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View Full Version : Fixing the neck on my Epoch/gibson



carp3nt3r
November 19th, 2006, 06:44 PM
This neck was out of sorts since i got the guitar but ive put up with it til now. i first lowered tension on the truss rod which was suposed to allow the neck to bow forward.However it didnt budge, i tryed tuning my strings a 5th higher to create more tension and would leave it that way til i wanted to play then would drop the tuning back to 1/2 step low.still no progress the neck was dead straight and with a slight back angle to it .notes around 2-3 frets would buzz if not played lightly. next i got larger dia. strings my high e is an
.011 tuned a 5th higher and still no corrective warpage took place.

Next idea i had was to try to elevate the strings slightly using the bridge adjustment, however it was only a moderate help.
So i decided to get drastic i loosened all the strings and removed the neck,
i got a piece of galvanized pipe hanger material (less then the thickness of a paper match.) about 1 3/4" long and cut two angles on the ends. this i placed against the neck screws closest to the head of the guitar in order to shim the neck forward in the neck pocket. i tightened the screws down cafefully and completely and now after re adjusting the bridge down, down,down it sounds exactly like i am strumming a guitar and not heckling a bumble-bee !! i adjusted the bridge to lower the action some more and it seems sooo much better. Is it a permanent fix? time will tell.

ps forgive mistakes, im no typist. Carp3nt3r.

Plank_Spanker
November 21st, 2006, 10:40 AM
Way to go, man!

I had to shim the neck on one of my Strats. I used thin plastic stock and it's been solid now for several years.

Chances are better than excellent that your fix is permanent also.

No mere out of whack neck shall defeat thee! :D

carp3nt3r
November 22nd, 2006, 09:19 PM
Well, I had thin plastic, i just figured metal shim would not dampen sound any,so i used the metal. I also could have used wood veneer pieces to build a shim for it but there again i was worried about dampening my sound. alls good so far.

carp3nt3r