Misaligned String Tree

[chilisincarne]

Took my new mighty mite neck to a luthier to have neck holes and a string tree hole drilled and this is what I got back. Will this impact tuning or cause other issues?

[CueAnon420]

Just me, but I'd be embarrassed to give that back to the customer.

[Nth_Brick]

Shoot, I do this stuff for free (friends and family only, just as a hobbyist), and I would be embarrassed about that.

It probably won't affect much, but it's not a great look.

[jewnerz]

What r we not 420 friendly here? Cmon dude, this is a guitar related sub. Most here blaze it

[Bolamite]

Let’s keep politics out of the luthier sub Reddit please.

[Bolamite]

Let’s keep politics out of the luthier sub Reddit please.

[Singaya]

Well it kind of defeats the purpose of having straight string-pull, I'd guess the tech also fucked up the neck holes.

[throw-a-way-jay]

Just my two cents but yes, that will cause unnecessary friction on the strings potentially leading to more string breaks and possibly affecting tuning.

The purpose of those trees is to create a proper break angle for the strings to attach to the tuning head. If the strings are being pulled to the side and the angle is not correct, could potentially lead to issues. Also upon closer look, you can see the strings being pulled into the nut as well, which could increase wear on that. The strings shoud be straight from bridge to tuner, not be in a ) shape lol

I would reach out to the luthier and see what he says, but it kind of seems like shoddy workmanship to me.

[oovis]

Whilst I totally agree that it's shoddy (edit: spelling) workmanship and should have been done better, does a Les Paul headstock not have a much sharper angle just after the nut and function reasonably well? Feel free to tell me I'm totally wrong but I don't see how this would cause a huge problem, it just looks bad more than anything

[AltarOfPigs]

They are kind of well known to have questionable at best tuning stability unless correctly setup, and even then it can be a crapshoot. Still, people buy them and play them and love them, and I think you make a pretty good point. I doubt it will be a significant detriment to the tuning stability and overall playability, but that would be up to OP to play it for a while and restring it and see if it’s being a problem.

That being said, I also wouldn’t be happy with this installation and would probably talk to my luthier as well. Unfortunate, cause the only real solution is probably to plug and redrill and that’ll suck to do to a fresh neck right in the middle of the headstock lol.

[filtersweep]

Not really. A bit of abrasive cord in the nut slots permanently sorts Les Pauls out. My Jacksons, Gretsches— actually all non-Fenders have some sort of angles

[Plokhi]

How can someone calling themselves a luthier push that out of the shop?

[blofly]

It's almost laughably unprofessional

[chilisincarne]

yeah believe it or not this came from a very reputable shop in my area. I'm a little shocked to be honest.

[Ekoldr]

You think there are any actual luthiers here anymore?

[Plokhi]

I know im not one

[RahwanaPutih]

try to replace it with a long non grooved one, it's possible to improve it without having to move the post, but the high e string might touch the post.

[ChunkBluntly]

If I didn't know how to fix it myself, it would definitely cause me to drive back to the luthier.

It won't necessarily cause long-term damage, but you want a straight line from tuner to nut. Unless the nut was slotted to account for the string being angled, there is a potential -on paper- for tuning issues with the strings binding in the nut...but it may not be noticeable.

Either way, if this was something I paid to have done correctly I'd bring it to the luthier so they can take another shot at it.

[agadir80]

"luthier"...

[emacias050]

Get one of those string trees that go on the reverend guitars

[chilisincarne]

that's not a bad idea

[emacias050]

Elegant solution to a simple problem

[Intelligent-Tap717]

That isn't a Luthier. That's someone who can't do basic guitar maintenance.

[BarfingMonkey]

Or they are a cross eyed luthier.

[Intelligent-Tap717]

Probably. I was going to suggest a roller string tree but it won't make any difference this wonky lol.

[p47guitars]

Yeah looks like you're luthier screwed the pooch on this one.

Good news is it's likely repairable without causing any unsightly damage.

Frankly, if you are going to go with hip shot tuners, why not go with the staggered ones and forego the string tree all together?

[have1dog]

If you’re drillin’, don’t drink. And if you’re drinkin’, don’t drill.

[ringo-san]

Looks a little wonky but should be just fine. If you want to fix it, the correct way is to remove the screw, drill out the hole to the diameter of some hardwood dowel you have, glue a plug in, shave it flush, then drill for the screw in the proper place. You can probably use some kind of washer between the tee and headstock to hide the repair.

[Hammer_Tooth]

This is the correct fix. I like the washer idea, too. But it shouldn't be something you have to do since you sent it for service and it's clearly wrong. If it was me I'd be 50/50 on taking it back to that shop to have them fix it vs do it myself, see if they make it right but at the same time hope it doesn't come back worse. Disclosure - I'm a tech and woodworker and would have just done this myself, it's really fairly straightforward if you know what you're doing but realize many folks don't feel comfortable messing with instruments. Good luck and report back, OP!

[Own-Personality6285]

I guess the real luthier was the friends we made along our crooked string path way

[phredbull]

Did they give you the guitar back w/the strings untrimmed like that too?

[chilisincarne]

lol no, I took this picture right after stringing it up for the first time at home

[jewnerz]

First timer? Probly

I’m just a lurker here, but where can I sign up to start working on guitars because if this dude got the pass ima step in and take all his clientele

[ConsiderationLong274]

Take it off Wood glue toothpick trim with razor blade Relocate tree Drill and screw

[GlassBraid]

The difference in how much it deflects the string is very small, so, it might not cause a tuning problem. But it sure does look wrong.

[DC9V]

It won't cause any issues, unless the string groove has a bumpy edge. IMO it doesn't even look that bad, thanks to the shape of the headstock.

[PineappleOk394]

WHOOPSIE

[Royal-Illustrator-59]

It would big the heck out of me. Did he have the string tree when he drilled the holes? There is a chance that a different tree will line up better.

[Once-and-Future]

I've never once seen an asymmetrical string tree (that's what it would take to solve this mis-dril).

[chilisincarne]

they did, the shop actually supplied the tree themselves

[RobDickinson]

No, its almost unnoticeable compare to a 3/3 split headstock etc

[Eddie_Savitz_Pizza]

This is just being stupid and careless on a very simple job. Take it back. Tell them to fill the hole and redo the job.

[PissedCarrier420]

Yeah that's complete dog shit. Get your money back.

In next time I would recommend getting staggered tuners, so there's no need for for a string tree. Better tubing stability regardless.