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Thread: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

  1. #1
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    Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    I have an Elite strat that I love dearly, but wondered if anyone made an insert that covered up the rod adjustment wheel at the bottom of the fretboard. Maybe the gap will be a collector's item like a Stingray split rear window someday, but for now I would like to cover it up. My fretboard is maple.

  2. #2
    Forum Member phantomman's Avatar
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    Re: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    A competent luthier could probably fix you up. I can't imagine it would be too expensive. I always thought that feature looked pretty unsightly too......like the bullet truss-rod adjustment on mid/late seventies Strats.
    "When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    +1 on what Roger said.

    But me, I'd leave it. All strats have peculiar details. Truss rod holes, two point bridges... Some have caps on the tip of the term arm, some don't, and so on

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    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
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    Re: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    Uh, not being the smartest guitar player in town I need to ask, "How do you intend to adjust the truss rod if you cover the access to it?"

    That gap is there for a pretty compelling reason.

    Chuck
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    Quote Originally Posted by Offshore Angler View Post
    Uh, not being the smartest guitar player in town I need to ask, "How do you intend to adjust the truss rod if you cover the access to it?"That gap is there for a pretty compelling reason. Chuck
    Lol

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    Forum Member Tele-Bob's Avatar
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    Re: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    Wow. This post defines "First World Problem." LOL!
    If you're bored, you're not groovin'.

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    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    Maybe shape a piece of matching rosewood and use a neodymium magnet to attach it? It might be too close to the pickups to do that.

  8. #8
    Forum Member phantomman's Avatar
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    Re: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    Quote Originally Posted by Don View Post
    Maybe shape a piece of matching rosewood and use a neodymium magnet to attach it? It might be too close to the pickups to do that.
    His fretboard is maple, Don.
    "When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    Anyway, here's another take on this: Sometimes we do purchase an outstandingly good guitar that plays well, sounds great, looks killer but has something that keeps us unsatisfied. Been there, done that.

    I, for example, used to own a killer 1961RI Gibson SG, with Kluson tulip tuners and sweet Classic 59 PAF-style pickups. It was one hell of an SG. But the faded finish and the baked maple fretboard were a deal breaker for me. I just couldn't love it. The wood felt bare and the fretboard didn't really feel like rosewood under the fretting fingers. I played it a lot but sold it eventually, when I got the chance of buying a solid body Rickenbacker.

    So, if the OP is so annoyed by the truss rod access style in that strat, why not just sell it and buy something else? Any other solution will be quite unpractical and visually unpleasant, as it'll be damn hard to dress and finish a piece of wood to cover that slot without visual notice (which can look even worse) and/or like chuck said, compromising the whole purpose of the slot.

  10. #10
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    Quote Originally Posted by phantomman View Post
    His fretboard is maple, Don.
    Oops! Maybe I meant for it to contrast (I didn't).

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    Re: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    I meant for it to be removable so that I could adjust the truss rod if necessary. Maybe velcro rather than a magnet?

  12. #12
    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
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    Re: Insert to fill gap at bottom of fretboard on Elite strats?

    Dude, just play it.

    Did you buy it to look at it?

    After 20 years on the road it will be the last thing you see.

    Chuck
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

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