Neck Differences on Axis

[jl2112]

I have an Axis that seems the action goes from consistent between the low e and high e side and gradually the high e side action gets higher than the other side, its abount .5mm higher around the 17th fret. The high e side is actually lower at the nut than the other side. It would have to be the neck and not the pocket, bridge, shimming etc since its not consistent throughout the whole neck. I cannot see any twist in it. My other one is not like that. I measured from the body to the fretboard both sides and its about .5mm difference in the neck height and its secured to the body well. Can that just be due to the hand sanding, wondering if some others have necks like that from differences in sanding possibly? I am assuming that's the difference but wondering if there's a slight twist there that I am unable to see.

 

[ThePod]

I have two Axis guitars. The necks are slightly different with the one being 1mm thicker around the 6th fret and .3-.5mm thicker overall. They both play great but there are noticeable size differences between the two.

 

[cbad335]

Is the high E saddle shifting? Or you may have an uneven fretboard that requires leveling, or a high fret? Anyway, I picked up a '97 Trans Red hardtail Axis last weekend. The seller also had a trans red trem Axis (early 2000's I believe) available. Although the width seemed similar, the neck was noticeably thinner on the trem Axis; the hardtail had a better executed, fuller asymmetrical shape. I happily took home the hardtail, but it does need a minor fret level because of some high frets in the upper region.

 

[jl2112]

The difference is the neck on the base side vs the treble side. It’s like is noticeably lower from the body to the fretboard on the high e side. This causes the action to be a little higher on that side though the action starts the same on the low e and high e at the 5th fret etc.

 

[cbad335]

That's odd. I'll look at mine when it comes back from the shop and let you know if the fretboard is equidistant from the body on both the bass and treble sides. It is on my other bolt on guitar (Tele) where the neck joins the body (17th fret). It sounds like a twist or uneven fingerboard. Has the guitar been re-fretted?

 

[jl2112]

No its the original frets. I cant tell it has a twist sighting it but I guess it has to be that or the wood is actually lower on the treble side as you get higher up the neck. I dont know if there can be slight fretboard slope from manufacturing or not. My other one is even all the way through the neck. Ive never had to deal with a twisted neck so maybe its not always easy to see even if it is.

 

[cbad335]

I got my Axis back and measured from the bottom of the neck pocket to the top of the fingerboard at the 17th fret; 26mm on both the treble and bass sides. Many bolt-on-neck guitars have shims in the neck pocket. Maybe you have one that has shifted. Have you removed the neck to examine it?

 

[jl2112]

The problem is the string action is even until later on in the neck when the treble side starts getting about .5 mm higher. Thats when i measured the neck at the body. At that point i concluded its a neck imperfection with a slanted fretboard or twisted. I thought the shim would have made the action uneven all the way down the neck. I guess if it was reshimmed more on the base side it could have caused it to stay normal near the lower frets and start to show the difference as it gets to higher frets. I guess its not common to have a slightly sloped fretboard from the factory.

 

[SilosRock]

Idk man, sounds like it may need truss rod tweak and maybe one of your saddles isn't radiused to the fretboard. Can you post a pic?

 

[jl2112]

I will when i get a chance. The neck is almost straight relief wise. I doubt its a saddle, the action is the same on the treble and base side until a certain point in the neck. To me that would eliminate hardware.