeter, retighten the bolts. Haven't had the problem since and it still plays great. Once the neck bolts are tightened up, there is NO play in the neck & I challenge anyone to see any visible change to the neck/body joint.