Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

[jackson1]

I have this maple/maple bolt-on neck which needs just a tad more relief but i'm out of range. Truss rod is fully loosened and it's still not enough. What would a pro repair shop do in this case? What are my options?

I don't like using thick heavy strings so that's not an option. Right now i'm using 009-011-016-026-036-046 and that's max for me.

/Henrik

[KongaMan]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

Remove the frets, plane the fingerboard, refret.

[Sunbane]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

Originally posted by jackson1:
I don't like using thick heavy strings so that's not an option.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Allright, then tune the guitar higher. [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Manyaxes]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

I've tried putting bigger strings like 11's or 12's on it for like a week and had that work. I also had an SD Charvel neck that would not cooperate so I had to bring it my local luthier. He put it in a jig and used steam and put a forward bow back in it. It was a real stubborn neck too, he said he had to do it like 4 times! I think he charged me like 30.00 or 35.00 bucks. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[etaeniura]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

Mostplaces will steam it if they have the equipment, because it is easier, quicker and less expensive than a refret and planing.

[jackson1]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

Thanks for the info, guys!

I forgot one important piece of info in my first post: it's a scalloped neck! So i'll pass on the plane-the-fingerboard idea [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I tune this one to Eb and sometimes "drop-D" the E-string from there. So, not much pull from the strings i'm afraid.

I will take it to a couple of luthiers tomorrow i think, and see what they suggests. The steam idea sounds like a good way. Could you please elaborate on this: how exactly do they steam it? Do they put it in a special work bench and steam it under pressure? For how long? Is this a 100% safe operation?

I'd like to know the details so i can decide if the luthier knows what he's talking about. I am a bit picky when it comes to "luthiers".

/Henrik

[sully]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

here's what a heat press looks like:

http://sullyguitars.com/images/photos/3463_max.jpg

you can see that the guitar is clamped to the heating element. it heats up the wood, and the guitar is clamped into the needed position. it's not a guaranteed fix, tho.

sully

[jackson1]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

Hey sully, thanks! I love pics! They say more than 1000 words.

I was just reading about the heat pressure thing on the net. Some luthiers state that steaming could cause warping, so better go with dry heat pressure method.
Is that a 110V connector i see at the end of that heat press?
I am surprised to see where the clamps are mounted. Especially the one on the headstock! That's a two-bolt-through nut on that Firebird, right? Looks like it could snap easily in that setup. Why not place the clamp at the back of fret #1?

/Henrik

[sully]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

Originally posted by jackson1:
Is that a 110V connector i see at the end of that heat press?
I am surprised to see where the clamps are mounted. Especially the one on the headstock! That's a two-bolt-through nut on that Firebird, right? Looks like it could snap easily in that setup. Why not place the clamp at the back of fret #1?

/Henrik

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">not sure if it's 110 or not, that pic was taken at kev's shop. the guitar also had to be clamped that way in order to straighten out the twist that was in it. and yeah, we were certainly concerned about headstock pressure... a snapped headstock is about the only thing that isn't wrong with that guitar.

sully

[yogadork]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

Heres a trick that Phil Kubicki turned me on to.Get something like a lipstick tube and put it under the fifth fret. Put heavy strings on the guitar and tighten them up pretty tight and let it stand for a week. With scalloped frets you might need something other than a lipstick tube and you better be careful not to tighten the strings too much since the board is so much thinner. With a slight back bow this should do the trick.

[KongaMan]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

Originally posted by jackson1:
I forgot one important piece of info in my first post: it's a scalloped neck! So i'll pass on the plane-the-fingerboard idea [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I tune this one to Eb and sometimes "drop-D" the E-string from there. So, not much pull from the strings i'm afraid.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Should have thought about the drop tuning before you scalloped the fret board. Buy a new neck, make sure it provides adequate relief with drop tuning, then scallop it. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

How much relief is "not enough"? What's the clearance between the strings and 8th fret with the strings pressed down at the first and last frets? As a general rule, if you can't hear the buzz through an amp, it doesn't matter. Are you sure that the problem isn't fixable by raising the bridge? Are you sure the nut isn't too low?

Steaming and/or heating is not a guaranteed fix, as it is frequently not permanent.

[jtr]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

First are you in standard tuning if you are then a set of heavier strings is the cheapest way to see if it'll straighten. Sight down the neck and make sure that it isn't twisted (this can be real costly to fix). The option above (other replys)or buy a new neck.

[jackson1]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

KongaMan, i didn't scallop it myself. The neck is a (beautiful) factory scalloped neck.

I have too much buzz in the fret #1-#10 area. And the string height is too high for my liking.

There's is not enough clearance, especially the low E and A string is too close to the board when fretting 1st fret and fret #20.

The brass nut is perfect in height.

The saddles are too high actually, trying to compensate for that low register buzz.

Yoga, thanks for the tip. I'm taking it to a luthier today, so he can have a shot at it.

/Henrik

[straycat]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

I had a kramer baretta that had that same problem.I did exactly what Yoga discribed.this neck had a small twist as well so I put a 46 string on the small E tuner to pull the neck back at an angle and strung with heaver strings and let it sit for about a week and a half, the neck is fine now.

[A. Pulver]

Re: Neck slightly back bowed - what to do?

Has anyone ever heard of the heat being an issue with the glue between the fretboard and the neck?
I had it done once and it wasn't a problem.
The reason I ask is that I just got off the phone witht a guy and he said he didn't like to use the heat press because of said issue.
He said that he wanted to do a refret and somehow fix the back bow taht way???
(He said he wouldn't plane the neck/board)
Wanted $300 to do that, but I'm laid off and I can't justify blowing that much. [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
Help. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]