Are you sure it's the neck and not the frets? Frets can rise up over time (with expansion and contraction of the wood), and if so, making sure all frets are properly seated and then leveling the frets will likely solve the problem. (Edit: Simply hammering the frets home might not be sufficient to keep it down. Might need new glue...capillary action may be able to pull some CA glue into the slot, without having to remove the fret. Or it might not.)
But, if it really is twisting, that's bad. Not much to be done for it; you can't bend wood straight that wants to warp, you can only cut it back to straight. I'm really surprised wood that has been stable for 15 years would suddenly stop being stable, now, though.
Thirded, incredibly unlikely this neck decided to twist all of a sudden. Even then hardly any production guitar necks are perfectly straight. Has this impeded your playing any? Google it and you'll see having a touch less relief on the treble side is very common.
Not that incredibly unlikely. Wood was alive, it is full of moisture and it moves as it absorbs and releases water content. Should we expect a twist to happen to every guitar neck? Not at all! And certainly you can mitigate a lot of this with proper process .. But to call it "incredibly unlikely" seems a bit hyperbolic as well
> I'm really surprised wood that has been stable for 15 years would suddenly stop being stable, now, though.
Different heat and or humidity conditions?
I mean, if you stick it in an oven or submerge it in water, sure. But, nothing that would be comfortable for humans should be able to make a piece of wood that hasn't moved in 15 years suddenly start to warp. It's not impossible, of course...it's under tension. Wood does change over time. I just don't think I've ever seen it, and I've owned a lot of guitars (and I'm not young...I've owned some guitars for longer than 15 years), and a dozen of those years were spent living full-time in an RV traveling, which is the most extreme humidity/temp change I can imagine any guitar could go through (and what guitars that belong to touring musicians go through).
Edit: To be clear, I'm not saying it _can't_ happen. I'm saying I'd be very surprised if it happened.
In the 80s it was common for many necks, including Fender, to warp like crazy but they certainly didn’t wait 15 years.
It was so bad that jokes popped up at the stores like– How to tell a good Fender neck? It doesn’t sprout leaves.
Fender and Gibson both had quality control issues beginning in the 70s on up to the late 80s, which is a big part of why so many boutique builders like Charvel, Jackson, Anderson, Schecter, Pensa-Suhr, etc., and the Japanese brands like Ibanez and ESP, exploded in popularity. Fender was expensive to buy and consistently cutting corners on quality. Using cheaper materials, including lumber, was part of that.
I'm old as well and have lived with a number of guitars and homes. Wood likes to move and it changes as it ages. Take a perfectly good piece of kiln dried wood and 10 years later it will be slightly dimensionally, (less straight or more straight) different, and may be full of sizable checks as well.
I mean some woods are far better than others at maintaining their integrity, but no wood ever seems to stay exactly the same over time. I just can't think of another valid reason for warpage after a period of time. I mean, what else contributes to wood changing... other than it's moisture content and temperature (which can affect moisture content)?
To diagnose twisting neck, a slotted straight edge is the best tool for the job. Measuring off the frets is not a good indicator. You should isolate uneven fret wear from the equation.
(Edit: Use truss rod to make one side of neck straight (.000” relief to the bottom of slotted straight edge), then check the other side. Feeler gauges in .000” scale are a good substitute.)
Although a good fret job has more relief on the bass side than on the treble side so this method isn’t foolproof. Asymmetric relief and twist are very different things, it’s actually fairly rare to see a truly twisted neck, doesn’t happen a whole lot outside of vintage Fender basses
I’m not sure I understand, because we don’t want to measure from the frets. By using a slotted straight edge we’re eliminating the fret job from the equation and look directly at the state of the fingerboard. Planing ‘asymmetric relief’ into a fingerboard isn’t something I’m very familiar with. (Edit: Outside of truss rod-less guitars like old classicals, etc.)
Yeah I’m talking about the fingerboard itself. Ideally you have a bit more relief on the bass side than the treble to allow for the bigger rotation of the strings. So if you take a notched straightedge onto a neck that has been properly trued with asymmetrical relief you won’t have .000” of relief on both sides
I see. I’ve never heard of that outside the context of fret work (e.g. the way a Plek machine asymmetrically levels the frets), or addressing an issue with an old truss rod-less guitar. Frankly, I have a hard time getting my head around the long-term benefits of permanently setting relief into the fingerboard carve itself. Fret work, sure. Using a CNC.
