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Nate Dort wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2024 6:28 am

TylerDeadPine wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 4:58 pm

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 3:46 pm Larry Cragg is big on ‘no relief’ except for players that hit hard.

I wonder what his tolerance for straight would be - lot of wiggle room in opinion in the word 'straight'.

Is there a Kinsey Scale equivalent for neck relief?

Maybe it's correlated

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 3:46 pm Larry Cragg is big on ‘no relief’ except for players that hit hard.

What is relief?

Mickey242 wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2024 8:13 pm

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Sun Apr 14, 2024 3:46 pm Larry Cragg is big on ‘no relief’ except for players that hit hard.

What is relief?

The opposite of straightness in a guitar neck.

No relief as in literally none? Maybe if all you ever do is sweep arpeggios and your action is 1/64th. But I think if you actually play music on the thing you gotta have a little.

When I'm putting a guitar together I usually set the neck to be dead flat and let the string tension add just the slightest bit of relief. Obviously there is some adjustment when setting up and doing the intonation, but in terms of what feels good to me, this get's me most of the way there.

But after I set up and check, double check and triple check my intonation over the course of a week or two, I basically forget it. I'm not playing along to the radio and don't have the sharpest ear, so I'm sure it's not perfect. And honestly there's something I love about guitars with bridges that make perfect intonation impossible. When close enough is all you can do it kind of takes the pressure off.

Tom Wanderer wrote: Wed Apr 17, 2024 10:59 am When I'm putting a guitar together I usually set the neck to be dead flat and let the string tension add just the slightest bit of relief.

That's what I do too.

Here’s the article
The Tele pickups he talks about are basically the best things ever, btw. Fralin makes them but you have to order from Larry.

Tech got back to me. It was the relief! Backbowed a little, even . Plays great now.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Wed Apr 17, 2024 12:23 pm Here’s the article

^^ I disagree with that (staunchly?). That would make sense if a truss rod went from nut to bridge, but it doesnt. Imagine an un-shimmed telecaster because 1) best guitar, and 2) its a basic reference point. The body is flat and always will be flat. The neck is mounted such that at the neck pocket it is parallel to the body, thus the joint is inherently flat. So any curvature that happens bends UP from there, not down and back up. Like this crude ass caveman drawing: