RC Stromm Offset Solidbody | Part One

Part Two ▶

Neck Issues 

This RC Stromm Offset Solidbody was sent in for two reasons: it was barely playable and the electronics were shot. Let's talk about the first issue, then. Sighting down the headstock revealed that the plane of the fretboard was not parallel with that of the body. It seemed to slant in one direction [see first picture]. The owner had tried to correct this imbalance by adjusting the height of the saddles, resulting in painfully high action.

After carefully evaluating the condition of the neck, fretboard and frets; I reckoned that modifying the lateral plane of the neck heel might just do the trick. And so, I worked on crafting a suitable tapered neck heel shim from chengal wood. This was a lengthy and laborious process; but I finally managed to get the fretboard parallel with the body [see last picture]. That's all for this post. In Part Two, we'll talk about electronics issues.

Slanted Fretboard

Gluing on the Neck Heel Shim

Clamps Removed

Planing the Shim

Shim after Sanding

Neck Screw Holes Drilled

Neck Reattached

Problem Fixed