Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi!

I'm drawing down a plan for a telecaster I'll begin in the next days. I was wondering about the neck angle. Pretty much every telecaster and stratocaster that I've seen are bolt at 0°, but it seems to be problematic, often, 'cause I've seen a lot of neck that had to be shimed to get the right set-up. The first solid-body I built was a Jazz Bass. I didn't put any angle, and it's been really hard to get a good action.

Now I'm pretty sure I'll go with a 1° angle (I'll use a strat-style bridge), but was wondering wich approach to take. Is it really necessary to make a jig and all the stuff to put a 1° angle to the pocket? I was thinking to reach the angle on the ''heel'', as it is a really small amount of wood to sand down. Is that okay, or am I completly out of the track?

Thanks
Francis

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

Francis,

Provided that the up-down saddle movement can move above and below the fret plane, there should be no reason why good action can be achieved with a 0 degree neck angle. You have to know what hardware you are going to use going into the build, or you can get yourself into trouble.

Often times, the only reason I add neck angle is to accommodate taller bridges (such as the Gibson tuneomatic style) without have to pull the the neck so far out of the guitar. Additionally, neck angle can sometime be more comfortable for some players. Personally, I prefer it flat, so I do that when I can.

Stephen

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com