Checking relief - 17th or last fret?

[C.Linton]

Some setup guides I've seen say to check neck relief by fretting the 1st and 17th fret, and some say 1st and last fret. Which is it? Does it matter?

[Emibass]

first and last

[12bass]

Depends.... the relief may vary along the length of the neck depending on condition of the frets and falloff at the end of the fretboard. I often check between the first fret and wherever the neck thickens near the body. But I also check at a few different points, like between the 12th and 1st, 15th and 1st, and the last fret and 1st. Of course, it is also important to play up and down the neck on each string to see if there are any unwanted buzzes popping out at specific frets. I aim for roughly equal buzz all the way up the neck if I dig in.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by C.Linton

Some setup guides I've seen say to check neck relief by fretting the 1st and 17th fret, and some say 1st and last fret. Which is it? Does it matter?

Yes, it matters. Check relief between F1 & F15-F17. Anything past that is not affected by the trussrod.

[Foamy]

Up to now, I was always first->last. JLS makes the point, however. Good one. From now on....first->15th or so.

[C.Linton]

Right about where the neck attaches to the body I suppose? Which on a Fender/Squier would be the 15th from what I can tell.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by C.Linton

Right about where the neck attaches to the body I suppose? Which on a Fender/Squier would be the 15th from what I can tell.

Yep, exactly.

[Turnaround]

Originally Posted by JLS

Yes, it matters. Check relief between F1 & F15-F17. Anything past that is not affected by the trussrod.

JLS is right. And it's worth noting that many bolt-ons develop a hump where the neck meets the body. Nothing you can do with the trussrod will fix that hump, so it's best to take that part of the neck out of the equation when setting relief. Fret at F1 and where the neck meets the body.

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by Turnaround

JLS is right. And it's worth noting that many bolt-ons develop a hump where the neck meets the body. Nothing you can do with the trussrod will fix that hump, so it's best to take that part of the neck out of the equation when setting relief. Fret at F1 and where the neck meets the body.

I've always wondered - why is that?

[JLS]

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

I've always wondered - why is that?

That's where the contour of the neck ends, and the heel can't bend, as it's screwed to the body. I got curious, and cobbled up a longer version of Stewmac's neck relief tester, so I could check relief from F1-F15, F12-F21, and F1-F21. This way I can tell how much relief is controlled by the trussrod, and how much comes from the neck being bendy at F15, and whether there's enough fret height from F15-F21, to allow me to get rid of any ski jump, by taking down those frets.

[C.Linton]

Thanks guys, that clears it up for me.

[Emibass]

Great info arround here, thanks!