Guitar neck bow, or relief, is a common issue that guitar players may encounter. While a slight bow is often desirable for optimal playability, excessive bowing can lead to high action, buzzing frets, and an overall uncomfortable playing experience. For relatively minor cases of neck bow, adjustments can often be made to bring the neck back to a more playable state. This article explores several techniques, from fret leveling to more intensive neck work, to address and correct guitar neck bow.
Fret Leveling for Minor Bows
In situations where the neck bow is not too severe, it might be possible to correct the issue by simply leveling the frets. This process involves carefully filing down the tops of the frets to create a level plane. By ensuring the frets are even, you can sometimes compensate for a slight bow in the neck without needing to address the wood itself. However, it’s important to note that fret leveling alone is typically only suitable for minor bows. If the bow is significant, more comprehensive methods will be required.
Fingerboard Leveling
When fret leveling isn’t sufficient, the next step often involves removing the frets and leveling the fingerboard itself. This technique addresses the underlying issue of the bowed wood of the neck. By carefully removing wood from the fingerboard surface, you can create a straighter plane upon which to install new frets. Using specialized tools like the Erlewine Neck Jig can be incredibly helpful in this process, as it allows you to hold the guitar neck in a controlled position while you work on leveling the fingerboard. This jig helps ensure accuracy and evenness during the leveling process.
It’s crucial to exercise caution when leveling the fingerboard. Removing too much wood can lead to problems, such as a fingerboard that becomes too thin, particularly at one end. Additionally, after leveling, the fret slots may become shallower in certain areas and require deepening to properly accommodate new frets. If your guitar has inlay work on the fingerboard, you may also need to remove and reinstall it after leveling, or carefully work around it during the process.
Corrective Refretting
Another effective technique for addressing guitar neck bow is corrective refretting. This method utilizes fret wire with wider tangs – the part of the fret that inserts into the fret slot. By carefully selecting fret wire with tangs that are slightly wider than the existing fret slots, and then pressing these frets into the slots, you can create a compression force that helps to pull the neck back against the up-bow. This technique, often referred to as a corrective compression refret, can be particularly helpful in straightening bowed necks during a refretting job. For a more in-depth look at this method, you can explore resources detailing corrective compression refretting techniques.
Combining Leveling and Corrective Refretting
In many cases, the most effective approach to correcting guitar neck bow involves a combination of techniques. Often, luthiers will utilize both fingerboard leveling and corrective refretting to achieve optimal results. By first leveling the fingerboard to address the primary bow in the wood, and then employing corrective refretting to further refine the neck’s straightness, a significant improvement can be achieved. This combined approach allows for a more comprehensive and effective solution to neck bow issues.
More Extreme Cases: Neck Leveling
For guitars with severe neck bow, it may be necessary to take more drastic measures and level the neck itself, without the fingerboard attached. This is a more involved process where the fingerboard is removed entirely, allowing access to the neck wood for leveling. After leveling the neck, the fingerboard is then reattached, and further leveling may be performed on the fingerboard itself to ensure a perfectly straight and playable surface. Corrective refretting is often also incorporated after neck and fingerboard leveling in these extreme cases.
Leveling the neck is a more complex and costly repair due to the increased labor involved. Additionally, removing wood from the neck itself can slightly alter its overall shape, potentially requiring additional work to blend the edges of the fingerboard seamlessly back into the neck profile. Finish touch-ups are also often necessary after neck leveling, as the process can affect the surrounding finish.
However, a significant advantage of neck leveling is the opportunity it provides to reinforce the neck against future bowing. With full access to the internal structure of the neck, you can incorporate stronger reinforcement measures. This might involve installing a more robust truss rod, either adjustable or static, or adding carbon fiber reinforcement beams to significantly enhance the neck’s stability and resistance to bowing over time.
Adjustable Truss Rods Aren’t Always Enough
It’s important to remember that even guitars equipped with adjustable truss rods can still develop excessive neck bow. Truss rods have their limits, and sometimes a neck can bow beyond the corrective capacity of the truss rod alone. In these situations, the fret leveling, fingerboard leveling, and neck leveling techniques described above become relevant, even for guitars with adjustable truss rods.
Before resorting to these more involved repair methods, it’s always advisable to first try to assist the truss rod in doing its job. This might involve carefully and incrementally adjusting the truss rod, ensuring you don’t exceed its safe operating range. Sometimes, with gentle manipulation and time, the truss rod can be coaxed into bringing the neck back to a more acceptable relief. However, if truss rod adjustments are insufficient, the other techniques discussed provide effective solutions for addressing guitar neck bow and ensuring optimal playability.
