How to find a Guitar Neck Break Angle 

Thank you for watching! Yeah, when I was learning all this stuff I just could not find any place where this was explained clear enough, so now I wanted to add my two cents and see if I could explain it in a much simpler way, when it actually isn't as complicated as some make it out to be :) I hope this video helps you figure out the new neck👍 but don't be afraid to ask if you have any questions

@@IPGuitars Thanks, I am working on a small gap in the front of the neck and neck pocket. The back fits good but the front gap I think will need me to sand the pocket until it fits flush before I bolt it on. I don't think it is a shimming issue but the pocket itself.

Is the gap on the side or bottom of the neck pocket? If there is a gap, then sanding (so removing material) might not be the best option, because you might remove too much material, making the gap more significant. You could try adding some veneer and then working that down to get the neck seated properly without gaps. Not really shimming the neck, but instead adding material where there is none :) fitting aftermarket necks is always a bit fiddlesome.

@@IPGuitars Yes the gap is on the bottom. It is thinner than a credit card. The veneer you talk about is this made or a product to purchase?

I mean, you could buy some, but if you have no further use for it, you could substitute that with either making your own piece of small wood or using some other thin material. Make sure beforehand how much you need to "plug up" by bolting on the neck first. Try a few different iterations of seating the neck, so (assuming it's the standard 4 screws) by screwing in the back screws first, screwing in the front screws first, or screwing in the screws diagonally (one front, then one back). See if one of those options feels more solid than the rest and minimizes the gap, then that will give you the thickness of whatever you choose to fill that gap with :)

Thank you!

Thanks for checking out the video. If the shim fits in the pocket and the angle is then correct, then there is no issue in gluing it all together :) It's all a matter of just double-checking before doing something you can't take apart (not easily anyway). And do a dry clamp-up as well, so that you can troubleshoot before any glue goes on.

Oh that sounds awesome! Glad I could help out again :)

IP Guitars You help out nonstop whether you know it or not! By the time I am done with this thing it will have to say “Courtesy of IP guitars” on the head hahaha.

@@aaronboyles5237 Hahaha :D Well, thank you.

I'm glad to hear that :)

I would love to use a grinder, but don't have access to one. I've been going about it with gauges, violin planes, spokeshaves, scrapers, and then an orbital sander. It's hard work sure, but it is also a lot of fun. (Apart from the blisters sustained at Yandles for carving a guitar top for two days straight)

Once again, that sounds like there is no angle routed into the pocket at all, so the thicker shim definitely would help with this. And essentially it really comes down to your own preference in action. I usually do initial setup to 1.5mm from the fret to the bottom of the string with room to adjust either way. And no reason at all you couldn't make it a bolt-on :) all it requires is drilling holes and putting in screws, apart from that, the construction of the neck joint is the same.

Good question! Essentially you want to draw & measure with the saddles flat to the bottom and draw on your desired action (the string height from saddle to nut). With the trem you described I believe the measurement is around 10-11mm height. If you adjust your drawing with your saddles higher, then you need to be careful with construction so that you do not accidentally run the risk of getting your neck angle too steep. By drawing with the bridge essentially at its "normal state" you are allowing room to adjust your action as needed.

@@IPGuitars ok than measured whit the saddle completely down,the bright measured 9mm totally dawn but floats 2mm,so whit 11 or 12mm i am good then?bye prs the measured 12 mm i think ,but i won't to be sure, greetings patrick

That sounds about right yeah :)

Not really anything different. Just drawing it out and measuring the height of the bridge will give you the angle :) essentially you want the height at which the strings sit on the saddles of your chosen bridge. Then go from there

@@IPGuitars Thank you for the clearity and quick response :-)

@@evengladsrhaug6948 No problem, happy to help :)

(I got what you meant, I think. No worries :)) You are right, there would be a gap the same way. This is why, for example, Gibsons have the body planed to match the neck angle most times making the joint part of the body parallel to the fretboard, exactly as you suggested. So yes, you can achieve it :)

I tried to draw the strings according to the frets. So instead of 2mm off the fretboard, I meant 2mm off the frets. I need to go back and see exactly what I said in the video, but yeah. 2mm taking fret height into account. That gives you room for adjustment. I usually opt for about 1,5mm between the fret and the bottom of the string.

Going to have a video coming out tomorrow on that :)

Safe to say it would be around that ballpark. A similar guitar I had had around 2-3 degrees. So easy enough to measure the height of the bridge accordingly and work it out from there :) never hurts to double check.

@@IPGuitars What about a recessed Floyd Rose?

Same rule of thumb honestly :) Measure and draw to double check

Yupp, sounds about right for the bridge.

Thanks, and yeah that was the original title for the video actually.