Continued from Sonic Blue '62 Part 1.
Same caveats as before...this is simply how I put my strats together. I may be doing things wrong, or maybe there are better ways to do it.
Musikraft neck
Specs on the neck I ordered through Musikraft:
Seasoned Maple / Dark Rosewood
21 Frets
1-5/8" Nut Width
10" Radius
Medium C Profile
Real Aged Clay Dots (Tops/Sides)
Medium 6105 Frets
Semi rolled edges
I had the neck aged by MJT before sending it to me. MJT also added some Kluson style hardware and included a bone nut (which I didn't end up using).
The neck came with pre-drilled holes for installation onto the body, which will save me a lot of time and effort.
After receiving the neck I did the following:
Inspect for damage
Test fit to body
Inspect frets for level and decided that I wasn't going to repolish them
Cleaned entire neck
Oiled tuners
Oiled fretboard with lemon oil
Before installing the neck I cleaned out the neck pocket on the body. Some paint will inevitably get into the neck pocket during the paintjob. Sometimes it's not too bad, and no sanding needs to be done. In my case, the neck was a tight fit so I sanded down some paint from the sides and I levelled out the bottom of the pocket as well.
Neck plate and screws were Gotoh aged series. First thing I did was to dry fit the screws through the body. The screw holes on the body should not be too tight such that the threads of the screws are engaged - there should be enough clearance to slide the screw in and out of the body without a screwdriver. If there isn't I usually widen the holes. This ensures a tight fit between body and neck without having to drive the screws too deep.
Next, make sure that the screws are lubricated (I used paste wax, candle wax is fine). After that I screw the neck to the body using a manual screwdriver. Make sure not to drive one screw all the way in without doing the other 3 - drive all four of them in stages.
Once the neck is fitted, do an assessment of the fit to ensure that everything is sitting tightly with no visible gaps, and that the neck is sitting straight from visual analysis. Make sure that the screws are screwed in tightly but not too tight.
Nut height and associated adjustments
Before the guitar can be strung up, the nut needs to be installed.
For the bone nut this time, I got one that was pre-notched. I shaped it to the true radius of the neck using sandpaper over the fretboard (lay/tape sandpaper over your fretboard and run the nut over it so that the bottom conforms to the radius). Then I did a dry fit to ensure that I was happy with the fit and the rough height.
After that I used nut files to shape the nut slots as they have been pre-notched. I'm actually not too happy with the location of the notches, so I may have to get a new nut at some point down the line. But for now I just wanted to get the install done so I soldiered on with the nut that I had.
Using the nut files, create slots for the strings. I do it only slightly deeper than the notches that were already on the nut when purchased. They only serve to hold the strings there for now. Next I press the string down on the 3rd fret and visually check how much space is between the string and the 1st fret. That will give me an indication of how much of the slot I have to cut into in order to get the nut action that I like (you have to know what your personal preference is for nut height and know what that looks like to do this). With this information, I may choose to go ahead and slot the nut close to the depth that I need, or I may choose to sand the bottom of the nut to get the entire nut profile lower.
With the nut dry fitted, strings in slot, nut action higher than it should be, I do a few checks and rough set ups:
1. Check the neck relief by pressing down on the 1st and last fret. Get the relief close to where I want it by doing a truss rod adjustment if required
2. Check that the string spacing is adequete. As mentioned I was not too happy with mine but I chose to go ahead with it.
3. I like to make sure that the neck is tight against the neck pocket by tuning it up to pitch, then loosening all 4 neck screws by 1/3 of a turn. There may be a creak, and if your neck hasn't snapped off (kidding...) then tighten the screws again. If there was a creak, then you should find that you're slightly detuned after the adjustment.
4. Check that the neck is installed straight by using the strings as an edge guide and sighting down the neck.
5. Set the bridge to your liking - floating or fixed (down only). I like to set mine up a la Carl Verheyen (look it up).
6. At this point I also adjust the approximate action at the 12th fret using the bridge saddles. There's no point getting this exact right now because action at the 12th fret has to do with both bridge height as well as nut height. I adjust it close to where I want it to be, but higher...they will be fine tuned later.
Once I'm happy with all that I cut the nut slots a little shallower than where I think they should be. I then bring out the Nut Depth Gauge to fine tune the nut depth and make sure they are even across the 6 strings. I do like to stagger the depth so that the bass strings have a little bit of a higher action that the treble ones. With the Nut Depth Gauge, get the nut action exactly where you want it. At that point I clean out the slots with abrasive cord, and the nut is done. You may need to add graphite to make sure that the strings glide over those nut slots.
I generally leave the nut in there unglued for a while, at least until the first string change. I leave myself a lot of playing time to figure out all the issues with the nut, if any. Once I'm happy with it I will remove the nut at the next restring and glue it into place. I use diluted carpenter's glue or shellac, depending on what I have handy.
Mini Set Up
Once the nut is finalised, the action at the 1st fret should be exactly where I want it. At this point I have a guitar that is strung up with nut adjustments completed (presumably). I move on to the bridge an continue adjustments there.
I fine tune the saddle heights and intonation at the bridge. I use a ruler to measure the action at the 12th fret, and adjust the saddles to my preference using a hex key. Intonation is done by comparing the open string note, natural harmonic at the 12th fret and the fretted note at the 12th fret.
Trem claw set up should already be done previously but I go through this again. Also I check if the strings are returning to "home" pitch once the tremolo is released. If there are problems then I go through and work out solutions for them (usually to do with the nut).
Note that at the end of this set up, I should have a guitar that plays in tune and is well intonated. You should be able to judge how well the project is going based on acoustics alone. However, the pickups have not been installed yet. They have a strong magnetic pull and the guitar will most likely require a final set up after they are installed.
In any case, at this point the guitar is ready to be played and I generally spend some time playing it before continuing with the next point of assembly. I want to figure out now if I have:
1. Dead spots on the neck (fret issues)
2. String spacing issues
3. Tuning and intonation issues
4. Tremolo issues
5. Hardware issues (i.e. sharp edges on tuners/bridge may cause string breakage)
6. It is also the first time that the guitar has had strings on it. I like to leave it to find equilibrium with all that string tension. Problems may not develop until this has happened so give it time before moving on. May as well fix it while all your tools are already out.
In the next blog post we'll go through preparation for the hardware and the electronics and the finishing touches.
To be continued....