H-150 Neck Question

[jco.11]

Calling all experts....

 

Anyone ever seen a neck joint that was set/carved higher on the treble side than the bass side?  I was looking at the neck on my H-150, and the it appeared to have a twist in it as I looked down from the headstock to the tailpiece.  At first, it actually felt like a "hump" on the treble strings around the 12th-16th frets when playing the B and E strings.  Upon closer inspection, the neck joint is actually set so that the bass strings are about 1-1.5/16th deeper into the body.  The action is quite a bit higher on the bass strings, especially around the 12th-15th frets.  I could lower the bridge on the bass side and raise it on the treble side to compensate for it, but it plays nice.  But I was confused for a couple of nights as to why I couldn't adjust this out.  Once I saw the neck cutout, I stopped trying.  My guitar is a 2nd, by the way.  Feel free to chime in.

 

Hope you all had a great holiday.

 

jco

[golferwave]

  It's hard to visualize by your description but if the neck and neck pocket aren't square it can't be a good thing.  I'd take it to a shop and have someone look at it or contact the factory.

[cosmikdebriis]

Hi...

 

Doesn't sound right to me either.

 

Did you buy the guitar new? If so, how long have you had it?

 

I very much doubt that such a problem would qualify as a "second" It sounds much more serious than that.

 

Some good quality, high res close up pics would help us understand the problem a little better.

[jco.11]

No....not at all new.  This is the 1998 150 that was lost by UPS back around Halloween; it was finally delivered, and then I found a neck joint finish crack issue I had checked out (ok) by a local luthier. 

 

Here's a couple of pics to give you an idea of what I'm trying to describe...the neck joint is tight, it's just turned a bit to the right.  I agree; from what I've read, factory seconds were minor finish flaws, not construction issues.  This one definitely slipped through, unless someone ordered it set this way?

IMG_0749.JPG

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[peterbright]

Never saw a guitar like that one.

[JeffB]

Never saw a guitar like that one.

+1 That looks .......wrong

[wingnut1]

That does ook off, maybe you could get the neck reset.

[cosmikdebriis]

That does ook off, maybe you could get the neck reset.

 

Not sure that's possible. Assuming there are no gaps in the construction then it looks like the body and neck have been "matched" together by machining one to fit the other. No real reason why they shouldn't do that except it must take a "heel"  ;D of a lot of extra work and time.

[yoslate]

Not to be dark about it jco., but that just looks wrong.  I'm also not sure how a guitar like that could play and intonate ok.  Looks as though the tenon or the tenon pocket, or both, were just frogged up somehow.  Or perhaps, after the build, that wood just moved in a really weird way, but I would think finish cracks would suggest that.  Hard (well, sort of...) to imagine that getting past any sort of quality control, isn't it?  I'd be really curious to hear what Ren had to say about that one!      ???

[chico]

ditto yoslate's comment- check in w/Ren. 

[jco.11]

Based on the dings on the headstock, I highly suspect that the neck joint finish crack resulted from a drop from a playing position or a knockdown from a stand.  I'm fine with that.  There is no way that the neck joint angle was a result of that/those incidents.  It would have taken a truck to run over this, and then wouldn't there be evidence of compression on the bass side of the guitar?  I'm not wearing rose colored glasses here; it's a player, it plays nicely.  It's not perfect, I'm keeping it. 

[jco.11]

Sorry, didn't mean to post yet....

 

[/img]

 

In looking at the way the nut was placed, this seems to be an offset to the neck twist.  I have no idea if this is the original nut......

[jco.11]

http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll17/jc...nt=IMG_0496.jpg

[bolero]

interesting, is it true that under black light you can see if any work has been done to a guitar?

 

it almost looks like someone removed the neck & shimmed it, with a refin....could be my imagination but can I see what looks like an extra wedge of wood under the finish? seems like there is some variance in the lacquer, around where the joint is supposed to be

 

I wonder if someone botched a refret, by takng too much off the treble side....then tried to compensate by shimming the neck....or maybe it was a funky customer request to a luthier, who knows?

 

 

alternate: maybe that's why it's a second.....are there any other visible issues with the gtr?

[Thundersteel]

At first, I thought the neck was OK, and just the heel not straight. But after I saw the nut, I don't know. I tend to agree with what bolero says...

[jco.11]

Thanks for eveyone's comments....interesting.

 

I'm at least the third owner of this.  It has it's shares of bumps and bruises, so at this point, trying to figure out why it's a second is a lost cause.  I did contact Ren when I was buying the guitar to see if they had any specific record of why guitars were seconded.  All he came back with was minor finish flaw not impacting playability.  I left it at that. 

 

I guess this is a mystery....I did mess around with the bridge last night to tip it to match the contour of the neck, and it plays a bit better, but it played well before.  I play a lot of dumb rock (KISS), and this type of setup actually lends itself to thumping away on the low E and A strings, but is still set up to wail out on solos. 

 

Take care guys!

[yoslate]

...but it played well before.  ...this type of setup actually lends itself to thumping away on the low E and A strings, but is still set up to wail out on solos. 

 

Probably all you need to know!  Enjoy!

[PacerX]

Hmmmm...

 

I wonder if that was a complete, and botched, neck replacement due to a headstock snapping off in a drop.