neck warp

For help with setups and other technical issues.
Post Reply
User avatar
MKR
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1702
Joined: Tue Mar 26, 2013 9:06 am

neck warp

Post by MKR » Mon May 28, 2018 5:06 am

I have a guitar with a slight neck warp. E, A string side is more concave than B, E side. So if the E A side is set up perfect than the B, E side is too straight.

The guitar is playable enough, but i got thinking about a possible "fix".

Would it work if i loosened the E, A, D strings and kept tension on the E, B, G strings for an extended period of time? might that reverse the warp?

User avatar
Embenny
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 10363
Joined: Tue May 24, 2016 5:07 am

Re: neck warp

Post by Embenny » Mon May 28, 2018 6:02 am

Nope, won't make any difference. The options (listed in descending order from definitive to bandaid) are: a steam treatment with time in a jig, planing the fretboard to compensate, and leveling the frets to compensate. The first two options necessitate a refret.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

User avatar
MKR
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1702
Joined: Tue Mar 26, 2013 9:06 am

Re: neck warp

Post by MKR » Mon May 28, 2018 6:08 am

thanks. I don't think i will do anything then. The warp is very slight. guitar is totally playable.

User avatar
ludobag1
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2543
Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2008 4:28 pm
Location: france

Re: neck warp

Post by ludobag1 » Tue May 29, 2018 12:10 am

what is your string gauge ?
you could put a set that the hight are more heavy than the bass
normally string are equal in tension in package but if you put for ewample a 12 instead a 10 there is much force on the neck to the high string

User avatar
oid
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 834
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:19 pm

Re: neck warp

Post by oid » Tue May 29, 2018 1:41 am

There are no definitive repairs here, each neck is different and the repair is determined by the neck, to heat up and force a neck back straight just to fix an 1/16" of twist would be a little silly, but some fret work could make a so-so player into a fantastic player. This is one of those things that needs a practiced eye to determine the fix, knowing exactly where and how the neck is warped and how the shape of the neck changes under the influence of the strings and truss rod is a must for identifying the best fix for a given neck and that can not be done via the internet.
Since your guitar is 'totally playable' it may not even be a warped neck, this could just be a fret issue. I would not recommend playing with string tension as a way to fix a warped neck, could just end up with a twisted headstock to match the warped neck.

Steaming a neck is a bad idea all around, many of the glues and finishes used in guitars will not survive such a treatment, dry heat is used at times but only as a last resort.
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

User avatar
B
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1053
Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:33 am
Location: PACIFIC NORTHWEST

Re: neck warp

Post by B » Sun Jun 10, 2018 2:32 am

If you can locate a shop that actually has one of the original Aria neck straighteners (and knows the proper heating/cooling/clamping techniques to go along with it), that would totally do the trick. I have taken some pretty twisted necks back to dead straight using one of these, but they are pretty rare.

Image

User avatar
mgeek
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1436
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:03 pm

Re: neck warp

Post by mgeek » Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:21 am

I've de-twisted a neck by clamping it against a bar, but putting a cork block on one side of the headstock to force it back into the correct position, then heating it up with a regular electric blanket then letting it cool off (and maybe leaving it a further day without the blanket for luck)

Worked a treat. No steam, no planing of the fretboard (this one always strikes me as overkill, esp if it's just a regular backbow), no refrets.

User avatar
oid
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 834
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:19 pm

Re: neck warp

Post by oid » Sun Jun 10, 2018 12:56 pm

mgeek wrote:
Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:21 am
I've de-twisted a neck by clamping it against a bar, but putting a cork block on one side of the headstock to force it back into the correct position, then heating it up with a regular electric blanket then letting it cool off (and maybe leaving it a further day without the blanket for luck)

Worked a treat. No steam, no planing of the fretboard (this one always strikes me as overkill, esp if it's just a regular backbow), no refrets.
It should be said you should never clamp a guitar with an angled headstock in this fashion, it may seem obvious but some have attempted it. This method is more or less safe on a Fender style head but it is a good idea to apply the force as close as you can to the nut and not at the end of the head stock. Success largely is determined by the actual cause of the warp and how long it has been there.

In new guitars especially those in the low to mid price range the most common cause is the neck was not fully cured and the wood is still drying and moving. There is not much you can do about these until the wood settles and stops moving.

The most common cause is improper storage, leaving the guitar leaning against the wall, storing it near a radiator, in a poorly fitting case or with grossly unequal string tension. This sort responds fairly well to heat and force, the longer it is spent out of true the more difficult it will be, sometimes needed multiple treatments and fret/fingerboard work. If the warp is extreme it will likely never get back to straight with heat and force alone.

Then there is the neck that just has some wood that is less stiff then the rest, these necks are often perfectly straight without tension and develop humps, twists, and or bends with tension, these can require major work to get straight depending on severity. If it is not bad working the fingerboard and frets is the likely solution, heat and force will do little, but if it has been in such a condition for a extended amount of time heat and force may be needed as well. In sever cases major work is required, such as removing the fingerboard and installing some stiffening.

There are also a few odd causes like the truss rod being installed off center/not parallel to center, or frets being installed into undersized fret slots causing back bow. The truss rod can mimic the symptoms of the previous case, but it is not often a truss rod gets installed far enough off to cause issues. The fret induced backbow is generally caused by a refret done by someone unaware that different frets have different sized tangs, an effect which is occasionally exploited to remove relief in necks without adjustable truss rods and sometimes in necks with truss rods that can not quite correct the problem.
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

User avatar
mgeek
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1436
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:03 pm

Re: neck warp

Post by mgeek » Sun Jun 10, 2018 1:30 pm

oid wrote:
Sun Jun 10, 2018 12:56 pm
mgeek wrote:
Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:21 am
I've de-twisted a neck by clamping it against a bar, but putting a cork block on one side of the headstock to force it back into the correct position, then heating it up with a regular electric blanket then letting it cool off (and maybe leaving it a further day without the blanket for luck)

Worked a treat. No steam, no planing of the fretboard (this one always strikes me as overkill, esp if it's just a regular backbow), no refrets.
It should be said you should never clamp a guitar with an angled headstock in this fashion, it may seem obvious but some have attempted it. This method is more or less safe on a Fender style head but it is a good idea to apply the force as close as you can to the nut and not at the end of the head stock. Success largely is determined by the actual cause of the warp and how long it has been there.
As it happens, the guitar I did this on has an angled back headstock! a Fenton Weill dualmaster, but I was very careful ;)

That had been left in a loft, tuned up to pitch with the heaviest strings I've ever seen, for god knows how long...it was a total disaster, and I have to say I was surprised it worked.

User avatar
oid
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 834
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:19 pm

Re: neck warp

Post by oid » Sun Jun 10, 2018 1:37 pm

mgeek wrote:
Sun Jun 10, 2018 1:30 pm
As it happens, the guitar I did this on has an angled back headstock! a Fenton Weill dualmaster, but I was very careful ;)

That had been left in a loft, tuned up to pitch with the heaviest strings I've ever seen, for god knows how long...it was a total disaster, and I have to say I was surprised it worked.
Sometimes we have luck!
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

Post Reply