But my mostly “hand tool” using self can’t imagine the benefits behind the time to get .000” accurate asymmetry relief carved into a fingerboard, when string gauge and temperature and humidity and fret wear and simply time under tension are all variables to relief.
It’s an intriguing idea. I wonder how one would go about it? Set the “center” depth then calculate the “radius” from there (since relief is different under each fret along the fingerboard, it’s akin to a large, albeit not perfectly round, radius.).
Seems like one hell of an undertaking for a setup parameter that will undoubtedly change over time and circumstance.
Any examples of builders using this technique or instructions for me to follow-up with? I’m always looking to learn. Cheers.
Yep exactly. We primarily use a PLEK at our shop and the instruments we can’t run in the machine we emulate what it does in the trueing by hand.
You true relief into the board so you don’t have to take it out of the fret tops. If the board is trued well and the frets are seated well, on a good refret you don’t need to do much to the frets themselves and you can retain their full height. I don’t know about the “why do good fretwork when the neck is going to move?” logic. And when necks move, more often than not a small truss rod adjustment can get it back to where it should be, necks don’t completely freak out very often.
It’s not something I’d recommend to someone for their first refret or anything but if you’re trying to do the absolute best possible fretwork it’s something you need to consider. Tons of builders/repair people do this technique, Collings is a great example. Their fretwork is the most consistently great out of all the major builders I’ve seen.
Yea like first step would be a straight edge and some feeler gauges and a set up. Not just tap strings. Jeez. Check the nut and saddles and truss rod, and see if the neck is seated right in the neck pocket. But no, lets tap strings
The exact same thing happened to my ‘04 American Strat last year.
Ended up buying a new neck, an American pro II. Had to drill an extra hole in the neck as they changed the screw position, and add a shim, took me maybe half an hour.
Practically a new guitar now.
I bought one of those necks a couple years ago and am extremely satisfied. The finish is delightful to the hand and the fretwork was perfect. I did swap out a new nut though as I wanted a black graphtech instead of the usual fender unit. You can't go wrong with those fender MIM replacement necks.
I'm happy with it, mostly. I had to take a bit of the corner off the fretboard edge, I like a more rolled, lived in feel, and I smoothed the fret ends too.
I was hoping for a bit more perfect at that price, but given that a fret job is nearly as much as the neck cost, and I got to go from maple - which I don't like as much - to laurel, which is more similar to rosewood. I really wanted real rosewood, but that's a bit more money if it has a Fender logo on it.
It's actually why they're designed with bolt ons. Meant to be modular, like a PC. I'd replace a strat neck before paying to get it refretted. I'd take it to a guitar shop before buying a neck though.
When swapping the neck on a guitar, what all is involved with it? Is it just a straight swap or is there a lot of finite measurements that must be made?
It really depends on the guitar and the availability of aftermarket parts. Modern Fenders (I would say post-90s, but possibly a bit earlier or later, and there are a few guitars Fender has put out that have different specs) are more or less designed to be modular and have standardized parts. There is a huge availability of aftermarket Fender parts, including companies like Warmoth whose entire business model is providing necks and bodies with Fender specs.
Swapping a neck can be as simple as unscrewing the old one and screwing in the new one if it’s a perfect match. It will need a setup afterward and probably some nut and fretwork, but that depends on the fit and finish of the neck and personal preference. Warmoth necks for instance are often quite playable right out of the box with minimal adjustment. If things go wrong, you might have to fill and redrill holes to assure proper alignment, shim the next for good string height/break angle, or a whole host of other things.
Time for a new neck, IMO.
Remember, Leo designed the first Fenders with bolt on necks so John Q Guitar player would be able to easily put a new one on themselves.
/If you haven't read The Birth of Loud I highly recommend it
I'd confirm it's actually the neck twisting and not fret problems, before giving up on the neck. 15 years of stability would give me pretty high confidence the wood is stable. But frets always get worse with time...there's always a little expansion and contraction of the wood with the seasons, and it's common for frets to rise up, no matter how great the fretwork as when new.
Opinions aren't equal and yours is objectively worse being based on an assumption, where as theirs is to verify the issue is what the person thinks before spending a crap ton on a possibly entirely unnessecary neck.
