Members scooped-mids Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 I've noticed in my furious shredding runs sometimes the high e string slips or falls off the fingerboard downward. I am careful of the pressure i play with but every now and then it happens. Is this normal with these guitars? It appears everything is intonated and adjusted correctly, no gaps in neck pocket and strings are all spaced evenly. By the way its a KILLER guitar playing and tone wise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kelly Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 Aside from trying to adjust neck angle, you can try sliding the E string over on the saddle a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thinkpad20 Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 Turn up your mids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members acwild Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 You still might need to shift the neck a little. The saddles can shift a tiny bit as well. Other than that, the vintage bridge is a bit wide for this neck. Callaham makes a narrower vintage trem that fits better. It also isn't supposed to have that annoying wiggle that gets worse with trem use. My YJM came from the factory with a super-high action. I had to take it to a tech to adjust the nut. Afterwards, the guitar is a dream. There's just enough space with my setup that I kept the stock trem. Barely. I'm still going to get the Callaham as I hate the wiggle in the bar. Jmho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rogueweez Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 That's the way Yngwie likes his guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kelly Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 You still might need to shift the neck a little. The saddles can shift a tiny bit as well. Other than that, the vintage bridge is a bit wide for this neck. Callaham makes a narrower vintage trem that fits better. It also isn't supposed to have that annoying wiggle that gets worse with trem use.My YJM came from the factory with a super-high action. I had to take it to a tech to adjust the nut. Afterwards, the guitar is a dream. There's just enough space with my setup that I kept the stock trem. Barely. I'm still going to get the Callaham as I hate the wiggle in the bar. Jmho.Use teflon tape on your bar instead of the little spring. Takes care of the wiggle and tension problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members acwild Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 Use teflon tape on your bar instead of the little spring. Takes care of the wiggle and tension problems. I tried that and it kept getting squeezed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hotbaconsauce Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 Turn up your mids This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rrrajo Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 That is the way it goes. The YJM has the modern string spaced Neck , but has the wider Vintage String Spaced Bridge. The frets themselves are rolled smooth leaving less space on the ends as well. The guitars really should come with the modern narrower spaced bridges. Not the cheap ones though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hecticone Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 I wouldn't consider anything a killer guitar if strings fell off of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members acwild Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 I wouldn't consider anything a killer guitar if strings fell off of it. It's not that bad. Honestly though, I was a little disappointed that I paid a few hundred more for the YJM than my AmDlx and had to deal with a high nut and some uneven frets. After a good setup, it really is a killer guitar. Gotta ding Fender for the q.c. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jnurp Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 same {censored} happens on my Eric Johnson Strat...wierd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sekler Posted October 31, 2008 Members Share Posted October 31, 2008 I've noticed in my furious shredding runs sometimes the high e string slips or falls off the fingerboard downward. I am careful of the pressure i play with but every now and then it happens. Is this normal with these guitars? It appears everything is intonated and adjusted correctly, no gaps in neck pocket and strings are all spaced evenly. By the way its a KILLER guitar playing and tone wise! mine does the exact same thing...it's annoying, you gotta get used to it...I don't play it much though to really care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rrrajo Posted November 1, 2008 Members Share Posted November 1, 2008 same {censored} happens on my Eric Johnson Strat...wierd. Same thing....Vintage Bridge Spacing with Modern Neck Spacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigdaddyd Posted November 1, 2008 Members Share Posted November 1, 2008 That is when you are supposed to kick picks into the audience and flip the guitar over your heap while wiggling your leg in the air and yelling at your tech. It is part of the Yngwie experience and is built into the sig....just like the scallops and the brass nut and the HS-3s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Deuterium Posted November 1, 2008 Members Share Posted November 1, 2008 I've noticed in my furious shredding runs sometimes the high e string slips or falls off the fingerboard downward. I am careful of the pressure i play with but every now and then it happens. Is this normal with these guitars? It appears everything is intonated and adjusted correctly, no gaps in neck pocket and strings are all spaced evenly. By the way its a KILLER guitar playing and tone wise! Scooped-Mids: I can help you out. I own three YJM Strats, and all of them initially had the "high E string of death" problem...which I eventually figured out how to correct. The underlying issue which causes this problem has nothing to do with the neck alignment or pocket joint/angle. The problem is primarily caused by the fact that Fender is using a vintage tremolo with vintage saddle (string) spacing, combined with a modern neck that is slightly less wide then vintage. The wider string spacing, combined with the narrower modern neck (as compared to true vintage necks) results in the outer strings being too close the edge of the fretboard. Additionally, Fender bevels the edges of the frets at a higher degree/angle then early Strats...which doesn't help. The best solution is to change out the tremolo to one with modern (narrower) saddle/string spacing. Not any tremolo will work, however, as a direct replacement. You have to get one that maintains the vintage screw mounting spacing of 2-7/32", but modern (narrow) E to E string spacing of 2-1/16" Below is a copy of a previous post I wrote which explains two possible tremolo solutions: **************************************** Okay, As promised, here are some pics of the Callaham V/N, and the installation on my Vintage White YJM. Callaham V/N tremolo out of the box. The V/N stands for Vintage/Narrow, which means it has a vintage screw mounting spacing of 2-7/32", but modern (narrow) E to E string spacing of 2-1/16"...which means it directly retrofits on all YJM Strats that use the vintage style, 6-screw Fender Synchronized Tremolo. Here is a nice