Fender Micro Tilt Vs Shimming

[InSasquatchCountry]

So I was just told about the Fender Mico-Tilt System http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/El_Guitar_Neck_Angle.htm

that allows you to adjust the angle that the neck meets the body on American Fender Strats. I was thinking of installing it in my guitar I want some input.

thanks

[rhoads56]

It amazes me that after 54 years, CNC machinery, and the quality of other Fender products, that they STILL cant get the neck angle right, and allow for that with strips of paper, cardboard, or a 'microtilt' system.

[SwedishLuthier]

Micro tilt, as well as shimming, can be used to compensate for too high tolerances during manufacturing. But it can also allow the player to fine tune the instrument so that it fits his/hers personal taste. Say for instance that you like your strings high above the body on behalf of your picking technique but want low action. Then you can rise the saddles up as high as possible and then tilt the neck slightly to adjust the action. A bit backwards, but it has worked for me when having special requests from customers.

Installing it in an existing neck is not a task for everyone. You need a new neck plate, a threaded insert in the pocket and a steel plate installed in the neck. I have worked with micro tilt necks and made shims and the micro tilt have the advantage of being really quick to work with and it is adjustable (duh). But I have never ever considered using it in my guitars. It just doesn’t seem worth the hustle.

Soundwice...pfh. Dont ever bother trying to get a consensus of the difference.

[Prostheta]

I presume that bodies and necks are manufactured in different locations en masse, and the instruments thrown together afterwards? These dudes need to talk to each other about what they're making as an end product, not as factory output!

I wouldn't add this as a "feature" because as Perry points out - the neck angle (or lack thereof) should align with the bridge saddles by design, not by adjustment.

[marksound]

Call me crazy, but I think the Micro Tilt may be the only "improvement" made to Fender guitars that actually carries on Leo's original intent: to manufacture instruments quickly and inexpensively and make parts easily replaceable. It may not be high art, but its functionality can't be denied. IMO, YMMV, blahblahblah.

[Mattia]

Wood moves over time, and truss rod tweaks can't always take up the slack. There's certainly a place for fully adjustable neck joints in acoustic guitars (where the body moves, bridge rises with seasons and over time), and adjusting the neck angle can give you better control over intonation and setup.

However, it shouldn't really be necessary for an electric guitar.

[Mickguard]

Yep, you'd think you'd choose the guitar that feels right to you ...to me, that's the backward part. Although that requires going to an actual shop to try the guitar out, I suppose.

I agree a big part of Fender's genius was in making things sort of modular. Although he just got lucky that his guitars sounded so unique.

Still, if you're building the guitar yourself, I can't see any need for a microtilt system. Just build it right. And if in 20 years time the wood has moved so much that the neck isn't usuable, well, by then you'll have built 20 or so guitars, right?

[Prostheta]

I won't knock Fender's pre-CBS success and ingenuity.