set neck problems on semi hollow bass

[noproblam]

Hi - I've glued the neck on/removed it 3 times as the strings are flat on the fretboard - I've raised the bridge to its maximum height - then the posts pull out of the body - really the neck is not the problem - the back of the body, where the bridge sits, slopes downward - the bridge actually sits lower then the fretboard. I eventually made a trapeze arrangement - from a potato masher! so the strings dont attach to the bridge. The strings go over the bridge putting no stress on the posts but still no good - anyone got some advice??? also I cant upload a pic - keep getting the pitbull.com image upload failed . . .must say this site is a bitch to get around . . .

[Trevor Davies]

Hi noproblam,

as far as the pictures go, they cannot be too large in pixel size . Try reducing the size of the pictures. Some folks also use external sites to manage their pictures. (And yes the site is a bit clunky to navigate)

Take a look at (this very old link):
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ead.php?t=2616

[Simon Barden]

The bushings pulling out of the ESB-4 has been a long standing problem, partly due to the angle of the body where they go in, but mainly (I think) because the solid wood block down the middle is very soft (probably Paulownia) and it just doesn't grip the splines well enough. If you've finished putting the finish on, I'd just epoxy the bushings into the body. The bushings aren't the longest bushings there are either. I started building one of these kits and found some extra long bushings (30mm IIRC). I had to drill the holes a bit deeper to match. I didn't finish the guitar as the bloke it was meant for b**gered off and so gave it to my friend JimC to finish. https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...highlight=JimC

But I did buy a Hipshot bridge to replace the kit one, which isn't the best bridge in the world. That doesn't solve the bushing problem on its own, but it does make for a more solid string anchor.

With the kit bridge, you're best getting the bridge sitting parallel to the strings rather than to the body, as this reduces the upward force slightly on the two rear screws, so more of the force is forwards rather than upwards.

[noproblam]

hhmmm - the bushings arent the problem - the bridge isnt high enough at its maximum height - strings are on the neck no matter how high I raise the bridge - seems to me the neck is at an angle right where the strings 1st hit the neck - after I've taken the p/up out so the strings dont rub across the top..dunno - I think the slope on the base of the neck, where it sits in the pocket is wrong . . I'll do some pics and might help -

[noproblam]

- does this help? - bridge as high as it can go -actually Ive raised the bridge to a ridiculous height to make the strings parallel with the neck - its the pocket/neck - just a bad design or someone in china was having a bad morning . .

[Simon Barden]

It’s the first ESB-4 I’ve heard of with a neck angle issue, (though the bushings pulling out is common) so it is more likely to be a factory machining error. Unless things have changed recently, the various factories Pit Bull get their kits from don’t use CNC machines but hand routing using templates and a large proportion of the workforce is young unskilled labour. The templates wear over time so tolerances can get sloppy if the template isn’t replaced on time.

Or as the neck and the body neck pocket routs are matched using the same template, the wrong neck for the body has occasionally been sent out, though this is rare (the pocket and neck should have the same number or symbol pencilled on them).

If you’ve taken the neck off before, then it looks like you’ll need to do it again and either put an angled shim under the neck heel, or have a go at adjusting the bottom of the neck heel directly to angle the neck so it points down towards the body a bit more.

I’d certainly raise the issue directly with Pit Bull Guitars.

[noproblam]

Thanks for the advice - I have raised the issue with PB and they sent me here as theyre not builders - If the factories are not using CNC routing I can see why the neck/pocket dont match. I guess part of the whole DIY guitar building is to solve these problems yourself - which is what I'll do - either a shim or reshaping the neck heel. For now I'll stick to bolt on necks.

[Simon Barden]

That would be my advice with the state of the kits coming out of China at the moment. The set neck kits are a bit too variable for my liking. Fine if you are lucky, a lot of work if not.

[Dikkybee007]

Watch Crimson Guitar videos. I thought at first Ben was a arrogant so-n-so in his earlier videos but after watching his later videos he has some very interesting ideas and mad skills. He just recently adjusted a set neck angle with a plane.

I am at the start of building 3 set necks, an SG and 2 Explorer wannabees, and have adjusted the neck angle so I can use a through body string set up. All you need to do is shim the neck to the right angle, take the shim thickness and mark the neck with a pencil and I used a small plane and adjust the angle to lower the rear of the neck. More than likely you will shim the edge closest to the head so as to lower the angle, so you mark the end closest to the bridge and that is the end to remove the wood. Its a bit fiddly and you need a good vice or some way of holding the neck but just take it slow and check your progress a lot and I finished the base with a piece of 240 sandpaper glued down to a piece of wood.

When I was using the sandpaper I would scribble on the base with a pencil and see where I was removing the wood and made sure it was flat and square to the sides. It probably took me a couple of hours or a little less on each neck to get them right but I have nothing else to do so it was time well spent plus there was plenty of breaks as I don't like to rush as that is when the guitar neck becomes a tomato stake.

[Simon Barden]

Some set necks are easier to adjust that others. The big hollow body and the LP style kits are far more awkward because they don't just sit nicely in a pocket but have angled overhangs at the sides which also need the angles adjusting. And making sure those angles are all the same isn't the easiest of jobs.