Problems with neck relief on a Allparts tele

Hi folks
Im having some trouble getting enough relief on the neck, when adjusting the trussrod. I have loosen the trussrod as much as it can, and then tightened it a little bid to avoid the trussrod to rattle, and still there is just a tiny relief. we are talking about maby 0.3 mm on the 7 fret, when holding the string down at 1st and 14th fret. That is very much to the limit! The guitar sounds ok - only buzzing on a few frets, but Im wondering why I cant get more relief.....???
Im using Ernie Ball 0.10 strings.

I got this tele very cheap, and Im stunned over the quality. Great stuff Allparts make. Maby this problem could be why I got it so cheap........:lol:Its still functional, but Ive never had a problem like this on any of my guitars before........??
Im a littlebit worried about it could get worse over time, and it ends up with no relief at all. Im not planing on getting thicker gauge strings.....

Regards
Kent, Denmark

Dead flat will work, if you adjust the bridge height accordingly. I don't see this as a problem.

I had the same problem when I switched to super chunky 1" at the nut necks. Perhaps some of the experienced guitar builders here will chime in with a better solution, but mine--since I didn't want to raise the action or impart fake relief via a fret job--was to switch to heavier gauge strings.

I now use DR Pure Blues 12-52s. I used to play with D'Addario 8.5s.

Thanks for your replies.
@bingy; I guess that dead flat means that the neck is completely straight, right?
It almost is, and it works allright but there are some buzzing here and there.......the problem is, that I dont want to adjust the bridge height more than I've allready done. The action will be to high, for my taste.
Is it normal to have the neck dead flat on telecasters. Have never owned a tele before now.........

Kent

.3mm is .015 inches isn"t it? That would be a lot of relief in my opinion. I would not be worrying about not having enough relief if my math is correct. Buzzing on a few frets at that. I would say a complete setup is in order. I have seen a .010 inch relief spec from Fender and I have seen a .012 inch spec. Fender would not approve of .015 inches I would think.
I have to agree with bingy. Flat board and adjust string heights at the bridge and nut. Relief will come down and buzzing will be gone. Theoretically.
*Note* My theories tend to work for me at the time at least until a better one comes along.

Hi Toriginal
I have now messured the relief, and it is more .010 than the 0.3mm that I wrote.

.3mm (/ 25.4) = .0118 inches - almost 12thou, seems fine.

edit - so now you're at .31mm which is .012 inches right on - sounds good in terms of relief, perhaps you have a high fret or two.

Thanks for your replies.
@bingy; I guess that dead flat means that the neck is completely straight, right?
It almost is, and it works allright but there are some buzzing here and there.......the problem is, that I dont want to adjust the bridge height more than I've allready done. The action will be to high, for my taste.
Is it normal to have the neck dead flat on telecasters. Have never owned a tele before now.........

Kent

It sounds like your relief is OK based on the measurements you report.

Have you checked for high frets? That could cause the problem you described. If you don't know how to check this, have a luthier check it out.

I have the same problem with a 1968 tele as the neck warped very slightly over the years and the truss-rod adjustment doesn't do much for it.

When I use .10 strings it gets a bit of rattle but if I put on .11 the extra tension solves the problem and it's perfect.

Doesn't come through the amp in any case and I prefer .10 on that guitar.

Thanks for your replies.
@bingy; I guess that dead flat means that the neck is completely straight, right?
It almost is, and it works allright but there are some buzzing here and there.......the problem is, that I dont want to adjust the bridge height more than I've allready done. The action will be to high, for my taste.
Is it normal to have the neck dead flat on telecasters. Have never owned a tele before now.........

Kent

Have you examined the frets for level?

Switch to 12's and you'll be fine;). And the wound G sounds sooooo much better.

Those Allparts necks are super nice but they really need a fret level and dress. That's where I'd start.

Those Allparts necks are super nice but they really need a fret level and dress. That's where I'd start.

