That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

[Zarg]

Hey! Against the suggestions my Friend got a Screamin' Demon (SH-12) because we found it at a local store for really cheap, and it sounds really great. The Guitar makes you get away with such a bright pickup because the bridge PU is so far from the bridge.

Picture Album on Imgur.com

Anyways, heres the problem: the 2 treble strings line up well with the polepieces of the humbucker, the more to the bass side it gets, the more off it gets....(look at the last picture) really weird. my friend has never noticed it before. and the same thing continues at the fretboard, the space to the edge from the thick E string is almost none while the space to the edge from the high e is fine. what the hell is wrong there? wrong bridge measurements? i dont know, its probably affecting the sound too, but today in our band practice it sounded good, but still.

thanks for your help, cheers!

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

Typically some are off but that is a bit drastic...you need a TB-12 for that trem spacing, not the SH version.

If it sounds good then I wouldn't worry about it. If you are like me and it drives your OCD crazy then get a TB-12.

 

[Zarg]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

Typically some are off but that is a bit drastic...you need a TB-12 for that trem spacing, not the SH version.

If it sounds good then I wouldn't worry about it. If you are like me and it drives your OCD crazy then get a TB-12.

oh dammit, I thought you needed Trembuckers only for "big" trems, like a floyd and those things... and not for a "vintage" kind of trem. well, I learned something from it. either way it sounds good that way and we got a pretty good deal at the local store (i assume it was sitting there for ages) so it'll be fine, although OCDs shall be triggered

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

In matters such as this, the six inch steel rule is your friend.

 

[Demanic]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

If it sounds good, leave it.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Snoogles]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

i watched a video today of this EXACT neck/string alignment issue. give me a minute and i'll check the browser's history...

here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW1iMiMTrOU

 

[AlexR]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

The neck alignment is WAY off. Fix that and you might be ok with what you have.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

The neck alignment is WAY off. Fix that and you might be ok with what you have.

That's exactly what i was scrolling down to say.

Here is a single picture that will explain everything.


If that wasn't enough here's a complicated 3 stage process.

1 Loosen
2 Push
3 Tighten.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

I didn't even notice that–excellent point on the alignment! :smash:

Very generalized–Fender style trems need trem spacing–but getting the alignment corrected will make the difference not as off.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

Guys, there's plenty of room on the treble side, if he does the above he would only be pushing the neck further away from center.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

Looks like his alignment is slighty off, but angles....so....

Definitely needed a TB in there, but it wont sound much different if at all.

 

[Demanic]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

Looks like his alignment is slighty off, but angles....so....

Definitely needed a TB in there, but it wont sound much different if at all.

In revisiting the photos, I reiterate my original statement: If it sounds good, leave it.

 

[Zarg]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

That's exactly what i was scrolling down to say.

Here is a single picture that will explain everything.


If that wasn't enough here's a complicated 3 stage process.

1 Loosen
2 Push
3 Tighten.

I did that before with some cheap bolt on that I had a while ago, and that worked, but the problem here is a bit more difficult since the neck sits tight in the pocket and i can only shift it around a little bit and both ways just make it worse.... I'm assuming something with the angles is messed up too, sadly not really fixable by just pushing the neck to the side

 

[kramersteen]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

THe angle wont change the fact that the low e string is much closer to the edge of the fretboard compared to the high e.

It's pretty drastic and obviously not aligned at all. So either the nut,bridge has been bodged or the factory have bad designs and there pockets aren't aligned.

 

[Zarg]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

The angle wont change the fact that the low e string is much closer to the edge of the fretboard compared to the high e.

It's pretty drastic and obviously not aligned at all. So either the nut,bridge has been bodged or the factory have bad designs and there pockets aren't aligned.

you're right, but its a pretty low end guitar that was quite cheap and it plays and sounds just fine so.... why bother.... next guitar will def. be a nicer one! I tried my best with the neckshift and it seemed to work a little bit, but at the nut its still not quite right, so i might try to take the nut out when i change strings today, maybe need an entire new one, dont know how much we want to invest in this but I've really grown fond of this guitar, maybe putting the nut more to the left will help, otherwise a new nut wouldnt be that expensive

 

[kramersteen]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

you're right, but its a pretty low end guitar that was quite cheap and it plays and sounds just fine so.... why bother.... next guitar will def. be a nicer one! I tried my best with the neckshift and it seemed to work a little bit, but at the nut its still not quite right, so i might try to take the nut out when i change strings today, maybe need an entire new one, dont know how much we want to invest in this but I've really grown fond of this guitar, maybe putting the nut more to the left will help, otherwise a new nut wouldnt be that expensive

Did you loosen the strings right off before you aligned it? I think i would send the string off the edge during extreme bends.

 

[Zarg]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

Did you loosen the strings right off before you aligned it? I think i would send the string off the edge during extreme bends.

yes I did it during a string change that was due anyways, those Rotosounds arent that great, and way too thick. Got some nice 10s on there now and it looks a bit better now, still a little off though. You're probably alright although huge bends like that aren't a problem I'll run into, It could be better but I'm happy with the guitar

 

[Rich_S]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

If you really want to get the strings centered on the fretboard, take the neck off and check the pocket. On my #1 MIM Tele, I couldn't get the neck aligned straight because there were paint runs in the pocket keeping it from moving to where it needed to be. After a bit of work with a sharp chisel and a wide, flat file, I got the neck pocket cleaned up, and tightened down at the right angle with the string s centered.

Regarding your pickup, the spacing won't be perfect, but the misalignment should be shared more evenly between the low and high E strings. The procedure described above will help with that.

I'm not a big believer in pickup pole spacing being critical. My PT Goldtop has a regular '59 in the bridge and it's fine.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

Yeah, although it hurts my OCD, I say if it sounds fine then it is fine.

 

[Mincer]

Re: That doesnt line up in the slightest.... does it?!

If it works, don't worry. A guitar with any trem, vintage or modern, should have a Trembucker to have the poles align, but soundwise, that matters more on some pickups than others. I'd be more worried sound-wise on a more vintage output pickup. The Demon should have enough output to hear the lower strings.