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Just received my first music man guitar and am kind of disappointed.

M

moonman079

Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2010
Messages
6
Location
vinemont, alabama
Hi guys i just got my first music man guitar earlier. A BFR axis in predator green. The guitar is real nice plays and sounds good. But I am kind of disappointed that the high E is very close to the edge of the fretboard.
I’m wondering if I will have any issues when I go to my normal 11-52 string gauge. It wouldn’t be so bad but it was the last one Sweetwater had so I can’t exchange it for another one.
What do you guys think am i over thinking it? Or should I be disappointed since it costed 3 grand?
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Welcome to the forum! Congrats on a gorgeous guitar!

The neck has shifted a little in the pocket.

Here is a somewhat youger me, with a little something I did earlier...

 
I’m going to look into it. Overall it is a great guitar and I am happy with it. I just wasn’t expecting that. Some of it could be just being picky. But I’ve never spent this much on a guitar before. and have been saving up for over a year.
 
It shouldn't have gone out that way IMO, I'd send it back and get what you are TOTALLY happy with, for the $$.

Honestly EBMM guitars are really of highest quality, you shouldn't get another one like this, sounds like a miss.
 
Hi Moonman079,

From your pictures, it seems like you're experiencing neck shift. This is normal on guitars with bolt-on necks. Ernie Ball Music Man guitars are built with a .020 gap tolerance at the very back of the neck joint with a slight outward taper towards the opening of the pocket. This allows for expansion of the wood in the joint to prevent neck pocket cracking.
Sometimes when a guitar is shipped or stored on its side in the case, the neck can shift to one side in the pocket. The fix is to loosen the bolts on the neck and move it back to the center (watch Dr. Kev's video). If you're not comfortable doing this, we recommend having a qualified guitar technician work on your guitar.
If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected] and I'll help you out.
 
I’ve performed the exercise in Dr Kev’s video on a Jp12... follow the video and you’ll be ok!!!

There is nothing wrong with that guitar and no need to send it back.

If you want to CYA, call customer service prior to doing Dr’s video.... but you’ll be fine either way.
 
Dr. Kev is dead on. EVERY EB/MM guitar I've ever owned had to have the necks shifted. No big deal at all. Takes five minutes.
 
Definitely looks like a neck shift. You can even see how the neck has shifted. As the cutaway is pretty big, there is very little on the high E side to prevent a slight shift. This is an easy fix, and it will then be right as rain. Shipping exposes guitars to quite a bit more stress, temperature variations, etc than they would usually ever be subjected to under regular use, so unfortunately this can happen.

I would see if you can do it yourself, or see if you can get someone to look at it for you. Re-setting a bolt-on neck is a basic setup procedure, one you can easily do yourself.
 
Thanks guys I talked to customer support today they said it’s just a shift. I’m going to reset it when I get home.
I’ve done it on a few Fender’s over the years. Their neck pockets have a lot more room. Overall I am happy with the guitar. Feels great I wish I had tried music man before.
Coming from les Paul’s and SG’s. it’s going to take some getting used to all the way around. Mainly the nut width and smaller body. But it seems like it wouldn’t take long to adjust to.
 
Really sexy guitar and I LOVE the green. Should be an easy fix for you. I had that problem on a JP, but it wasn't the neck shifting, it was the nut. It had been cut incorrectly. On your guitar with the Floyd it certainly just seems like the neck shifted. You'll be up and running in no time.
 
I just had to adjust the neck on my new Axis Super Sport BFR. It is an easy adjustment. I noticed when doing pull offs on the high E string that it would go off the edge of the fretboard. Sure enough it was the neck being crooked in the neck pocket.
 
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