+++1

I had the same problem when I switched to super chunky 1" at the nut necks. Perhaps some of the experienced guitar builders here will chime in with a better solution, but mine--since I didn't want to raise the action or impart fake relief via a fret job--was to switch to heavier gauge strings.

I now use DR Pure Blues 12-52s. I used to play with D'Addario 8.5s.

I hear what you're saying.

Yeah, I think the manufacturer assumed that everyone buying these fattie necks would play fatter guage strings. I've thought about being cautious about recommending these TMO-FATs and TRO-FATs to guys who like a fine string guage - the tension of the strings really does have to augment the truss rod. (I like it that way).

Mellecaster had a maple Musikraft neck with a 1 3/4" nut, D profile, 1" thick at the nut. Monster neck. It just wouldn't pull any relief with 10s. He ended up using 11's to get the relief he wanted. Maybe a V profile would flex a little easier.

Good to hear that Im not owning a "sick guitar". It sounds like its pretty common with fat necks. The neck is brand new by the way. Maby I should have a checkup on possible high frets.
Or maby I will try .011, and see if that will do the trick.

Thanks for the respons

Kent

Here are a few pics.

There are some pretty strange old holes in the neck, which have been filled out and closed. Take a look, they are really far from the new holes.....??? Could it be a B-stock neck? One of the dots, fell of one day I was playing. With a closer look I could see that the hole was a little to big for the dot, and there have been some repair on it. Fixed it with som plastic wood, with matched color, and it looks fine.

These things + problems with the neck relief got my to think, that it was a "sick" neck.

The previous owner had messed op the nut a bit, the slots were way to deep, and it didnt have the right radius. So I put on a new one and got a pretty good result (if I may say so :lol:).
Its really a good guitar and it was very cheap. The neck is brand new and no wear on the frets. The guitar came with Fender costum shop pickups........Texas specials I think.....sounds great!

This is a keeper:grin:

Regards
Kent

I had the exact same problem with my AllParts neck and have sent them
an e-mail... They told me to send the neck back... The have replace
it and the new one is perfect...

Phil.

Hi Toriginal
I have now messured the relief, and it is more .010 than the 0.3mm that I wrote.

Not too shabby

I would personally rather see .25mm (.010 in.) over the whole length of the neck - but you can´t achieve this unless your frets are level and the neck has no issues. .010in. from the 1st-14th is alot of relief IMO.

Good to hear that Im not owning a "sick guitar". It sounds like its pretty common with fat necks. The neck is brand new by the way. Maby I should have a checkup on possible high frets.
Or maby I will try .011, and see if that will do the trick.

Thanks for the respons

Kent

To have your action as good as the best you've ever played, you just need three things:

1. Nut slots at the proper depth. 0.015" - 0.020" open string height at the first fret works for me.

2. Proper relief. Your 0.010" is fine IMO.

3. Frets level. Small inaccuracies accumulate to a big difference. Allparts makes a fine neck, but some (like mine!) need to have the frets leveled to play their best. Here's a thread with a tutorial if you want to do it yourself:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-technical/201556-fret-leveling-yer-tele-101-a.html

.010" is too much relief. I've become convinced that Fender specs it because it'll work well enough and it will avoid warranty issues for them. You also don't have to watch your relief that closely. Any significant change in weather that continues over time (like a day or two) will cause your relief to change a little, so you have to keep checking it if you have it in the right range for playability.

Shoot for .005" or less. And, like others said, your frets probably need some attention.

These things + problems with the neck relief got my to think, that it was a "sick" neck.



Kent, it looks like the Allparts neck might have been OK but someone in the chain before you had some issues:

1) He misdrilled the holes - they come not drilled; and

2) Looks like the preslotted nut was for a 1 + 11/16ths wide neck, not the 1 + 5/8ths you have there.

Never had any issues with the dots, though. I know few guys who have sent some back to Allparts. But New Orleans is only a few hundred miles from them - I maybe have done something I can't put my finger on, to get some real nice ones (where the main thing is finishing the frets, because sanding the necks, applying finishes is so easy).