Neck Stability Questions.

[Blackdog]

Hello people.

I have just finished my second build, the first where I actually built the complete neck myself.

This is a one-piece, quartered IRW neck, with an IRW 25", 24 frets board. Kind of a long neck as it joins the body at the 23rd fret.

It has a dual action HotRod and two CF bars along its sides.

I took a lot of care in keeping the neck perfectly straight at every step. Down to the fret leveling and dressing right before glueing to the body. All of this with the TR loose (i.e. in the dead zone between pushing up and pushing down).

When I stringed the instrument up to tension for the first time I expected some up-bowing, but got none. I's been tuned to pitch since last friday, and still nothing: perfectly straight.

Needless to say the guitar plays like a dream. Much better than my previous one. I have since tightened the TR a little bit, just to the point where it engages, to avoid any rattlings. But the feel and action are still amazing without any further setting up.

Why do you think it's so stable ?? Are the CF reinforcements that efficient ?? Is it the neck wood ?? A combination of both ??

I am considering a laminated neck for my next build (padauk/RW/padauk with some maple accents), and was originally thinking of skipping the CF rods altogether, as the neck itself would be far stiffer. But now I'm rethinking the strategy: it's fantastic to just glue the neck in and have nothing else to do to it !!!

Opinions from the more experienced ??

TIA

[Mattia]

I've had it happen with a few necks, which is why I use dual action rods. If you want relief, just add it. And yes, it's a combination of very effective CF rods and stiff neck wood. If the neck's a little on the thicker side, all the more stiffness there.

[Bryan316]

You could have positioned the truss rod JUUUUST loose from contacting, and once string tension was added, the TR just barely touched and that's it.

You got lucky! It's just the right piece of wood, and the right construction techniques. Now that you know this combination is almost your ideal without even adjusting it, I would not stray from this combination. You now know this setup is very stiff and needed hardly any setup changes, so why stray from it? Maybe next time the wood won't be as perfect and you'll need the minimal input from the TR. Maybe a laminated neck won't need CF rods. But is it worth building a neck without them to find out?

You found your sweet spot. Don't stray too far from it, because if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

[fryovanni]

My necks usually require little if any adjustment. The truss rod is really just there to give a tiny bump if needed. Noting where you attached the neck to the body(pretty high), I bet that is a very stiff neck. I am glad you are very happy with your results Good for you!

Rich

[Mickguard]

I experienced the same thing with my second neck. It's been more than year now, and the neck is still nice and solid, not a single dead fret (and there are 28 of them). I used CF tubes (not rods) and an ebony board.

On the other hand, to be honest, I don't enjoy playing it much. Partly because it just feels too stiff to me. Not that I like a rubbery neck, but I definitely prefer that slight bit of give on my other guitars. Maybe it's the wood I used -- some mahogany-like wood I found. These days, I play almost exclusively on maple. And I shaped this neck a little thinner than normal. So it's hard to know what's behind it.

[Mattia]

I experienced the same thing with my second neck. It's been more than year now, and the neck is still nice and solid, not a single dead fret (and there are 28 of them). I used CF tubes (not rods) and an ebony board.

On the other hand, to be honest, I don't enjoy playing it much. Partly because it just feels too stiff to me. Not that I like a rubbery neck, but I definitely prefer that slight bit of give on my other guitars. Maybe it's the wood I used -- some mahogany-like wood I found. These days, I play almost exclusively on maple. And I shaped this neck a little thinner than normal. So it's hard to know what's behind it.

That's very much a matter of taste, yes; the 'floppiest' neck I ever made was the one on that red PRS-ish thing, and the comment I got from a good (Strat) player was 'wow! stiff neck!'. Because compared to his strat, it was. Compared to what I like it was a little flexible due to the length (joint at 20th fret, IIRC).

[erikbojerik]

That's how a well-built neck is supposed to be!

[Blackdog]

Thanks for the replies,

Yes, I guess I'll be sticking to the formula. The finished neck is far more expensive in hours than it is in materials, so why run the risk...

Sometimes I wonder why the major manufacturers still use simple rods and no CF. It's not all that expensive for the casual builder, it should be a lot cheaper to them...

That's how a well-built neck is supposed to be!

Thanks Erik. Exactly what I wanted to read.

[guitar2005]

I've had it happen with a few necks, which is why I use dual action rods. If you want relief, just add it. And yes, it's a combination of very effective CF rods and stiff neck wood. If the neck's a little on the thicker side, all the more stiffness there.

Same here - I was hoping to get a bit of relief as I tuned up the guitar but nothing... or very little.

With a perfectly flat neck, and low action on the bass side (5/64") I get too much buzzing if I don't add in a bit of relief with the truss rod. At first I thought I did something wrong... but no... just stiff necks, which is fine.

[guitar2005]

not a single dead fret (and there are 28 of them).

Just curious. What do you mean by "dead fret"?