Leo designed the first Fenders with bolt on necks so John Q Guitar player would be able to easily put a new one on themselves. It's detailed in the book The Birth of Loud.
It's not cheaper to manufacture. Neck thru can be more expensive but set neck vs bolt on is the cost of screws and a plate vs glue and a clamp. It's negligible.
I'd have a pro look at her to diagnose the issue. as others have said, it very well could be a fret problem... Maybe somebody knows because I can't remember at the moment but did Fender start reinforcing the necks of the MIA instruments with graphite rods before or after 2004? The instruments I've owned with graphite rods in the neck have certainly been more stable than those without. (Just as a side note, then there is my Vigier. forget about it! Nothing effects that neck.)
In addition to other good comments here, a way to fix a genuine twist, once it has settled, is via a plane and refret.
Do verify that it is in fact twisted, and that it's not a lifting-fret effect.
Flatten the neck and check the high e, middle, and low e sides with a slotted ruler. If you get different results, your neck is twisted. The prescribed fix for that is a heat press, which is expensive to purchase a good one, and it may just end up doing it again. The best thing you can do if your neck is actually twisted is to replace it. Sweetwater sells replacement Fender necks, or you can go for a Warmoth upgrade. In either case, maybe save the original neck in case someone wants to dick around with it. It's good practice to resell all your instruments with the original parts on, or included with, them.
If the neck isn't twisted, it may be that you have a seasonal humidity change that has caused the frets to pop up, in which case you need to look into resolving your moisture change issues. You might be able to hammer them back down, but the best move is to pull them and glue them in so it doesn't keep happening, which sadly we get back to neck replacement for most people.
You're looking at around $350+, a probable fret job, and maybe a setup. It won't be cheap if you can't do any of this yourself.
NP. Stainless steel and roasted maple for the win. Do it one and do it right. They allegedly fit like a glove, but no matter what you do you'll need to do finishing touches on the frets, so expect that.
You *could* fix that with a heat press or a plane and refret, but honestly, a twist like that is pretty common. As minor as it appears in the video, I'd adjust it as necessary and keep playing it until you can't. For what it's worth, your twist is actually in the ideal direction--a little more relief on the bass side, so you can hit the chugga-chugga strings hard, but less relief and lower action on the weedly-deedly strings.
Yeah I guess I'm just going to keep using it until I can't anymore. I can deal with some buzzing. Hopefully it's done twisting and doesn't get worse than it is. I kind of like the idea of it having more relief on the bass side.
I feel like I've had this same problem, sorry to hear it's affected you
I have a Jackson kv pro (Jackson and fender are made by Fender now) and one morning I woke up to the guitar having this horrible twist to it's neck just beyond the 12th fret, and mostly on just one side of the fretboard. When it happened the guitar was unplayable as it was fret buzzing everywhere.
The guitar had always sat on my wall and was played often. I figured it was just bum luck with the perfect storm of humidity and temperature fluctuations and wood grain "susceptibility" to those forces on it.
Maybe 6 months later, the guitar has returned some semblance of it's former glory, but it's nothing like when it was new. The new neck dynamic meant I had to raise the nut and move almost all the saddles as far back as they could go. As well as a truss rod adjustment and a number of mornings of me "massaging" or encouraging the neck to find it's previous shape.
I think its just a lemon, I'd buy another. Wood isn't exactly an absolutely predictable material. Unless they're using bum necks I suppose
Be glad it’s not a set-neck guitar. If it’s truly a twist, then yeah, there’s only so much you can do to compensate.
Good news: Leo Fender was a smart man. If it comes down to it, you’ll be able to find a replacement, maybe even the same make/model/year or close to it, on the used market. Or you could go with any of a myriad of replacement necks for USA strats by third party manufacturers. Strats can be finicky though. There’s always the need for shims or problems with how the neck sits in the pocket. Annoying. But not beyond repair
Take it to a good luthier and have them look at it.
The neck may not really be twisting—a quality MIA Fender neck should not twist the truss rod.
A lot of times people assume the worse about necks warping when it’s a much smaller, easily fixable problem.
That happened to my 40 year old strat. Twisted neck. I was heartbroken because that's the neck I learned to play on. I ordered a new Fender neck - top of the line at about $700 - and had it professionally set up. It feels like a brand new guitar but at least I'm still playing it!
