Doheny Tribute String Alignment

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writingtexan
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Doheny Tribute String Alignment

Post by writingtexan » Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:29 am

Hey, everyone!

This weekend, I got my first offset, a Doheny Tribute. Overall, I'm finding it's a nice guitar and so far within the range of the low risk-high reward situation I was looking for as a newish player. However, I've got one thing bugging me and I'm not sure if it's fixable.

Similar to what I've read about some JMs, particularly the TVL, the high E string on my Doheny feels perilously close to the edge of the fretboard. Likewise, the gap between high E and B seems a bit larger than I've experienced. Both of which make the playing experience a little unusual, though I find that the closeness of E to the fretboard edge borders on annoying.

Given that I can't put on a Mastery to solve the issue as you might do with a TVL, is there any remedy? Is this a commonality among offsets that I just need to learn to deal with? I should note that looking at pictures of the Doheny Tribute on Reverb, it looks like this might be a regular occurrence with the Tribute model. In the great post comparing the two, he mentions the off-center nature of the strings to the pole pieces, but he never mentions the fretboard proximity issue I'm having (or not having and just not used to).

Ultimately I'm trying to decide if I should send it back and just pony up for an American Doheny (or wait a bit and go with one of the higher-end JMs I've been eyeing), or just deal with it (or fix it if it's an easy fix).

Thanks in advance for your advice and expertise.

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Horsefeather
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Re: Doheny Tribute String Alignment

Post by Horsefeather » Mon Dec 16, 2019 4:02 pm

Sometimes you can loosen a neck and crank it to the side a bit while retightening to alter its alignment slightly and get the strings better centered.

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ChrisDesign
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Re: Doheny Tribute String Alignment

Post by ChrisDesign » Wed Dec 25, 2019 2:40 pm

Horsefeather wrote:
Mon Dec 16, 2019 4:02 pm
Sometimes you can loosen a neck and crank it to the side a bit while retightening to alter its alignment slightly and get the strings better centered.
Yep. Gets my vote. The E saddle is, probably, no wider than the others, so it is neck alignment.
"I own a '66 Jaguar. That's the guitar I polish, and baby - I refuse to let anyone touch it when I jump into the crowd." - Kurt Cobain

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hwestman
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Re: Doheny Tribute String Alignment

Post by hwestman » Fri Jan 17, 2020 6:05 am

Horsefeather wrote:
Mon Dec 16, 2019 4:02 pm
Sometimes you can loosen a neck and crank it to the side a bit while retightening to alter its alignment slightly and get the strings better centered.
What he said!

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