Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm working on a Aria MAC electric (bolt on neck), with really bad back bow. Should I just get the LMII neck heater? The high E and B string are completley dead. I put a straight edge on the neck and almost laughed my ass off. The truss rod works, and is backed all the way out. Any ideas?

Rick,

Is there any indication it has had a re-fret?? I am sure you are aware, but over size tang on the wire can introduce a back bow.

Cheers

Kim

i guess you haven't noticed but use of such colourful or robust language is discouraged here.

kim's observation regarding the effect of an injudicious fret wire selection during a refret is one highly plausible explanation which is of course easily, albeit expensively, reversible.

if that, or a similarly reversible cause is not evident, then heat is your next likely option. most of the back bends i have encoutered have not had a readily obvious cause.

whilst the lmi neck heater is a good source of heat it is expensive. they also sell, or at least used to sell, an appropriately shaped heating blanket suitable to the task. still not a cheap solution.

heat lamps and household irons have long been an improvisational source of heat for straightening operations.

or you could make a heater with a rod heater and a piece of aluminium or steel plate or channel.

all will work, some perhaps a bit quicker and/or more conveniently.

i usually try to induce a slight forward bend which can be taken out with the truss rod to obtain the desired relief.

It's a brand new guitar so the refret wouldn't have happened yet. I can grab the wife's house iron and heat it, but I was just wondering if it would work on the neck. I use it for acoustic bridge removing.

Thanks,

Rick

If it's brand new, I'd certainly take it back where I got it. The neck probably won't ever be right. My opinion.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

if it is a new guitar, i agree with ron, that it should be taken back. the neck can probably be made quite ok, but it should not have to be.

when using the household iron you may be treading on thin ice! it will have to be kept moving to evenly heat the neck which will result in the sole being scratched by the frets. swmbo may take exception to this treatment. may be better to visit the local goodwill or similar and pick uo a $2 special.

I'm actually fixing it for a music store.

(excuse me if i'm showing my ignorance here )

is it possible to completely slacken the rod, clamp it into mild relief and re tighten the rod?

works for me sometimes, more often than not in fact.

- interested to see how it gets sorted :)

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