Strat Necks

[RUSSET]

I have a late '90s Fender 'California Series' F.Red Strat. It is a great Strat now I have installed C.S. '54 pickups, mainly USA built, & painted in Mexico. The only thing I'm not 100% happy with is the neck. It has a 21 fret, 9.5" radius & Med.Jumbo frets & the slightly high sitting nut, gives it an action which is a little higher than I hoped for. If I lower the bridge saddles any more, I get choking & buzz on the higher frets. I am thinking of getting an early '60s/late '50s vintage -style neck with the correct era frets & 7.5" radius, preferably genuine Fender for the logo etc. Has anyone got any recommendations ?

Tony.

[bazmusicman]

Hi Tony,
Why don't you get the nut adjusted because if that is too high lowering the bridge saddles will only give you the problem that you have, i.e. choking on the higher frets. Also if the neck relieve is way out then this will also give you a bad action, its a case of all things being adjusted correctly.
Again if the frets are too large for you these can also be lowered.

I had a simular thing with the Strat that I built, the nut was too high. I adjusted it myself and then lowered the saddles to get a nice action.
If you are not confident enough to do it yourself seek out a good luithier, it can make all the difference to the playing action.

Best regards,
Baz.

[geoff1711]

It's easy enough to cut the nut a little lower, use a fine fret saw blade for the high E and B and use a junior hacksay blade for the rest, if you have a fine narrow file for the low E and A you can use that but wagling the hacksaw blade gentle works for me.

Don't take the strings off, just lift them one at a time from their slots and try a few gentle strokes at a time.

It's a very simple job which makes the world of difference.

Geoff

[ecca]

Flatten a junior hacksaw blade in the vice for a tichy bit thinner un.

[Uncle Fiesta]

Best to go to a professional who will have a set of the correct nut files. I do just about every maintenance job on my guitars and have for years, but this is the one job even I leave to the experts - 'cos I'm not one!

Most new guitars have their nuts cut slightly too high, as the manufacturers like to leave some 'meat' on for each player's personal adjustments.

[geoff1711]

I like that Ecca, but honestly if you are able to do practicle jobs it really isn't hard, if on the other hand you become a hazard to yourself and those around you if you even look at a screw driver go to a pro.

A few years ago I felt a bit lazy and had a new nut fitted by a local luthier, it cost me £50 - never again.

One little tip try and keep the dust as you saw / file because if you do go a little too deep mix the dust with superglue and it makes an excellent filler.

Most repair work on guitars is fairly simple, clearly glueing back a snapped off Gibson headstock is a pro job, but on the other hand shimming a Strat neck so you don't keep catching your hand on the trem saddles grub screws is easy.

Be brave, if you do a little at a time there's not much to go wrong.

Geoff

[RUSSET]

Thanks for your comments, lads. I definitely won't be attempting to do anything to the nut myself. I tried that on a Washburn Goldtop I have, with a modellers saw, & ruined the nut in no time at all. I had to get a luthier to install a new one. It's OK if you have been used to DIY jobs & have the right tools, but anything as delicate as this is a no-no for me. Ideally I would like a new vintage radius neck with vintage style frets. I find them more comfortable to play.

Tony.

[Amanda]

I didn't find any problem's replacing the nut on one of Daniel Martin's Strats.

Just a case of scoring either side of the nut to cut the varnish (on a Maple fingerboard), using a small
drift to tap out the nut and fitting a new one, slot cutting was done using an Xacto razor saw and junior
hacksaw...

The finished job was better than the one it replaced which had been badly cut!

I also replaced the worn nut on my '77 stratocaster..

[ecca]

Zero fret is the answer.
I don't know why it isn't a standard technique.
Why would it not be so ?
What, if any, are the arguments against it ?

[JimN]

Buy a Burns. Has a zero fret = low action. One hears negative comments about zero frets but I've had five, 2 x Vox Phantom VI's, 2 x Burns, 1 x Staftsbury accoustic, all great to play.

They must have been the Italian, EKO-built, Phantoms. The UK examples had necks constructed like Fenders (albeit with differently-shaped headstocks).