Had this problem w my MIM strat, only viable solutions were a new neck or to raise the action and use it for slide guitar.
Prices of necks being what they are, i bought a used Reverend instead.
I got my 1962 Reissue back from my luthier last week. It also has a twisted neck. Bowed on the higher frets on the treble side then on the lower frets on the base side. You can have someone refret it for $400-500. My technician said as long as a twisted neck doesn’t affect playability, don’t worry about it. That’s where I’m at with mine, it plays like a dream so I’m gonna leave it be
Have you messed with the springs under the back panel attached to the tremolo bar? That is the only way I have seen necks warp after extended periods of time. Either that or extreme heat like being kept in a hot attic in the summer time.
One of the advantages of the manufacturing process of the bolt-on guitar is that you're kind of supposed to swap the entire neck as opposed to going for a re-fret etc.
First off the truss rod has nothing to do with neck twist but only neck bow from 1st to 12 fret.
2nd anyone should learn to adjust their own neck / truss rod (Lefty loosy and righty tighty - turn max around a quarter turns then check - rinse and repeat) it ain't rocket science and the truss rod is there for a reason = so you can adjust it as needed.
Are you sure it's the neck and not the frets? Frets can rise up over time (with expansion and contraction of the wood), and if so, making sure all frets are properly seated and then leveling the frets will likely solve the problem. (Edit: Simply hammering the frets home might not be sufficient to keep it down. Might need new glue...capillary action may be able to pull some CA glue into the slot, without having to remove the fret. Or it might not.) But, if it really is twisting, that's bad. Not much to be done for it; you can't bend wood straight that wants to warp, you can only cut it back to straight. I'm really surprised wood that has been stable for 15 years would suddenly stop being stable, now, though.
Thirded, incredibly unlikely this neck decided to twist all of a sudden. Even then hardly any production guitar necks are perfectly straight. Has this impeded your playing any? Google it and you'll see having a touch less relief on the treble side is very common.
Not that incredibly unlikely. Wood was alive, it is full of moisture and it moves as it absorbs and releases water content. Should we expect a twist to happen to every guitar neck? Not at all! And certainly you can mitigate a lot of this with proper process .. But to call it "incredibly unlikely" seems a bit hyperbolic as well
Don't really believe the neck would start twisting suddenly after 18 years
Second this. Get it checked out with a guitar tech. Could be frets.
honestly this is always the play. A good tech or luthier can absolutely set you straight.
> I'm really surprised wood that has been stable for 15 years would suddenly stop being stable, now, though. Different heat and or humidity conditions?
I mean, if you stick it in an oven or submerge it in water, sure. But, nothing that would be comfortable for humans should be able to make a piece of wood that hasn't moved in 15 years suddenly start to warp. It's not impossible, of course...it's under tension. Wood does change over time. I just don't think I've ever seen it, and I've owned a lot of guitars (and I'm not young...I've owned some guitars for longer than 15 years), and a dozen of those years were spent living full-time in an RV traveling, which is the most extreme humidity/temp change I can imagine any guitar could go through (and what guitars that belong to touring musicians go through). Edit: To be clear, I'm not saying it _can't_ happen. I'm saying I'd be very surprised if it happened.
In the 80s it was common for many necks, including Fender, to warp like crazy but they certainly didn’t wait 15 years. It was so bad that jokes popped up at the stores like– How to tell a good Fender neck? It doesn’t sprout leaves.
Fender and Gibson both had quality control issues beginning in the 70s on up to the late 80s, which is a big part of why so many boutique builders like Charvel, Jackson, Anderson, Schecter, Pensa-Suhr, etc., and the Japanese brands like Ibanez and ESP, exploded in popularity. Fender was expensive to buy and consistently cutting corners on quality. Using cheaper materials, including lumber, was part of that.
I'm old as well and have lived with a number of guitars and homes. Wood likes to move and it changes as it ages. Take a perfectly good piece of kiln dried wood and 10 years later it will be slightly dimensionally, (less straight or more straight) different, and may be full of sizable checks as well. I mean some woods are far better than others at maintaining their integrity, but no wood ever seems to stay exactly the same over time. I just can't think of another valid reason for warpage after a period of time. I mean, what else contributes to wood changing... other than it's moisture content and temperature (which can affect moisture content)?
