Micro-Tilt Neck and Truss Rod Adjustment

fenderlover · Little Guppy Joined: 31 Dec 2003 Posts: 31

I just bought a American Stratocaster. Can anyone tell (teach) me anything about the Micro-Tilt adjustment? I'm guessing its done through that tiny hole on the plate that holds the neck and body together. Is it different than neck adjustmen done through the headstock?

Yoda · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 11:14 am Post subject:

fenderlover,
The microtilt feature allows the player to adjust the angle of the neck relative to the body and yes, it is done (partially) with the little hole in the neck plate. The first order of business is to determine if the neck relief is set properly. That's the trussrod adjustment which is done through the headstock. The second item is to adjust the bridge springs for the amount of "float" you prefer. Some like the bridge flat and tight against the body. This promotes tuning stability and sustain. Some like the bridge just barely off the body for doing deep dive bombs. Others prefer a 50/50 sort of arrangement while still others like the bridge to be quite high so they can yank up on the bar for really high (in pitch) vibratos. The bridge springs are accessed through the pastic plate on the back of the guitar. Once the "float" has been adjusted you will use the micro tilt to quickly adjust your action without having to mess with the individual saddle heights. When all this is done you will want to re-check your intonation.

To use the micro tilt feature, first loosen all the strings to the point they no longer make any sound when plucked or else you can visually determine that they are slack. Then use a Phillips screw driver to loosen all the neck plate screws. Loosen the screws closest to the micro tilt hole so that they are about 1/8" off the plate. The other 2 screws only have to be loosened so you can see the screw head is off the plate. Next, use a smaller phillips screwdriver to adjust the micro tilt screw through the hole. For some reason a small number of guitars were made using an allen head screw so shine a small light in to the hole to make sure first. To lower the action, turn the screw clockwise. To raise the action turn it counter clockwise. CAUTION! A little goes a long way. Try 1/4 of a turn. That's 90°. Re-tighten all four neck plate screws. Tune back up to pitch and check the action

Yoda · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 11:23 am Post subject:

Try this web site to help you understand how to set up your Strat

http://www.mrgearhead.net/

Once your are there, click on Fender (left) and then click on the steps to good guitar setup. You will need Adobe Acrobat reader to use the downloadable file.