I ordered an ES-1Q kit. The neck/body fit was really sloppy. Told PBG and they sent out a new neck & body. This one is only marginally better but still, in my opinion, far looser than it should be. Interestingly, the original neck in the new body is an even better fit.... but still not good enough IMHO.
Here's a link to a video of my test fit so judge for yourself....
In their build manual it says...
"Gently seat the neck in heel pocket. Hopefully you have a nice tight fit in place, and maybe you even need to do some sanding to get the neck in place...."
Well, mine are definitely not a "nice tight fit". Am I expecting too much? What's everyone's experience with PBG kits glued neck to body fit?
My experience is probably better than that. If it's spent a few days in transit, then I'd give it a couple of days to acclimatise as the wood can swell or contract with temperature and humidity changes and takes a little while to settle down again.
Though normally this means that a very tight indeed fit becomes an easier fit, but it can work the other way round. So I'd wait and see if it becomes better or worse. It may have been a tighter fit in the PBG unit when they tested it, but the wood may have contracted over its journey to you.
The bottom of the heel and tenon is the most important glue joint, as it's the only one you can really clamp down on to get a really strong glue bond. The sides of the pocket provide extra strength, but it's the neck to pocket floor that provides most of the joint strength against string tension.
But I'd still be most concerned about the neck angle. The neck angle on the ES-1 kits are notoriously shallow, resulting in a very high action when using the kit bridge. Because of the nature of the joint, with the neck width overhang on the top resulting in those cutaways, it's not an easy joint to adapt for a different angle.
From the video it looks like you've got the bridge in place, so set it as low as it can go, clamp the neck in place and see where a straight edge along the neck comes to on the bridge. If it's on the top of the saddles or a bit above, that's fine, as the strings won't be sitting flat on the fretboard when fitted, and the saddle will need to be raised up by a couple of mm or more. But if the end of the rule is below the top of the saddles, then you could have a problem with getting a decent action. Take a photo if you are unsure.
And please, only ask a question in one place as you don't get answers split over two or more different posts and you can get possibly conflicting information if people don't read the other thread and reply accordingly.
Reply With Quote
