Which part of my strat is wonky?

I noticed the E string had a rather weak sound on this (it's just a squier strat special) and then I noticed that the e-string passes no where near its appropriate magnet on the neck pickup. I did change the neck of the guitar but it seems straight. Could it be that the Bridge or pickups are in the wrong place?

Cheers in advance.

well.. it looks like your B string is a bit off too.

You sure those pickups are stock? If they're aftermarket ones, they should be "F-Spaced," meaning that the poles are specially spaced to match the strings on Fender guitars (which are spaced differently than on, say, Gibsons). But then, I figure the majority of aftermarket single-coils are used on Fenders, and should then have the right spacing. Just an idea to check out.

No they're the GFS 'jimi' pick ups. I used the original pickup covers though so they must be the same size as the original pickups.

I think all the strings are at least slightly off but it is much more pronounced at the high E.

All the strings appear to be misaligned relative to the pickups and the neck - as far as I can see. The low E string seems very close to the fingerboard edge.

you should check the nut's slots string spacing

It's the same story as with the Mexican Standard Strats; the bridge spacing is too narrow. If you measure the string spacing at the bridge (measure the saddle intonation screws, center to center), you're probably going to see a measurement of 2 1/8" instead of 2 7/32", which was the standard spacing originally. I don't know why that was changed, but there are only a handful of aftermarket bridges with the wide spacing. That said, it looks like your neck alignment is off quite a bit, too. The low E is about to fall off the edge of the fretboard and the high E is way in. You need to loosen the neck-mounting screws and adjust the heel in the pocket by pushing the neck toward the treble side, then tighten the screws back up. It's not guaranteed that'll work without a bit of work in the pocket. If there's paint in the pocket, it will need to be cleaned out carefully.

Could it be that the Bridge or pickups are in the wrong place?

Well, if you took a good photo it looks like the neck needs moving over so the low and high E strings are equidistant from the edge of the fretboard. That is the simple approach.

But you do know that the strings spread out from the nut to the bridge don't you? Now factor in that ordinary Fender pickups are all the same size. What happens? OK I'll tell, you, the strings as they go over the poles will only match one set of pups, usually by design the middle pups. It is simple geometry which should have been done at school. So the neck pup will be slightly out and the bridge pup will be slightly out. Do not worry though, the poles of the magnets do not act like ray guns projecting beams of polarity into the air directly above them. The poles behave as a unit, and you could loose one or more without necessarily hearing any difference to the sound.

As helpful as the photo is, it would be hard to tell if it was taken directly over the guitar. Is the "film plane" parallel to the top of the guitar?

The photo is pretty much head on. The Low E and A are dead over the pick ups and from the D string on they start to go off. But as mentioned above the low E is also very close to the edge of the fret board whereas the high E is well inside it. It's as if the whole neck needs rotating clockwise.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys

It's as if the whole neck needs rotating clockwise.


That would be my suspicion. good photo. Even a "straight" neck can be sitting at an angle in the pocket. In fact my '97 American Standard Roadhouse had the strings 1/32 closer to the edge at the 12th than at the nut. Sometimes if the pickguard shrinks it can pull the neck off, but in this case I would start with the neck alignment then perhaps double check the layout of the nut slots. Besides almost any guitar can benefit from a new nut.

I think the nut slots are ok. I think I know why the neck is like it is though. When I got the new neck I put it in the slot and did the holes without really looking at where the strings were going.

When I loosened these screws I was able to rotate the neck so it all lined up perfectly, unfortunately when I re-tightened they all returned to their original positon.

So I have learned to check for things like this next time I get a new neck.

Man I hate learning through my own experience lol.

Looks like fill and drill time:!:

try reset of pups or height of bridge saddle and intonation first.before spending
more money.could be something simple.

Looks like fill and drill time:!:

lol. For now I've just raised the high sides of the pick ups a bit, it sounds ok. A job for the future though!

