GPB-4M loose neck socket

[lawarmotte]

Hi there !

I've received my GPB-4M kit, so I checked every parts and try to see how neck / body & bridge should go.
If I understood things correctly, It's suppose to be a tight fit when you put body & neck together. (or at least somehow adjusted)

But in my case I have like more than 2 mm of range, the neck can literally jiggle in the socket. So aside of the super ugly gap there is between the body and the neck, it appear that depending of the position I "choose" the bridge get of centered a lot...

So I just want to know if that's a normal situation, because it's really not looking good.


Thanks in advance for your answers.

[HarmonIser]

That's not healthy!
I'd touch base with Adam/Ben.

[Rabbit]

my experience has been that the neck pocket is routed parralell... the width at the back of the pocket (just before the rounded corners caused by the diameter of the router bit) and the width at the front of the pocket are the same. The neck on the other hand conforms to the taper of the finger board. As a result there is a gap between the neck and the neck pocket .

[lawarmotte]

Ok, I understand that there should be, somehow, a small gap between neck & socket, but here it's just huge in fact.

[Rossco381]

How long have u had it before checking? My djz4 had quite a bit of movement in the neck straight up. After leaving it open while I deliberated on finish, headstock design etc for a couple days the kit must have "acclimatised" itself and there was almost no play at all.

[lawarmotte]

How long have u had it before checking? My djz4 had quite a bit of movement in the neck straight up. After leaving it open while I deliberated on finish, headstock design etc for a couple days the kit must have "acclimatised" itself and there was almost no play at all.

How, interesting! I've just checked this like, 48h after receiving the kit.

[Rabbit]

How, interesting! I've just checked this like, 48h after receiving the kit.

I think most people recommend giving it a couple of weeks to stabilise. Depending on where you live and how long ago Pit bull received the kit, it may have been though quite the adventure with different environments before getting to you. The timber is not sealed, so they are able to take on and loose moisture.

[lawarmotte]

Alright, so it means that I shouldn't start working on it before a few weeks ?

[Simon Barden]

It's hard to tell quite how bad any gap is from the pics you've taken so far as they show several different conditions. Note that you don't really want a bolt-on neck to have push-fit tight as you 'll be adding finish to the neck and the top part of the sides of the neck pocket, so the gap will naturally reduce once you have finish on.

You've run string down the neck to the bridge position. With the neck pushed fully over to the bass side of the pocket, can you get the the 'E' and 'G' strings to run nicely parallel to the side of the neck with the bridge in what looks like a reasonable position? And in that position, how much of a gap is there between the treble side of the neck and the side of the pocket? If it's the amount shown in your third picture, then that is probably about right, when allowing for a few coats of finish.

Whilst I'd always suggest waiting a couple of weeks if you had a tight neck joint on a glued neck guitar, I wouldn't wait as long on a bolt-on, especially when you already have a gap.

[lawarmotte]

With the neck pushed fully over to the bass side of the pocket, can you get the the 'E' and 'G' strings to run nicely parallel to the side of the neck with the bridge in what looks like a reasonable position? And in that position, how much of a gap is there between the treble side of the neck and the side of the pocket? If it's the amount shown in your third picture, then that is probably about right, when allowing for a few coats of finish.

Well that's exactly what's showing the third picture, so I guess it's alright then !



Thanks you all for yours answers, I will now start to work on it!