Hello. I hope I can get some helpful, and possibly "outside the box", suggestions for my problem.
First, I've owned both beautiful & POS guitars so I am well aware that some people dont even consider this a real guitar. Any insults are not necessary.
It's the Fender Squier Stratocaster guitar and video game controller. You can find it on Fender's site. It basically has both MIDI output and regular output albeit with only one pickup & a volume knob. I picked one up off eBay and the first thing I noticed is it didn't stay in tune well at all. Luckily the screws for the neck were loose and tightening them reduced the play in the neck to an acceptable level. I don't think tightening them anymore would be wise at this point. Me being persistently perfectionistic, I'd like to reduce the play to what I consider good, which is essentially very little / negligible. What are my options?
There's no doubt the reason the neck bends is because it's cheap and has a plastic fretboard but I am still hoping to eliminate more of the play/wiggle in the neck. Basic maintenance adjustments are not going to help although I'll get that done after I see what can be done about this neck. I'm trying to do this without ripping the neck open and trying to put a piece of CF in there. Not even sure there's room since the *plastic* fretboard is filled with electronics.
I was wondering if going to thicker strings would put more more pressure on the neck OR, at least, pull the neck more strongly in one direction and possibly make it less susceptible to wiggle/play? Is that right in theory? Would it help much? Anything that helps, even a little, is welcome. An imperfect solution for an imperfect instrument. Can any engineering types ring in on this? I'll bolt a piece of angle iron to the neck if I need to. I'm only ½ joking.
Thank you,
Dave
Ive never seen one, but does it have a truss rod of any type? Maybe its just real loose. As for strings, you would want thinner strings to ease the load on the neck.
Other concerns.... the neck should fit pretty solid in the neck pocket without having to keep cranking the bolts more and more. Even with it tight does it move around in the pocket? If so I would look into why its not sitting down solidly. The screws/bolts should hold it in place in the pocket...not to compensate for a loose, sloppy fit.
Paul B
It does have a truss rod. I don't know if its single or double action. But, does the truss rod adjustment affect the strength of the neck? I thought it was just to adjust the bowing of the neck. I will adjust it a little as the action is a little low and see if the stiffness is affected.
To be clear, if I create a vibrato by applying pressure to the head stock, there is simply too much play. It bends too easily in both directions. I don't intend to create vibrato in that way but it moves with so little pressure that just playing the guitar can cause some bend and it doesn't spring back to center. Guitar starts in decent tune, guitar ends in poor tune.
Strings:
I thought heavier would create more pressure and that pressure would reduce the amount of play. You think the opposite? Fender recommends .042-.009
The neck sits fine. The guy who sold it to me just never checked to tighten it. I didn't try to excessively crank it down. I just made the screws firmly tight. However, I'll give it a second look to be sure.
Thank you.
The truss rod is a adjustable reinforsment rod to counteract the force of the strings pulling up on the neck, so it does add strength in that plane. What way does the neck flex? In the plane that the strings pull, ( if guitar is laying on it back, neck moves up and down) or does it flex side by side? If your flexing that bad eaither way, with little force input, you have some major issues with the neck
Paul B
