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WHAT A (Neck) RELIEF!!
Well, I have a confession to make: I really don't take very good care of my guitars. I make sure that they play fine, and I always keep the strings fresh, and clean the fingerboard with each string change, but that's about it.
About 3 weeks ago I began to notice a slight buzz on the B string on my snakeskin Wayne when it was played open. It progressively got worse, but never so bad that it would make noise when amplified. I checked my neck and the angle of the strings coming from the nut, and the action, and it all seemed fine.
2 weeks ago: it was time to change the strings. I had also noticed that the fingerboard, while clean, was starting to look a little dry (rosewood fingerboard). SOOOO ... I brought the guitar in to my local tech for the 2 year checkup and a little TLC ....
RESULTS: The tech did a fantastic job, which I noticed as soon as I took the guitar out of the gig bag: the guitar was cleaner than I ever kept it (I don't mind finger smudges or shredded pick material on the body), The fingerboard was cleaned and oiled to nice dark brown. He even took the little bits of rust off of the Floyd and properly set up the EVH D-Tuna. I noticed the action was a bit higher than I usually use it, but what really threw me off was that the added some relief to my neck, which I usually keep straight. This made the action seem even higher ... My intention was: okay, I'll play it and lower the Floyd by 1/8 turn when I get home.
Once I got to playing it, tho, I must say: I'm in love!! While the neck relief does add a bit to the action in the middle of the fret board, the guitar plays like it has 9s on it instead of 10s. I have no problem doing really deep bends high up on the neck! I had no idea that adding a bit of relief to the neck would make playing the guitar so much more enjoyable and tactile. It's like a whole new guitar!
All this for only $80. That's what I call a bargain!!
About 3 weeks ago I began to notice a slight buzz on the B string on my snakeskin Wayne when it was played open. It progressively got worse, but never so bad that it would make noise when amplified. I checked my neck and the angle of the strings coming from the nut, and the action, and it all seemed fine.
2 weeks ago: it was time to change the strings. I had also noticed that the fingerboard, while clean, was starting to look a little dry (rosewood fingerboard). SOOOO ... I brought the guitar in to my local tech for the 2 year checkup and a little TLC ....
RESULTS: The tech did a fantastic job, which I noticed as soon as I took the guitar out of the gig bag: the guitar was cleaner than I ever kept it (I don't mind finger smudges or shredded pick material on the body), The fingerboard was cleaned and oiled to nice dark brown. He even took the little bits of rust off of the Floyd and properly set up the EVH D-Tuna. I noticed the action was a bit higher than I usually use it, but what really threw me off was that the added some relief to my neck, which I usually keep straight. This made the action seem even higher ... My intention was: okay, I'll play it and lower the Floyd by 1/8 turn when I get home.
Once I got to playing it, tho, I must say: I'm in love!! While the neck relief does add a bit to the action in the middle of the fret board, the guitar plays like it has 9s on it instead of 10s. I have no problem doing really deep bends high up on the neck! I had no idea that adding a bit of relief to the neck would make playing the guitar so much more enjoyable and tactile. It's like a whole new guitar!
All this for only $80. That's what I call a bargain!!
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