Valentine Neck has lots of play as in wiggle room

[Zaxa]

Hi all, I'm brand new to this forum and also brand new to being a Music Man owner. I received a Valentine Tremolo today and I like nearly everything about it. The neck seems to have a lot of movement in it though. I saw another post about this here:
http://forums.ernieball.com/ernie-ball-music-man-guitars/64358-valentine-neck-question.html

and I am having the same issue. I mean if I am holding a G chord on the neck for instance and I move my right arm on or off the guitar I am hearing the pitch being effected. The neck just seems to be very easy to move, I am getting a tremolo effect with the slightest movement in the guitar without going near the trem arm. I am a big guy so I wonder if my weight is too much on it or what. I don't know if I could keep the guitar really with this going on so much. The neck itself looks set right and I checked that the screws for the neck were all good and they are. Is anyone else in the same boat? Thanks

 

[Jamie M]

I have had no issues with my Valentine. I dont play it now as it will be going to its new owner soon but the neck on it is as all my Balls. Perfect, solid and slick.

 

[Clyde]

When I got my Valentine the neck was indeed loose but simply tightening the bolts fixed the issue. I have no issues with it now.

Maybe the neck isn't set well? I don't know about EBMM guitars, but with Fender's, you can set a neck under string tension by simply loosening the bolts while the strings are on and at pitch. You may want to ask EBMM about this before trying it. Actually, if you call them I'm sure they'll help you troubleshoot the issue in general.

 

[tbonesullivan]

I would definitely take a bit of tension off the strings, make sure the neck is on straight, and give the neck screws a bit of a turn to see if they move. If they do, make them nice and snug. Do NOT tighten the hell out of them. They are only going into wood, so you can strip them if you really try.

 

[Zaxa]

Thanks for the suggestions. I already made sure the neck screws were tight and they ain't budging. I emailed EBMM a few days ago so I'll wait and see.

 

[Clyde]

Thanks for the suggestions. I already made sure the neck screws were tight and they ain't budging. I emailed EBMM a few days ago so I'll wait and see.

I called EBMM earlier and immediately got through to a tech so you may want to try that if you don't hear from them soon.

 

[Zaxa]

I called EBMM earlier and immediately got through to a tech so you may want to try that if you don't hear from them soon.

They replied to me earlier. I am just going to return this anyway. The neck is unfortunately much too small for my big hands either way. Thanks

 

[tbonesullivan]

They replied to me earlier. I am just going to return this anyway. The neck is unfortunately much too small for my big hands either way. Thanks

What guitars do you normally play? Just wondering.

 

[Zaxa]

What guitars do you normally play? Just wondering.

Fender, Gibson, Gretsch. I have played the Cutlass before and it’s a great guitar and has a bigger neck for me. I’ve one on back order.