Which part of your strat is wonky?

The neck. Let off all string tension leaving a little tension in the E and the e string. Undo the neck screws a little and tap the neck to the right (your photo's right) so the strings are equi-spaced at the 21st fret. Do up the screws.

If this doesn't work buy a guitar from somewhere with quality control! :mrgreen:

Check the nut.

Fill and re-drill.

Set and clamp the neck in the correct place.

Screw it down!

Play like the madman you are because you know you want to!

Bob

Which part of your strat is wonky?

The neck. Let off all string tension leaving a little tension in the E and the e string. Undo the neck screws a little and tap the neck to the right (your photo's right) so the strings are equi-spaced at the 21st fret. Do up the screws.

If this doesn't work buy a guitar from somewhere with quality control! :mrgreen:


I tried that (see above) and it doesn't work as when the screws are tightened it pulls back the neck to its original (wonky) position. I'm not sure about the quality control in the chinese squier factory where it was made but in this case it is my fault because the neck is new and I didn't pay attention to the strings & pickups when I drilled the holes for the neck.

Cheers,

Alex

Check the nut.

Fill and re-drill.

Set and clamp the neck in the correct place.

Screw it down!

Play like the madman you are because you know you want to!

Bob

At some point in the future I will be doing this. Not sure about playing like a madman though. I wish I could.

If you don't want to "Fill and re-drill." right away you could try to put something wery thin (a shim - a piece of a guitar pick maybe) between the body and the neck where you would like to tilt it ) in this case here.
http://www.stefansundin.se/gitarr/bilder/neckpocketshim.JPG
Then tighten the screws.

aah! Interesting idea. Sounds dodgy but like it might work.

At some point though I think I'm going to get a new neck for it anyway. I want a totally 'supercharged' strat to compliment my 70s strat.

Cheers.

I like what Colin, Nick JD and Chorrizo all have to say.

I'd put the shim in as advised. Then, once the neck body and hardware are loosely assembled, I'd flip the guitar over so the pickups are facing your shirt buttons and place the neck over my left leg while seated, and the left lower part of the body over my right leg. Then I'd press down on the right horn with my left hand while reaching over the guitar and tightening all four screws with the screwdriver in right hand. This may help keep that neck closer in alignment.

If you can get it halfway better, where the string is less close on the low E side near the neck, I'd be satisfied. For playing purposes you really can use a bit of extra space for your high E in that area.

Perfection is not what you bought that Chinese made guitar for anyway, right?

Good luck.

Bubbanov

I like what Colin, Nick JD and Chorrizo all have to say.

I'd put the shim in as advised. Then, once the neck body and hardware are loosely assembled, I'd flip the guitar over so the pickups are facing your shirt buttons and place the neck over my left leg while seated, and the left lower part of the body over my right leg. Then I'd press down on the right horn with my left hand while reaching over the guitar and tightening all four screws with the screwdriver in right hand. This may help keep that neck closer in alignment.

If you can get it halfway better, where the string is less close on the low E side near the neck, I'd be satisfied. For playing purposes you really can use a bit of extra space for your high E in that area.

Perfection is not what you bought that Chinese made guitar for anyway, right?

Good luck.

Bubbanov


I think I bought it to trash, I keep all my nice guitars stock. I do love that guitar though. Thanks again.

nut?

I'd guess the "weak" sounding E string isn't much to do with its position over the pup, but either the pup height or the nut. If your pickups are too high, it'll damp that string real quick. If the nut is cut for a different string weight, it'll kill sustain as well. I had the same problem on my Deluxe Player's and it turned out to be the pickup height.

- Josh

PS> That said, the neck does look crooked based on the string positions over the frets.

Last resort would be to enlarge the holes in the body a touch so you can get the neck properly aligned. In the end the clamping will be via the neck plate and not the clearance holes. The neatest job would be to enlarge the holes with the next size drill bit rather than trying to elongate them which would get messy.