SE 245 string position/alignment

[greygoo]

I recently bought a new SE 245 and I have noticed that the strings are shifted by at least 1 mm towards the bass side of the fretboard. In other words, the low E string is closer to the edge of the fretboard than the high E string (depending on where one measures from, 3-4 mm on one side, 4-5 mm on the other). The spacing seems right internally. It seems most pronounced closer to the nut.

Is this an issue? Should I get it replaced? Here are some shots from different angles:

 

[Deleted member 2284]

You accidentally forgot to post the picture of the complete guitar to drool over.

My Brent Mason has a bit of the same thing going, though not as much. I think if you looked at the center line of each string rather than the outer edge, it'd be more balanced.

I actually prefer this, I think - makes is easier to do vibrato on the high e string without pulling the string off the board.

Anyway, how does it play for you?


maybe someone smarter than me will chime in. One can only hope

 

[Deleted member 2284]

Oh, and congratulations and welcome!

 

[greygoo]

Thank you. I thought a picture revealing the shiny beauty of this guitar would be too distracting. The guitar feels very substantial and it rings beautifully. The stock 09-42 strings are a little floppy perhaps, but as a beginner I think that will enforce better fretting technique, because it punishes sloppy, angled grips and pushing strings sideways.

As for the topic of the thread, one possible benefit of having the highest string farther from the edge is a reduced risk of muting it with the soft, fleshy part of the hand that touches the neck. Another is, as you mention, extra clearance for bending. What concerns me is that I'm not entirely sure about why it looks like does. I would guess that the nut is slightly off-centre. On one side it's level with the finish of the bordering neck and the rosewood, on the other side it's a hair below, but it doesn't look like that would be enough to account for 1 mm or more. Maybe it's a case of half a mm here and half a mm there that combined produce this clearly visible difference with the strings. I'm mainly throwing this out here to see if someone with greater experience thinks this might have implications that I have not considered.

 

[garrettb]

Like Michael, I prefer it that way too. When you think about it, as you hold the neck it's easier to pull the strings down than push them up. I find it pretty easy to fall off the board doing vibrato on the high E.

They look spaced fine in the pics, so I wouldn't worry. Another thing is the different thicknesses of the strings can make things look a little off. On a set of 10 gauge strings, the high E is almost 1mm thinner than the low E.

 

[AP515]

If it doesn't bother you then there is no problem. I just checked my USA Cu24 and it kind of has the same thing. Maybe not quite a much but maybe a half mm. It's just how close to centered they got the nut. Unless it hampers your playing it shoudl be a non issue.

 

[Rookie]

Okay, I had to look at my SE 245, and it's not that way.
But, I had the nut changed to a GraphTeck Tusc and the strings replaced with 10's.
I almost think your way is better for bending, and also muting the low E with your thumb.

 

[gball]

Looked at mine and it seems like yours - and that is after a nut change! I don't think it is anything to worry about either, never even noticed it before.

Now that you guys make me think of it though, I realize that I bend all of my strings up, toward the bass side of the fretboard, except the low E, which I bend down. Don't know how I learned to do that and never really thought about it before now but I guess I just learned to so I wouldn't pull the low E off the side.