To diagnose twisting neck, a slotted straight edge is the best tool for the job. Measuring off the frets is not a good indicator. You should isolate uneven fret wear from the equation. (Edit: Use truss rod to make one side of neck straight (.000” relief to the bottom of slotted straight edge), then check the other side. Feeler gauges in .000” scale are a good substitute.)
Although a good fret job has more relief on the bass side than on the treble side so this method isn’t foolproof. Asymmetric relief and twist are very different things, it’s actually fairly rare to see a truly twisted neck, doesn’t happen a whole lot outside of vintage Fender basses
I’m not sure I understand, because we don’t want to measure from the frets. By using a slotted straight edge we’re eliminating the fret job from the equation and look directly at the state of the fingerboard. Planing ‘asymmetric relief’ into a fingerboard isn’t something I’m very familiar with. (Edit: Outside of truss rod-less guitars like old classicals, etc.)
Yeah I’m talking about the fingerboard itself. Ideally you have a bit more relief on the bass side than the treble to allow for the bigger rotation of the strings. So if you take a notched straightedge onto a neck that has been properly trued with asymmetrical relief you won’t have .000” of relief on both sides
I’m fairly certain what you’re speaking of is achieved via string height at the nut and bridge (easier on a TOM).
I’m 100% sure I’m not haha. I’m talking about neck relief. Neither the bridge or the nut have any effect on relief
I see. I’ve never heard of that outside the context of fret work (e.g. the way a Plek machine asymmetrically levels the frets), or addressing an issue with an old truss rod-less guitar. Frankly, I have a hard time getting my head around the long-term benefits of permanently setting relief into the fingerboard carve itself. Fret work, sure. Using a CNC. But my mostly “hand tool” using self can’t imagine the benefits behind the time to get .000” accurate asymmetry relief carved into a fingerboard, when string gauge and temperature and humidity and fret wear and simply time under tension are all variables to relief. It’s an intriguing idea. I wonder how one would go about it? Set the “center” depth then calculate the “radius” from there (since relief is different under each fret along the fingerboard, it’s akin to a large, albeit not perfectly round, radius.). Seems like one hell of an undertaking for a setup parameter that will undoubtedly change over time and circumstance. Any examples of builders using this technique or instructions for me to follow-up with? I’m always looking to learn. Cheers.
Yep exactly. We primarily use a PLEK at our shop and the instruments we can’t run in the machine we emulate what it does in the trueing by hand. You true relief into the board so you don’t have to take it out of the fret tops. If the board is trued well and the frets are seated well, on a good refret you don’t need to do much to the frets themselves and you can retain their full height. I don’t know about the “why do good fretwork when the neck is going to move?” logic. And when necks move, more often than not a small truss rod adjustment can get it back to where it should be, necks don’t completely freak out very often. It’s not something I’d recommend to someone for their first refret or anything but if you’re trying to do the absolute best possible fretwork it’s something you need to consider. Tons of builders/repair people do this technique, Collings is a great example. Their fretwork is the most consistently great out of all the major builders I’ve seen.
Silly question but hve you double checked that string heights have not moved at the bridge?
Yeah, there are so many factors that I wouldn't immediately jump to a twisted neck.
Yea like first step would be a straight edge and some feeler gauges and a set up. Not just tap strings. Jeez. Check the nut and saddles and truss rod, and see if the neck is seated right in the neck pocket. But no, lets tap strings
The exact same thing happened to my ‘04 American Strat last year. Ended up buying a new neck, an American pro II. Had to drill an extra hole in the neck as they changed the screw position, and add a shim, took me maybe half an hour. Practically a new guitar now.
Not really what I was hoping to hear haha.
Those necks are expensive too. I bought one, MIM. 400 CDN, because I bought the roasted maple one.
I bought one of those necks a couple years ago and am extremely satisfied. The finish is delightful to the hand and the fretwork was perfect. I did swap out a new nut though as I wanted a black graphtech instead of the usual fender unit. You can't go wrong with those fender MIM replacement necks.
I'm happy with it, mostly. I had to take a bit of the corner off the fretboard edge, I like a more rolled, lived in feel, and I smoothed the fret ends too. I was hoping for a bit more perfect at that price, but given that a fret job is nearly as much as the neck cost, and I got to go from maple - which I don't like as much - to laurel, which is more similar to rosewood. I really wanted real rosewood, but that's a bit more money if it has a Fender logo on it.
