Spectrum SG (bolt on to set neck?

rlm2112 · Post by **rlm2112** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:23 am

I bought this for $60 off woot.com during a woot off. It's a piece of crap, but I love it. Out of the box it had a ton of problems. The tailpiece moved forward when you tuned it. The nut was too small for the neck, and looked like it was cut by a third grader, the bridge saddles were lose and moved while playing, making tuning and intonating impossible. The paint is super thin, and chips really easy. Basically it was garbage.

So far I've replaced the nut with a tusq-xl, and put an epiphone bridge on it. It seems to stay in tune better...but there is still something wrong with it. I thought it was the tuners for a while, but I'm starting to think it's the crappy neck joint. I haven't removed the neck yet, but the bolts seem small. Even with them as tight as possible, there is still some wiggle in the joint. It just doesn't feel solid. If you strike a chord, and move your body even slightly, you can hear it going out of tune.

So here's my question. Can I convert this to a "set neck" either with bolts, glue, or both? Has anyone done this before? Did it help? Keep in mind the "wood" is most likely lower quality than plywood.

Pic dump

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Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:49 am

I can't really offer any advice, but I like the color of that guitar!

gaybear · Post by **gaybear** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:53 am

Billy3000 wrote:I can't really offer any advice, but I like the color of that guitar!

agreed

rlm2112 · Post by **rlm2112** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:05 am

Yep, the color is the reason I love it. How many blue SG's do you see?

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:18 am

I wouldn't advise gluing the neck in, as you may cause serious damage to the neck pocket or neck should you ever need to remove it.
The amount of tension a guitar neck is under tells you that the existing bolt-on method is doing it's job: the neck is on the guitar. Your tuning woes will be much better remedied by snugging up the sides of that neck pocket with small shims or putty/filler, that's the only thing that's going to stop the wiggle. I had a Stratocaster project with a similar problem.

theworkoffire · Post by **theworkoffire** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 2:51 pm

It might be worth just roughing up the base of the pocket and the bottom of the heel a little with some coarse sandpaper wrapped round a 9v battery or similar. If both surfaces are very glossy there won't be much friction to hold them firm. Likewise if there are humps in the surfaces that might make the joint into a pivot. See if they can be flattened at all.

The next option if you still feel you want the screws tighter would be these threaded neck inserts:

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 4:13 pm

I'd probably move the strap button too. The extra torque on the neck by the screw could be a problem with cheap workmanship

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 5:28 pm

that blue is tits.

SGJarrod · Post by **SGJarrod** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:45 pm

endsjustifymeans wrote:that blue is tits.

agreed.... the only blue SGs I have seen as of recent were the Epi g400s.... they had metalic blue in 06-07.... never seen one in person thou

mathiasx · Post by **mathiasx** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:31 pm

That's not a loose neck joint, that's the new Maestro integrated trem.

rlm2112 · Post by **rlm2112** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:53 pm

mathiasx wrote:That's not a loose neck joint, that's the new Maestro integrated trem.

lol

Lots of good advice here. Thanks guys! I'll mess with it and report back soon.