FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Epiphone Guitar Neck

Question:
Is there a way to check the straightness of a guitar neck? I have tried sighting down the body and neck but find the different diameter of the strings kind of throws my eyes off and makes it look like the neck is twisted. I guess it would be better with no strings, but haven't gotten to the point of re-stringing a guitar yet. I purchased the guitar at Christmas and was told use the guitar for a while and bring it back in 3 months to have it checked a setup again. My brother in law plays drums in a band and the guitar player with 30 years of playing said he would set the guitar up for me. I guess both would be a good choice but I sure would like to be able to check the neck myself from time to time. Not sure if it makes a difference but its a Epiphone Fat 210.

Answer:
As I understand it, a guitar neck should NOT be straight - there should be a slight bow in it, the technical term for this being the relief. Think about it - your strings are fixed at the bridge, and held tight over the nut. When you twang it, it's going to vibrate and it needs room to do it. If you change the strings for a heavier guage, these will pull the neck forwards and the relief will increase. Conversely, if you fit lighter strings the relief will decrease, and you could get string rattle. To set it on my fender, I put a capo on the first fret and hold the 6th string down on the last fret, so that if the neck was straight then the string would be flush all the way along. But to set up the relief properly, there should be a .010 gap at the 8th fret. As I say, this is for my fender. I don't know what it is on an Epiphone. Anybody else know? You should also have the action, the intonation and the pickup height checked as part of a set up.