Neck and body questions (get your mind out of the gutter)


jimmy_kwtx
Registered User
Joined: 05/15/06
Posts: 394
jimmy_kwtx
Registered User
Joined: 05/15/06
Posts: 394
08/21/2006 9:02 pm
Ok all you "tech-heads". Don't have a camera so I can't take a picture to show you.

I keep noticing everyone talking about set-ups , truss rod adjustments etc. I personally have never had one done or really wanted to find out the difference until recently. Any fret buzz problems I had I would either raise the tuneomatic bridge, or use the piece of paper in the nut fix.

But I noticed recently that where the Neck and the Body meet on my Epi LP SPEC II meet/are joined there seems to be something off.

If I look at the line of the "wood" of the fret board and line of the "top" of my body they are not paralell.

Example

.____.____.____.____.____.____.____.__
___________________________________
l_________________
l
l Guitar Side Veiw
l______________

Now instead of it being paralell (like my crappy use you imagination picture shows) it is not parralel. It actually slopes towards the head stock. And I'm not talking minor but a noticable difference.

My question is-- is it normal to have a sloped pitch where the neck and body meet or should it be closer to parralel?

Or is this different for each type of guitar?

Start styles are this way, LP styles are this way, sg styles etc.
[FONT=Comic Sans MS]I reject your reality and substitue my own[/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]BYAAAAAAAAAAAH![/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]But it goes to eleven....[/FONT]
# 1
Mark Pav
Registered User
Joined: 12/19/05
Posts: 245
Mark Pav
Registered User
Joined: 12/19/05
Posts: 245
08/21/2006 11:35 pm
Most Gibson-style guitars have a 15 degree pitch where the neck meets the body. That's normal. Most Fender-style guitars don't have this; their necks run straight out from the body. So if you lie a Les Paul on a table it won't lie flat like a Strat will.

Is that what you meant?
# 2
Lordathestrings
Gear Guru
Joined: 01/18/01
Posts: 6,242
Lordathestrings
Gear Guru
Joined: 01/18/01
Posts: 6,242
08/22/2006 2:43 am
I think you're referring to the layback angle, as pointed out by Mark Pav.

With the neck parallel to the body, like Fenders, the strings are close to the body, and the bridge is low.

Laying the neck back from the body, like Gibsons, brings the strings across at an angle that leaves lots of room between the strings and body. The bridge is up high.

Just another set of factors to consider when you're deciding on which guitar is more comfortable to play.
Lordathestrings
Guitar Tricks Moderator

www.GuitarTricks.com - Home of Online Guitar Lessons
# 3
jimmy_kwtx
Registered User
Joined: 05/15/06
Posts: 394
jimmy_kwtx
Registered User
Joined: 05/15/06
Posts: 394
08/22/2006 1:24 pm
Yeah. It was the pitch I was noticing. The neck seems very "high" up next to the bridge pup and slopes "low" where the neck comes out from the body.

Never noticed before, after all of these years and different guitars. Hey--you can teach an old dog something new ;)

Thanks for the clarification.
[FONT=Comic Sans MS]I reject your reality and substitue my own[/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]BYAAAAAAAAAAAH![/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]But it goes to eleven....[/FONT]
# 4
aschleman
Registered User
Joined: 04/26/05
Posts: 2,051
aschleman
Registered User
Joined: 04/26/05
Posts: 2,051
08/22/2006 6:02 pm
Yeah... what they said... Gibsons require the neck to be at that angel so the angle of the strings on the tune o matic creates enough tension... otherwise the strings would just lay across it and move out of the saddle everytime you bent a string... this same thing is seen when fender guitar use string trees on the headstock to heighten the tension n the nyut and bridge.
# 5

Please register with a free account to post on the forum.