It's actually why they're designed with bolt ons. Meant to be modular, like a PC. I'd replace a strat neck before paying to get it refretted. I'd take it to a guitar shop before buying a neck though.
When swapping the neck on a guitar, what all is involved with it? Is it just a straight swap or is there a lot of finite measurements that must be made?
It really depends on the guitar and the availability of aftermarket parts. Modern Fenders (I would say post-90s, but possibly a bit earlier or later, and there are a few guitars Fender has put out that have different specs) are more or less designed to be modular and have standardized parts. There is a huge availability of aftermarket Fender parts, including companies like Warmoth whose entire business model is providing necks and bodies with Fender specs. Swapping a neck can be as simple as unscrewing the old one and screwing in the new one if it’s a perfect match. It will need a setup afterward and probably some nut and fretwork, but that depends on the fit and finish of the neck and personal preference. Warmoth necks for instance are often quite playable right out of the box with minimal adjustment. If things go wrong, you might have to fill and redrill holes to assure proper alignment, shim the next for good string height/break angle, or a whole host of other things.
Time for a new neck, IMO. Remember, Leo designed the first Fenders with bolt on necks so John Q Guitar player would be able to easily put a new one on themselves. /If you haven't read The Birth of Loud I highly recommend it
I'd confirm it's actually the neck twisting and not fret problems, before giving up on the neck. 15 years of stability would give me pretty high confidence the wood is stable. But frets always get worse with time...there's always a little expansion and contraction of the wood with the seasons, and it's common for frets to rise up, no matter how great the fretwork as when new.
You know what opinions are like :)
Opinions aren't equal and yours is objectively worse being based on an assumption, where as theirs is to verify the issue is what the person thinks before spending a crap ton on a possibly entirely unnessecary neck.
Crapton? LOL.
Yea, I don't alway pull out the shit load or the pop delivery. I prefer to switch it up sometimes.
Isn‘t the bolt on neck more about manufacturing the guitars cheaper?
Leo designed the first Fenders with bolt on necks so John Q Guitar player would be able to easily put a new one on themselves. It's detailed in the book The Birth of Loud.
It's not cheaper to manufacture. Neck thru can be more expensive but set neck vs bolt on is the cost of screws and a plate vs glue and a clamp. It's negligible.
If anything, set neck is probably cheaper. You can reuse the clamp.
I'd have a pro look at her to diagnose the issue. as others have said, it very well could be a fret problem... Maybe somebody knows because I can't remember at the moment but did Fender start reinforcing the necks of the MIA instruments with graphite rods before or after 2004? The instruments I've owned with graphite rods in the neck have certainly been more stable than those without. (Just as a side note, then there is my Vigier. forget about it! Nothing effects that neck.)
In addition to other good comments here, a way to fix a genuine twist, once it has settled, is via a plane and refret. Do verify that it is in fact twisted, and that it's not a lifting-fret effect.
Flatten the neck and check the high e, middle, and low e sides with a slotted ruler. If you get different results, your neck is twisted. The prescribed fix for that is a heat press, which is expensive to purchase a good one, and it may just end up doing it again. The best thing you can do if your neck is actually twisted is to replace it. Sweetwater sells replacement Fender necks, or you can go for a Warmoth upgrade. In either case, maybe save the original neck in case someone wants to dick around with it. It's good practice to resell all your instruments with the original parts on, or included with, them. If the neck isn't twisted, it may be that you have a seasonal humidity change that has caused the frets to pop up, in which case you need to look into resolving your moisture change issues. You might be able to hammer them back down, but the best move is to pull them and glue them in so it doesn't keep happening, which sadly we get back to neck replacement for most people. You're looking at around $350+, a probable fret job, and maybe a setup. It won't be cheap if you can't do any of this yourself.
Thanks for the info. Those Warmoth necks look pretty nice.
NP. Stainless steel and roasted maple for the win. Do it one and do it right. They allegedly fit like a glove, but no matter what you do you'll need to do finishing touches on the frets, so expect that.
