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Headstock Angle Question


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Hey everybody, I am currently building a bass with a neck that I had pre-built, and it has a 13 degree angled headstock, I believe. My brother in law says that a neck with an angled headstock requires that I make an angle in the heel pocket or body to keep the action correct. Is this the case? As far as I know, if I cut a flat neck pocket, the nut and bridge should still have the correct angle between them. I can't see why it would be any different than a "Fender style" (flat) headstock.

What is it, exactly, that causes one to need an angled neck?

Can I angle the headstock and install the neck flat?

Sorry about the newb question :D I just want to make sure I understand the concept here before I start cutting any wood.

Please enlighten me! :D

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Untrue. The angle of the headstock has nothing to do with the neck angle at the body/neck join. A string is still a straight line no matter how it breaks over the nut. You would perhaps need an angled neck depending on what bridge you want to use. Higher bridges sometimes need angles. Simple as. Research Les Paul neck angles for an example of this.

Angled headstocks mean you don't have to use string guides/tree like strats, and increase the tension over the nut.

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Thank you for confirming my suspicion. I thought that was the case, but wanted to verify. I did some reading in the "how to determine neck angle" thread, and couldn't find anything about headstock angle playing a part in that. :D

I'm going to research the neck angle anyhow, just to educate myself if I want to build a guitar that requires it. Thanks!

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