Problem: Middle of fretboard frets out on bends!

[Number Of The Priest]

I've noticed that the middle of the fretboard frets out when I bend strings. This happens most prominently when I'm playing E minor blues stuff halfway up the fretboard, on the 15th fret bends on the B and high E strings.

Strange how I can move that pentatonic "box" down to the key of D minor, or up to the key of F# minor, and the bends on the same strings do not fret out. The problem is just localized to that narrow region of the fretboard.

What can I do to fix this symptom? I tried raising the Floyd but then the action gets much too high for my tastes all over the fretboard (I already have reasonably high action on this guitar and have grown to prefer it). The guitar in question is my Shannon Soloist. It's bothering me because I play in E minor quite a lot, haha.

Thanks!

[Cygnus X1]

Fret wear?

[ADR]

neck relief?

[Number Of The Priest]

Thanks Cygnus, I forgot to mention that I ruled out fretwear since the guitar was virtually mint when I acquired it (2 or 3 years ago maybe?) and I play infrequently as a hobby (a couple of hours a week on average). I also went to check the frets before writing this reply and the frets appear smooth as silk with no obvious pitting on the frets in that region of the fretboard.

[kmanick]

yes but one or 2 may have lifted a little or may be taller. I've had brand new guitars
that had frets that looked perfect ,but still caused buzzing, so when I bought it to my
tech he told me that a couple of the frets were uneven and he had to level them. Problem solved.
You may need a little relief in the neck as well, I'd try that first.

[Number Of The Priest]

Interesting. I'll try the relief thing first, which I hope will work because I've never had these symptoms on this guitar before. I've had it on a different guitar once before but I ended up selling that one anyway.

Here's my question about neck relief. If I do this, won't the middle of the fretboard sink lower and thus make the fretting out more prominent?

[toejam]

I'd loosen your truss rod just a tiny bit and see if it helps any (counterclockwise).

[Number Of The Priest]

Okay, so I accessed the truss rod cavity at the Soloist's headstock and used my ball-ended 3/16th inch hex tools to reach the truss rod, only to discover that the "socket" rotates freely! What happened here? I haven't fidgeted with the truss rod in ages!

I turned the "socket" clockwise with the hex wrench until I could feel it "grasp" onto the rest of the truss rod again, and played around on the guitar to determine if any changes have been made. Nope. So what happens is that I THINK I have secured the "socket" back onto the truss rod, but I'm afraid that if I try to turn it counterclockwise (as per the suggestions above for alleviating my original problem), the "socket" will just come loose again! So I left this guitar alone for now and I'm here writing this post.

Help is appreciated! Thank you!

[jtr]

What tuning are you in and what gauge strings do you have?

[Number Of The Priest]

The Soloist is tuned to standard with 9-46 gauge strings.

Okay, here's an update. I tightened the "socket" a little bit more, which seemed to "grip" the truss rod and allowed the entire rod to move clockwise. This seemed to reduce the amount of fretting out I was getting before (strangely contrary to the advice above to LOOSEN the truss rod). However, I don't dare tighten the truss rod any more as it is getting VERY difficult to turn and I don't wanna crank it.

Any expert advice is greatly appreciated. I've never had the "socket" acting independently of the rest of the truss rod in this manner before.

[SkateRags]

I would think that it might be time to take it in and have it looked at. People can offer a lot of suggestion but without having it in hand everyone is just guessing. You seem to be at a point where you are getting a little nervous about whats going on.

[Bengal65]

I would think that it might be time to take it in and have it looked at. People can offer a lot of suggestion but without having it in hand everyone is just guessing. You seem to be at a point where you are getting a little nervous about whats going on.

+1 I agree. It would be worth it to take it to a tech when things start happening like this. Have you tried laying a straight edge on top of the frets? I have a StewMac 18" edge that works great. You will visually see if their are high frets or if you have little or no relief in the neck. I also use a Optivisor to look close. It's hard to see without some type of magnification on your eye sight. Getting old

[Number Of The Priest]

Thanks for the input, gentlemen.

I have a huge straight-edge ruler (20 inch) that I bought specifically for this purpose... there's a very small amount of bow/relief.

Better call up my tech... haven't required his services in a few years!

[ADR]

I give the Tech a call and explain it, then let him make any adjustments.Instead of possibly making it worse. I have had guitars with loose truss-rod/unable to adjust.They know all the tricks.. . .let the Pro handle the Shannon soloist. Its not like its a bolt-on.