shot of the back side of the Callaham V/N, showing the precision bevel which cuts across the middle diameter of the screw mounting holes. See Callaham's website for explanation as to why this is superior to Fender's bevel, which begins just past the screw holes. The sustain block is made from cold rolled steel, to same exact specs as true vintage Fender trems. Here I have replaced the stamped vintage type saddles with my preferred Graphtech Ferraglide / Stringsaver saddles. And here is a pic of the Callaham V/N, now installed on #1 YJM: So...what is the verdict ?? "High E String of Death" problem solved! The Callaham V/N is superior in all respects to the stock Fender trem...and tied with the Wilkinson VSV400P (which I have raved about in a previous thread). Both the Callaham and Wilkinson VSV400P provide superior sustain and tone (compared to stock trem), while greatly improving the over-all action, smoothness, sensitivity, and precise return to pitch performance of the tremolo system. The improvement in sustain and tone is quite noticeable, as are all the other aforementioned benefits. I like either tremolo equally well, so I can't really pick which one I would recommend over the other. If you want a more modern and sleek looking vibrato, then I'd say go for the Wilky VSV400P. If you want to maintain the vintage aesthetics, then go with the Callaham V/N. Both trems feature narrower E to E string spacing, versus the stock "Vintage" Fender trem. So, they both will help solve any issues of the E string slipping of the neck. The Callaham is a smidge narrower, at 2-1/16" string spacing, versus the 2-1/8" of the VSV400P. So if you have a real bad E string problem, then the Callaham will provide just a tiny bit extra margin, compared to the VSV400P. There has been a lot of complaints written in regards to the high E string problem on certain Fender Strat models. All the reports I have come across on the 'Net have chalked this up to either a poorly cut nut, an improperly positioned bridge, or a neck that has shifted in the pocket. Indeed, any of these can cause the problem. However, this problem has been wide-spread, and occurs with alarming frequency (especially with the YJM Strats). It is my opinion that the underlying, root cause of the problem is due to Fender's continued use of a vintage trem with vintage string spacing (2-7/32") on modern necks which are slightly thinner (less wide) then the true, early vintage Strat necks. Fender could solve this issue once and for all, by simply changing over to a trem that has a 2-1/16" E to E string spacing. It is so simple that I can't believe no one has discovered this before (that I know of). Although, I'm sure some of the good folks at Fender know about this, but for whatever reason, they stubbornly stick with the vintage tremolo string spacing, and continue to put out guitars that are virtually unplayable when in the hands of an experienced / advanced guitarist (without significant mods of the type I have just explained). I seriously would recommend any of you with either YJM or vintage style strats, consider changing out the stock tremolo for either the Callaham V/N or Wilkinson VSV400P. Cheers, Deuterium (John S). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Deuterium Posted November 2, 2008 Members Share Posted November 2, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Todd1138 Posted January 19, 2009 Members Share Posted January 19, 2009 I have the same issue with my new Yngwie and I'm pretty pissed! All I wanted was a cool new guitar that would be playable right out of the case. I mean, for $1600 it shouldn't have quality defects, right?I can't believe they would let it out the door like this. Well, that'll teach me to buy a musical instrument thru the mail. I guess with tax I saved, I'll have to buy that Callaham bridge (for $185). Or maybe I'll just return it. I don't know, I've been going back and forth on this. Ya know, it's real pretty, it sounds really good too, and I like the scalloped neck. It's just the whole "E-string of death" thing makes me want to set it on fire and throw it thru Fenders front window!So theoretically, if all these guitars are made by the same machine and have all the same hardware, they all have this same problem. Lastly, could someone please comment on the Callaham V/N? How do you like it so far? Does it make it a keeper? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NeloAngelo Posted January 19, 2009 Members Share Posted January 19, 2009 Turn up your mids i ejaculated with laughter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Todd1138 Posted January 19, 2009 Members Share Posted January 19, 2009 Sorry, another question for you Deuterium. Could I just put those Graphtech Ferraglide / Stringsaver saddles on the stock Fender Bridge and solve this problem? or does the the entire bridge need to be replaced to accomodate them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AXEL276 Posted January 19, 2009 Members Share Posted January 19, 2009 I had the same problem with my YJM strat years ago when I bought it. I noticed it right away in the store and had the store tech (SamAsh in CherryHill, NJ), adjust the neck angle a bit. This adjustment helped a lot. It will still do it from time to time but I have compensated my technique a bit and it's really not a problem. I can swear I hear it on some of Yngwie's recordings (the high E slipping off). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Professor Tom Posted January 19, 2009 Members Share Posted January 19, 2009 This is a common problem with Strats, more common than you might think. I've seen techs fixing it simply by pulling the neck violently in the opposite direction but sometimes it's just the bridge in the wrong place. The same thing sometimes happens with Gibsons too. If the offending item is still under warranty take it back, if the Fender warranty has expired just push all the saddles over a little but you'll have to keep doing this from time to time. It would seem to be more common with Fenders than it used to be-quality control slipping a bit ? Check before you buy, dont'y by online or you will get a guitar that someonelse has already rejected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rrrajo Posted January 19, 2009 Members Share Posted January 19, 2009 same {censored} happens on my Eric Johnson Strat...wierd. Exactly , the same deal. Small spaced Neck with Wide-Spaced Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Todd1138 Posted February 8, 2009 Members Share Posted February 8, 2009 I took my guitar in to the highly reputable Norik Renson shop. He checked it out and said that it's a neck pocket issue and will need an adjustment. While it's there I'm having the Callaham V/N bridge installed, and also having the action lowered. I should have it back in a week. I'll report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Todd1138 Posted May 3, 2009 Members Share Posted May 3, 2009 I've had it back for a while now, and it is much improved. I like the narrower spacing of the Callaham, and lowering the action made it more comfortable to play too. The string will still slip off if pulled too hard, but part of the technique of a deep scalloped board is a light touch. So, it takes some getting used to. Overall, I like this guitar a lot. It's probably my favorite right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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