alignment issues with new guitar

[snappyfool]

bought a jap fender telecaster and i have been worrying neurotically about some issues i've noticed, which i probably should have noticed when buying, but oh well aren't i silly.

firstly it appears as if the bridge or scratchplate is not fixed to the guitar how it's meant to be. it's hard to tell which. either the scratch plate is slightly off and i wouldn't too much, or else the bridge is at an angle and i guess this is more worrying.

secondly it looks/feels like the neck is attached to the main body at a slight angle, in the direction of the floor if you were playing the guitar. this is in no way noticable by looking at the guitar from a normal distance. however, when looking at the base on the neck, on the side with the cut away, the part of the body which follows the neck up with the plate on the back seems wider than the neck, but then and inch or so further up the neck, where the neck leaves the body, the main body is under the wood. sorry if you don't follow. i can barely follow myself.

these issues may be nothing to worry about - which is where i'd like you guys to comment. i feel sick thinking about it, because i have to travel all the way to london to the shop if there is a problem, and i don't wanna be sent back if they think i'm being silly. obviously a neck at and angle and a bridge not parallel are problems, but when it's this slight i'm not sure.

i've attached a picture of the bridge issue, the other is too hard to capture.

[arcaxis]

The spacing between the bridge and pickguard does seem a little off so it does suggest that either could be at an angle. Probably not a big deal other than the appearance. If it is the bridge that's slightly off, each string can be adjusted at the end of the bridge to compensate for the slight angle. The adjustments sets the intonation of the strings so they sound in tune correctly as you play up and down the neck. If you have the guitar in what you think is proper tune and it doesn't sound right, you may need the intonation adjusted.

secondly it looks/feels like the neck is attached to the main body at a slight angle, in the direction of the floor if you were playing the guitar.

Do the strings appear centered on the neck? Both the outer E strings have roughly the same distance to the edge of the fretboard, particularly where the neck joins the body?

Does the guitar play and feel OK in your opinion? Strings seem to high? Any buzzing of strings as you play up the fretboard? It's likely you may just have a few cosmetic problems with the guitar and nothing really to worry about. Possibly if things aren't quite right as far as playabilty, you may need a setup done on it.

[Light]

If the pickups are lined up OK, then don't worry about it. It is just a cosmetic issue, and fixing it could be anything from really easy, to really fucking complex, depending on whether or not any of the screw holes would show when the pickguard was realigned. And of course assuming that it is not the bridge which is off, which is even more of a PITA.

Does it sound good? Does it play well? Are the strings ballence on both pickups? Yes? Then don't worry about it. Think of it as a defining feature of YOUR guitar. That makes it cool.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[acorec]

[QUOTE=snappyfool]bought a jap fender telecaster....................
QUOTE]

End of story.

Welcome to the world of electric screwdrivers and littl time to assemble a true work of art.

Fender has many skilled luthiers at their disposal and the quality shows.

[snappyfool]

hi. thanks for your help guys. the strings aren't quite central over the fret board. they are slightly over to the high e string side. however, there is still a reasonable space all the way down on the high e string side, enough so that the string shouldn't roll off the frets or whatever. you can also tell there not quite in line by looking at the dots on the fretboard. the central dots at 3rd, 5th etc. are slightly covered by the D string, and there's a gap between them and the G string. I'm hoping like you say this is only really a cosmetic issue.

i checked out about intonation and such, stuff i only vaguely knew about before. i believe this is basically what they do during one of those "professional setups" i keep hearing about, along with setting the action and possibly a few other things. well, in true DIY style i decided i'd research and do it myself. it turned out the intonation was slightly off, most strings going sharp after about the 2nd fret! turned a few nobs etc. etc. and now they are all tuned properly all along, at least to the 12th fret.

i am kind of happier with it now. the test will be to see if it stays nicely setup over the next couple of days, and doesn't cause any other problems.

[ibanezrocks]

does the neck feel really steady?
if it doesnt, then you should definitely go back. If it's loose it will only get worse. Thats something I would get taken care of right away if I were you. If its steady and sounds good, dont worry about it.

[snappyfool]

the neck feels perfectly steady, should be fine.

[Light]

Take it to a pro. We see thousands of guitars a year (at least, we do in my shop), and we can see things you just can't. We spend thousands of hours a year dealing with the geometry of the guitar. We know what is going on, and we know how to do a setup. You will not get it right the first time you do, I promise. A professional setup will make your guitar play better, sound better, and last longer. Get it done right.


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"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[DJL]

Here's a helpful link http://www.mrgearhead.com on Fender guitar setup and etc.