Need to know......

[outsider666]

I'm having an issue with one of my projects.....the neck seems to sit too high in the pocket, my guess is that I think it's an older style body and a new neck.....maybe?......because of this (I think) I can't set the action without getting buzzing on the lower frets and I don't want to raise the trem any higher because it's already floating way too far above the body for my liking.......anyways, my question is would trimming the inside of the neck pocket and then shimming the back behind the neckplate be a viable solution or should I just keep raising the trem???
Any help would be greatly appreciated........

[rjohnstone]

Can you post a pic of the problem?
Sometimes a little visual reference can go a long way.

[outsider666]

OK, here's some pics of what's going on........

Here's the neck on the guitar in question.......


When compared to one of my other RR's....


And here's how high the trem is aready raised as a result......


So I guess the main question is will this cause any problems if I keep raising the trem to get rid of the buzz.....or would another solution such as truss rod adjustment or altering the neck or neck pocket work better?

[RobRR]

Ive never seen an RR body with that shallow of a neck pocket... Ive got 7 bolton Rhoads and none of them are like that... are you absolutley sure thats a real Jackson body?

[outsider666]

If it's a knockoff then it's a good one....before I refinished it it was kinda maroon-ish in colour and was identical to every one of my other RR bodies...I always kinda assumed it was a PS-3T body due to the front route and jack on the lower horn...

[Newc]

Looks like the neck you're using is angled back more, or the pocket is.

I don't see that the trem height is a problem, but that's a personal preference thing.

Shaing the neck heel will require shorter bolts, but shaving the pocket as you suggest will require plate shims to avoid the shorter bolt issue.

If you're dead set on having that neck on that body, I'd shave the neck and get shorter bolts, or try it on another RR body.

[straycat]

I'd sand the neck heel down on a belt sander.Just take proper measurments first.I woud not re-rout the neck pocket If I had just painted the body.It woud be my luck the router would take off.
I woundn't be a problem if it were a non recessd trem body.

[outsider666]

Thinking for now I'll just keep raising the trem......I'm kinda attached to the body so I don't wanna fuck with it any more than I have to.....my main concern with raising the trem more is how does that effect the posts? Can raising the trem too high damage them?

[slash]

It looks like the neck pocket was cut for a top mounted floyd, about 5/8" deep. For a recessed floyd it should be 3/4" deep.

[RobRR]

It looks like the neck pocket was cut for a top mounted floyd, about 5/8" deep. For a recessed floyd it should be 3/4" deep.

I thought that too, until I looked at my string-thru Rhoads... pocket is just as deep as the rest but with with an angle to it. Ive never seen a neck stick up that far, most of the time, the fretboard is only 1-2mm above the body. Sorry, I cant explain that one man! Just plane down the neck heel about 3mm or so and you should be good to go.