Is this normal? - Long w/ Pics

[blazingelectricdeath]

I have a question for you helpful people, but first, here are my guitars!:

my RR3, which was the first guitar i bought and that i got a few years ago. I got help here with the tremelo back then, and i still screwed up the soft knife edges turning the trem posts, but i love it all the same.
And my new SL2H, that i got exactly 30 days ago from guitar center and am now resigned to keep forever, because it's awesome and because that's the end of the return period, ha.

My question is, is this normal? I just noticed it today and my dad's les paul and sg aren't like it. All the strings seem to be shifted towards the treble side of the neck:

up at the nut the strings are closer to centered, and the nut is exactly in the middle of the neck:


What would be the reason for having the strings shifted this way? Wouldn't it be better for them to be centered on the fretboard? Is this an error in worksmanship, and would jackson possibly re-drill the trem posts? If it is an error, then I have read the post about the man with the SL2HT, so I wonder then if I should just live with it; shut up and play my guitar! I do occasionally slide off the fret on the high E. The situation on my RR3 is actually worse, more crooked, but I'm not so worried, maybe someday I will try to correct it on that guitar myself. What do you all think?
Thanks for reading this far!

[jrnic]

That's a neck through right? If it doesn't bother you, fine, keep it. But if it does bother you I would contact Jackson and see if they can rectify the problem.

Another question...was it like that when you first got it or did it shift after you got it?

[blazingelectricdeath]

It is a neck through, right. I just noticed it today, though, so I don't know if it was like that before. It doesn't make sense to me that a neck that started straight would bend that way though. There is the slightest bit more relief on the treble side of the neck though, i think. I mean just barely perceptible, so that I may be imagining it. I can't say, but it seems like the neck is straight, and all of the routing is off, or vica-versa. Anyway, it's not something i feel so much as see. I'm a hypochondriac with this new guitar, it needs a good dent and ill get over it. Thanks for the help so far.

[Sunbane]

This would be easilly corrected on the RR3, as you only need to loosen the neck bolts a little, straighten the neck up and fasten the screws again. But it's a big concern on the neck-through SL2H. This is a new guitar right? If it was me, I would definitely return it. They have misaligned the bridge with the neck.

My 750XL also has the 1st string closer to the fretboard edge, but not as severely as on your SL2H. It still manages to annoy me at times, because I often manage to pull the string off the frets when doing quick legato or tapping.

[ilbianconero]

I personally think this sort of thing is craftmanship carelessness on Jackson's part.
I've seen many Jacksons like that. Some might say it's normal.
But when you look at other brands such as BC Rich, etc, it's not there.
One of my Jacksons is also like that and me too sometimes have the treble string sliding off the edge.
But like I said above, it's a common thing with Jacksons. What they do is that they place the bridge as little as 1-2 mm to the right. It can easily be avoided. It's a shame.
If it make you feel better. a lot of Jacksons have that nowadays. I don't know about the past.

[NextInLine]

Well that would bother me also, that's one of the first things I check while buying a guitar. That affects playability and that's a big issue. I would also return that one (I have no idea if that's easily repairable or not though)

Good luck!

[Chad]

I agree with the other guys and would return this guitar. If it was off a hair, maybe it could be overlooked, but that is off way beyond a hair/what is acceptable.

[blazingelectricdeath]

I really appreciate the responses from all of you. I spent some time today trying to work this out. I called jackson's consumer relations and the guy said that to say if it was a warranty issue, i would have to take it to a service center and they would confer with the tech there. I called a guy in spokane, guitar frank, who was on jackson's website, who seems like a good guy, and he has a kind of deal worked out with the guitar center where i got it. I called GC and got an extension on the return period, which is pretty cool, for in case it is a warranty issue. If jackson thinks this is within tolerances, then I will probably return it. Many of you know all about this kind of thing, I'm sure. I should have been more careful i suppose, but im just bummed.
Also, I tried to correct this problem on my RR3, i loosened the screws and bent the neck around, but it wouldnt stay where i wanted it to screw it back down. Should I clamp it in place, or loosen the screws more, or what? This is my beater.

[metalboots]

Since it appears GC/Jackson will work with you per your wartanee - yeah, just swap it out.

I do see this a lot more with (used) Kahler trem guitars, and the rollers are much easier to just push and center. With a Floyd, you can still adjust the position; but per your pictures; I think its a Trem Post Misallignment.

Thanks for sharing and good luck on the outcome...

[JACKSONFREAK]

Just a thought but could the nut be in the wrong place? maybe shifted over to the treble side a bit?
Gil

[jrnic]

Just a thought but could the nut be in the wrong place? maybe shifted over to the treble side a bit?
Gil

From the photos, it looks okay. I would venture to guess that the bridge posts for the Floyd were mounted a bit off. I have a Jackson Body I am not using right now, I bought another body to use instead on my Franken-Dinky. Anyway, I noticed that the Floyd did not sit in the middle of the recessed route on that body. It was a little off center. Maybe that is what happened here.

You know.......even the neck pickup looks off center. Look at the outside pole pieces. They line up with the strings, they do not line evenly with the edges of the neck. Is it my eyes playing tricks or what?

[straycat]

You need to keep pressure on the neck as you tighten the neck screws or it can slip back.Loosen the strings a little to take some of the tension off the neck.

[NextInLine]

If trem positioning and the neck were straight and the problem was nut then the low e string would have been closer to the edge of the fretboard at the 24th fret than it's at the nut, and the opposite for high-e string So I guess it's not a nut problem..

[blazingelectricdeath]

The funny thing is that the floyd is sitting in the middle of the route. It doesn't look weird down there, so it's like the whole route is off. I'll keep working on my RR3. Sometimes I think that I should just stick to cheap guitars, there's never so much worrying about them, but the soloist was sooo smooth otherwise.

[SeventhSon]

Also, I tried to correct this problem on my RR3, i loosened the screws and bent the neck around, but it wouldnt stay where i wanted it to screw it back down. Should I clamp it in place, or loosen the screws more, or what? This is my beater.

Take 4 toothpicks, dip them in wood glue, and position them in the neck pocket screw holes in such a way to nudge the neck into correct position. So the toothpick will be in the 3 oclock position on one set of holes (say, the rear ones) and the 9 oclock position on the other set of holes (say, the forward ones). Let the glue dry and reattach the neck.

It's the same technique you use to correct misaligned hinges so that cabinet doors close straight up and down and are parallel with each other when shut.