• Ernie Ball
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  • Sterling by MusicMan

Mack

New member
Joined
Dec 1, 2021
Messages
2
Hey everyone,

I recently purchased a new (still sealed) 2021 Stingray 5 special HH and upon receiving it today noticed that the neck seemed to be misaligned which was causing the G string to be extremely close to the edge of the fingerboard. I reseated the neck which improved the alignment somewhat but based on the position of the truss rod adjustment it still seems to be somewhat misaligned to the right. I'm feeling pretty disappointed that this issue is occurring on an instrument of this price and caliber. I'm currently waiting to hear back from the seller I got it from to see if I could possibly do an exchange/return but I'm wondering if I should reach out to Ernie Ball support to see if there is anything they can do? Thank you!

-Mack
 

tbonesullivan

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
2,250
Location
New Jersey
Do you have any pictures you could post showing this around the neck pocket? Usually EBMM instruments have very tight neck pockets with no room for movement.
 

Mack

New member
Joined
Dec 1, 2021
Messages
2
Here are some pictures. These first ones show the gap prior to any adjustment:

IMG_1179.jpeg
IMG_1181.jpeg
IMG_1182.jpeg

After resetting the neck I was able to get it to this:
IMG_1183.jpeg

While it seems more centered now, it definitely still seems a bit off. The original seller is being super helpful and put me in contact with someone at Ernie Ball but I'm just trying to gather extra feedback while I wait to hear back. I was told to work on adjusting the pick guard to see if that was making it appear to be misaligned but even with the pick guard pulled back it still seems a bit out of whack. If I were to try and set the pick guard to make it appear perfectly centered I would be forcing the screws away from their initial placement which I feel could damage the body:
IMG_1187.jpg
 

tbonesullivan

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Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
2,250
Location
New Jersey
The truss rod wheel looks better centered than it was before to be honest. Even with the screws all tight, necks can shift during shipping, as moisture / temperature differences can cause the wood to change in size. Items like the truss rod wheel cavity, pickup cavities, etc, which are under the pickguard for the most part, usually won't have the same fit/finish as the rest of the body, no matter how high end the guitar is.
 
Last edited:

ohbugger

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 16, 2014
Messages
113
It looks like your adjustments are definitely helping in the right direction. Also, you might just want to check to make sure the bridge saddles are pulling straight and not skewed a bit to one side. You can loosen the strings a bit and shift as needed there.
 
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