Three Bolt Strat with loose neck.

[Len Biglin]

Hi everyone , This is an old problem , but I have never tackled it before . The Fender strat has the 3 bolt neck which are known to move around , I have heard of people adding a 4th bolt under the neck plate , but I have also heard that it's actually a sloppy pocket in the body . What's the current wisdom on this old problem ?

[Russell Vance]

If the micro adjuster is used to jack up the neck angle this takes a lot of the neck to body bearing surface out of the equation and the neck shimmies around. Set up the guitar conventionally (I don't use the micro tilt on 3 or 4 bolt necks other than to snug up the grub screw when the neck is already bolted down), make sure that the bearing plate rebated in the neck is flush with the neck surface and lean on the bolts a bit. Three bolters will one day become collectors items (just like rare ugly old cars) and drilling extra holes is a last resort. R.

[FRANK]

i agree with Russell

[Len Biglin]

OK thanks Rusty and Paul , That all makes a lot of sense , I haven't looked at the guitar thoroughly yet , but will let you know how it goes . Len

[thefishinmusician]

I've used that screen that's used to sand drywall...Cut a piece to fit the pocket....I also drip some super glue into the screw holes in the neck....Let it dry before screwing it back together, of course!...

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

Sometimes, I glue veener on the neck pocket walls (several foils), and then re-route precisely the pocket. Most of the time, The neck pocket is too large for the neck.

[Brian Michael]

Chances are that the 3 screw holes through the body are also sloppy from the neck moving around. Make sure these are closed up so the screws don't "fall" through them if you were to drop one in. I drip in some med. superglue and make sure it coats the holes all the way around before kicking it with accelerator. This issue is often overlooked but can really help stabilize a wambly neck joint.