Need Help after Final Assembly on A Partscaster

T

The Posh Mushroom

New member
Hello Fellow Forumers,

I just completed my first partscaster build. The problem is that the strings, when under tension, are completely pressed up against the last fret. It's a bolt on neck, hardtail bridge setup. I'm almost completely sure I routed the neck Pocket at 5/8th inch deep (the right depth for a Strat Neck), and I'm afraid to mess with the Truss rod without further info. I also think that if I raised the saddles far enough to fix the problem, the strings would be so high compared to the pickups that it would get no response.


So, am I screwed?

Is there anything I could do?

Any help is deeply appreciated.
 
Re: Need Help after Final Assembly on A Partscaster

Shim the neck maybe, It's hard to comment without looking at the guitar in person.

Why are people worried about truss rods? Just keep turning them until they snap :nana:
 
Re: Need Help after Final Assembly on A Partscaster

There are a few things to checkout:

1. Neck angle. You may or may not need to shim the neck like kramersteen said. Stewmac sells these ready-made angled neck shims that I used for one of my partscasters, works VERY well!
2. Truss rod! You can't escape this one! Certainly check the relief with the strings in tune and see how much you have. If you neck has a backwards concavity, then your strings will be pressed at the frets.
3. Fret levels. Are you sure the frets are perfectly leveled? Perhaps the last few are just a bit high? Check that with a short straight edge or a fret-rocker to see!

What I would do in your situation is set the bridge to an action that the strings no longer press against the frets, then tune the guitar to pitch, and then check for the neck relief. If the relief is too little, loosen the truss rod a bit until the relief is at a standard level. After that, lower the action to where you would normally play the guitar and see if the strings are still pressed against the frets. If they are, check the frets and see if you have a high fret somewhere. If you don't have a high fret, then it's most likely the neck angle, and you can fix that with a shim.
 
Re: Need Help after Final Assembly on A Partscaster

Look at the way the neck is sitting in the pocket, and the way your bridge saddles are sitting too.
In the first case, put a straightedge on the frets and over the body - does this line run parallel to the plane of the body or is it angled up/down?
For the second, do you have travel on the saddles, and have you adjusted them from pulling the bridge out from its packaging? There is no earthly reason why you should assemble a guitar and it perfectly suit whatever arbitrary height they came from the factory.
The same with pickups. They too come with height adjustment screws that are not put in there merely for looks.
 
Re: Need Help after Final Assembly on A Partscaster

I have three Strats and they are all partscasters. I'd have to look to be sure, but I'd guess it's probably a neck angle thing and you need to shim it.
 
Re: Need Help after Final Assembly on A Partscaster

That same thing happened to me yesterday when I was assembling a strat. All I had to do was tighten the 2 neck screws closest to the bridge of the guitar. Easy peasy.
 
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