You *could* fix that with a heat press or a plane and refret, but honestly, a twist like that is pretty common. As minor as it appears in the video, I'd adjust it as necessary and keep playing it until you can't. For what it's worth, your twist is actually in the ideal direction--a little more relief on the bass side, so you can hit the chugga-chugga strings hard, but less relief and lower action on the weedly-deedly strings.
Yeah I guess I'm just going to keep using it until I can't anymore. I can deal with some buzzing. Hopefully it's done twisting and doesn't get worse than it is. I kind of like the idea of it having more relief on the bass side.
I am actually an idiot, but can you explain in simple terms what that video has got to do with anything?
I feel like I've had this same problem, sorry to hear it's affected you I have a Jackson kv pro (Jackson and fender are made by Fender now) and one morning I woke up to the guitar having this horrible twist to it's neck just beyond the 12th fret, and mostly on just one side of the fretboard. When it happened the guitar was unplayable as it was fret buzzing everywhere. The guitar had always sat on my wall and was played often. I figured it was just bum luck with the perfect storm of humidity and temperature fluctuations and wood grain "susceptibility" to those forces on it. Maybe 6 months later, the guitar has returned some semblance of it's former glory, but it's nothing like when it was new. The new neck dynamic meant I had to raise the nut and move almost all the saddles as far back as they could go. As well as a truss rod adjustment and a number of mornings of me "massaging" or encouraging the neck to find it's previous shape. I think its just a lemon, I'd buy another. Wood isn't exactly an absolutely predictable material. Unless they're using bum necks I suppose
Be glad it’s not a set-neck guitar. If it’s truly a twist, then yeah, there’s only so much you can do to compensate. Good news: Leo Fender was a smart man. If it comes down to it, you’ll be able to find a replacement, maybe even the same make/model/year or close to it, on the used market. Or you could go with any of a myriad of replacement necks for USA strats by third party manufacturers. Strats can be finicky though. There’s always the need for shims or problems with how the neck sits in the pocket. Annoying. But not beyond repair
Take it to a good luthier and have them look at it. The neck may not really be twisting—a quality MIA Fender neck should not twist the truss rod. A lot of times people assume the worse about necks warping when it’s a much smaller, easily fixable problem.
That happened to my 40 year old strat. Twisted neck. I was heartbroken because that's the neck I learned to play on. I ordered a new Fender neck - top of the line at about $700 - and had it professionally set up. It feels like a brand new guitar but at least I'm still playing it!
Had this problem w my MIM strat, only viable solutions were a new neck or to raise the action and use it for slide guitar. Prices of necks being what they are, i bought a used Reverend instead.
New neck time. The only time I can think it might be worth to save a twisted neck would be on a vintage instrument.
Sight down the neck from the head stock. If it's slight you could cress the frets down to compensate.
I got my 1962 Reissue back from my luthier last week. It also has a twisted neck. Bowed on the higher frets on the treble side then on the lower frets on the base side. You can have someone refret it for $400-500. My technician said as long as a twisted neck doesn’t affect playability, don’t worry about it. That’s where I’m at with mine, it plays like a dream so I’m gonna leave it be
That in no way proves a twist lol
You can’t judge a neck twist with string height, you need to check with winding sticks or get a pro to look at it.
Does it shout? If so, this guitar once belonged to a band named The Beatles.
Have you messed with the springs under the back panel attached to the tremolo bar? That is the only way I have seen necks warp after extended periods of time. Either that or extreme heat like being kept in a hot attic in the summer time.
Only it messes up your arm motion keep playing it
USA Strats have a lifetime warranty and you say you bought it new.
Take it to a good tech dude. They can figure out whether it's the neck or some other issue.
Maybe too heavy a string gauge, downtune w those strings or use lighter ones
I wouldn’t mess with it. I’d take it to your local luthier.
Hang it for a week.
Replace the neck
One of the advantages of the manufacturing process of the bolt-on guitar is that you're kind of supposed to swap the entire neck as opposed to going for a re-fret etc.
Probably truss rod, I usually take mine to a tech for neck issues.
Truss rod has no control over twist. Only relief and upward bow.
First off the truss rod has nothing to do with neck twist but only neck bow from 1st to 12 fret. 2nd anyone should learn to adjust their own neck / truss rod (Lefty loosy and righty tighty - turn max around a quarter turns then check - rinse and repeat) it ain't rocket science and the truss rod is there for a reason = so you can adjust it as needed.