Help! A few questions about my new Music Man guitar

[sunn]

Hello everyone,

I recently bought a used 2010 Music Man Albert Lee SSS model. I like it very much so far, the neck feels amazing and the guitar is very comfortable.

I have a few questions, however.

1) The neck and the fingerboard, despite not being played much, is a bit dirty. The fingerboard got darker in some places. The neck has never been treated with oil and wax (3 years). Can I use some wet paper towels to clean the neck? Next, I guess I'll need to treat the neck with wax. Will Dunlop Carnauba Wax do the job? Should I just put some wax on the back of the neck, then buff the neck with a clean cloth? Should I do the same procedure with the fingerboard?

2) One of the knobs is 1,5mm higher than the other. That doesn't appeal to me aesthetically. What can I do to lower it?

3) 1 of 5 bridge screws is stripped. It still pushes the bridge down, but not as hard as the other screws. Is there any need to worry?

Thanks in advance! And sorry for my bad English.

 

[fbecir]

Hello and welcome aboard

Your English is fine (as a Frenchman, I pollute this forum with my bad English for quite a long time).
In order to wash your neck, you can use a towel with a bit of water. Personally, I use the Ernie Ball Wonder Wipes but when my kids were babies I used also towel for baby ass (I do not know the English term, but Pampers was the brand !).
Your guitar is quite young, thus you don't need to oil & wax the neck (my Morse is 11 years old and I never had to oil it).

For the bridge, the best is to post a photo.
By the way, one of the forum rules is : no pics = no guitar !

Enjoy your guitar

 

[sunn]

Thanks!
And yeah, there are some pics too

 

[jzeijen]

Hi and welcome! That's a nice AL you've got there, congrats!

Could you post a pic of the bridge 'problem' in detail, so we can have a look at question number 3?

 

[sunn]

Could you post a pic of the bridge 'problem' in detail, so we can have a look at question number 3?

I'm talking about the top-right screw on the bridge which holds its plate down. It looks completely normal from the outside. It just won't stop if I try to tighten it up.

 

[beej]

Hmmm ... that could be a problem. You want the bridge to make good contact with the body so it doesn't work lose. It could also have an impact, sonically.

If it were me, I'd remove the bridge, drill/plug the hole with a dowel, then re-drill and screw the bridge back in so it makes solid contact. Or get a luthier to do it if you're not comfortable. It's not a big job, but could save you some pain in the future.

As for the height of the knobs, make sure they're properly seated on the pots. If one pot is higher than the other, that's easily fixed by taking off the pickguard and having at it.

Oh, and nice guitar!

 

[meanMRmustard]

Love that colour on the AL my fav!

 

[coldsummer]

towel for baby ass

An excellent description!

 

[TSHOW]

Congratulations, she is a beauty.......

 

[ozzyrules]

This makes me want an AL even more!!! That's one of my favorite colors.