Neck relief and warpage?

K

Koreth

New member
I got the RG520QS mentioned in my prior thread strung up and let it sit overnight so the string and hopefully the neck could settle late Sunday night. When I picked it up last night, something felt...off. The bridge angle and the action were fine, so I got out the straight edge and feeler gauges to check the neck relief. The neck was bowing slightly, so I tightened the truss rod just a little bit and got the relief down to about .008" on the bass side, which is where I like it. After that, the neck still felt a little weird to play, so I checked the relief again on the treble side and found it sitting at .012".

Damn. Granted, that's not as bad the MIJ Jackson I got rid of -- that one had +.030" on the treble side when the bass side was set at .010", and the heel would lift so frets 22 and 23 would sound out the same as 24. I'm pretty sure that qualifies as a warped neck. In comparison, every guitar that's filled my #1 spot has had less relief on the treble side of the neck than on the bass. My current #1, another RG520QS sits at .008 and .006 bass/treble respectively.

Is this a thing I should be worried about and get to a luthier? Or should I just give it a few more days to settle under tension and Denver's utter lack of humidity? I do want to keep this guitar. The frets are nigh virgin, and the whole guitar is about as acoustically loud as my other RG520QS. I'd be a shame if I had to unload it or part it out because the neck doesn't want to cooperate.
 
Re: Neck relief and warpage?

I'm no pro, but I'll tell you what I'd do. I would keep tension on it (strings at pitch) and loosen the rod just a smidge beyond where I would set it at and let it settle for a week or so. Then I'd set it up, and if it's still jacked then, I'd take it to someone. Don't flip yet.
 
Re: Neck relief and warpage?

Do you have a great tech? If not PM me and I'll give you a great techs info. He's in Utah though, but worth every penny.
 
Re: Neck relief and warpage?

King IzzO))) said:
I'm no pro, but I'll tell you what I'd do. I would keep tension on it (strings at pitch) and loosen the rod just a smidge beyond where I would set it at and let it settle for a week or so. Then I'd set it up, and if it's still jacked then, I'd take it to someone. Don't flip yet.
Click to expand...

I'll give this a shot. I did loosen up the truss rod about a 1/6th of a turn. Relief jumped from .008/.012 Bass/Treble to about .017 on both sides. Yeah that's stupid high but the fact it evened out gives hope. I'll let it settle for a week or so and see what happens.

Dr. K, I do have a good tech I trust, who is fortunately a bit more local than Utah. So if this neck setting trick doesn't work, I'll probably talk to him next.
 
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