non homogeneaous neck distortion

[Rui Barata]

Hello, my friends

 

I have a SG Faded and I suspect the neck has a strange issue. In the lower strings area it seems to be more curved than in the higher ones, i.e., the curvature of the neck is not homogeneous. The result is that the distance from the higher strings to the fretboard is lower than from the lower strings to it.

The guitar sounds ok, it doesn't go out of tune, great...but the distance from the strings to the fretboard got higher, probably due to temp change (temp amplitudes here are large), and it is influencing badly my playing.

 

Is it normal that a neck presents a non homogeneous neck distortion?

[BigKahune]

.

Are you talking about the action, or a bow/curve/twist in the neck?

 

Regarding the action - yes, the treble strings should be closer (lower action) then the bass strings (higher action), because the thinner treble strings use less area when vibrating.

 

Regarding the neck - if you've got an uneven bow or twist that could be trouble that would need the attention of a shop/luthier. It would possibly be a warranty issue if you're the original owner.

[Rui Barata]

.

Are you talking about the action, or a bow/curve/twist in the neck?

 

Yes, it's a curve with a twist. It's not that much but I feel the strings are too far from the fretboard. I haven't measured the distance...5 mm, more or less.

I have seen this before when we change seasons, from summer to winter and vice-versa but this time it seems to be more than usual.

[BigKahune]

.

An even bow/relief in the neck is expected. The amount can change a bit due to temp and humidity changes, and string gauge - that's why the truss rod has an adjustment nut.

 

A twist, or bowing more on one side than the other can be a problem depending on how far the neck has moved. I recommend you have a shop/luthier evaluate the situation.

[strat-o-steve]

Here's something that may ease your mind. I own several guitars, and I have learned over the years that many guitars will not have uniform amounts of relief on both sides of the fretboard. It is almost unreasonable to assume that any neck would! The bass strings are thicker, and when tuned to pitch, produce more tension, this combined with the fact that they are higher from the fretboard as well all produces way more strain on the bass side of the neck. So, therefore, given enough time and seasonal changes, and the neck stands a very good chance of having more relief on the bass side. The truss rod is in the center of the neck, and has nothing to do with adjusting this slight twist that can occur, so a truss rod adjustment will likely be useless. Anyway, you probably are fine, cause in reality, the bass strings need more relief than the treble strings. And a twist in the neck is not that bad at all until it gets to the point that it would cause the frets on the other side to be out of level, causing a hump where you would have a whole series of high frets. A slight twist can happen, and is nothing to worry about. A mild twist will cause you to not sleep at night, but is also probably nothing that would ruin playability. It is those terrible, extreme twists that will ruin a guitar, and a twist of this extent is very uncommon. P.S. keep in mind that if fretboards were actually flat, twists of any kind would be bad, but since they all have some sort of a radius to them, the neck may look twisted, but in actuality, the frets don't know it ;) Think about that for a while :D