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Just picked up my first baritone guitar (a Fender blacktop Tele), and as we were getting it ready to roll, the sales rep and I realized the damn thing was in standard tuning with a set of 12-65s on it. Is the neck completely fucked? I was going to give it a few days to destress, but I'm worried about any permanent or long-lasting damage.

Sigh. I was so looking forward to this thing, too. It plays alright, but the action is a little weird - that may just be me getting used to a different scale and string gauge though.

I'd suggest taking strings off and loosening the truss rod all the way. Leave it there for a few days. If the neck was stressed it may return to its original position. Then you can string correctly and adjust the truss rod etc to see the condition.
Sadly a lot of people are ignorant of baritones and "wonder why this guitar is tuned so low?! Good thing I'm here to fix it and tune it to standard guitar tuning."

Thanks for the help! I've never messed with a truss rod in 20+ years of guitar ownership - always too scared. Can I start with just taking the strings off first?

Well yu can take the strings off but the truss rod will still be putting tension on the neck. The goal of having zero tension on the neck is to allow the neck to move if it "wants to".
If there is tension on the neck (which I'm guessing there is) you'd turn the wrench counter clock-wise (if you are looking straight at the wrench socket. If the guitar has a single action rod then you will know when you have it loosened.
If it is a two way rod you'r have to feel for the spot in adjustment when it feels loose. Or watch the movement of the rod. If the neck starts bowing even more forward then you've gone too far.
You want to get all tension off the neck also so you can see if the neck is warped without tension.

I very much doubt that a "proper" set up, including truss rod adjustment was done to get it to play nice in standard. Likely the truss rod is where it was when it left the factory. I'd take the strings off, let it sit for a day or two. re string it, and see where you are at. If it still is messed up, at that time begin with truss rod adjustment as nelson described. Guitars are not as fragile as we think, it should be ok if the action is only "a little weird"

And once all is said and done, you might be able to shim the neck to compensate for any "set" that it has taken.

I would return it.


buuuut that's me.

whiskey_face wrote:I would return it.


buuuut that's me.

I was just going to say...

Just to clarify the suggestion of shimming the neck:
Shimming won't compensate for bowing in the neck.
Shimming is done to increase the neck angle and is usually done only when there is an insufficient break angle over the bridge saddles.
Shimming just increases the angle of the neck in relation to the body which then causes the bridge/saddles to go upward to set the string action back to playable height.
But the only thing that changes in that scenario is break angle.
ALSO, if the neck has taken on a bow or twist shimming COULD make the problem worse.
Reason is, when a lot of people shim they over-tighten the screws closest to the shims. This can actually cause a hump to develop at the end of the neck. So your attempt to make the guitar more playable COULD end up causing more problems.
(As a side note, when shimming the screws closest to the shims should just be snug. Not too tight!)

This situation is one where seeing the neck without tension is the only way to evaluate whether the wood has taken a set while under extra tension.
Personally I think it will be fine. If you are just really uneasy about it then take it back and have them order you a new one.

Good news - I strung it up today, and the neck seems fine. Looking down the neck from the headstock, I see no bowing or warping. The intonation needs some minor tweaks and one of the strings has a little fret buzz, but that's all stuff that can be handled with a setup, which I'll be taking it in for next weekend.

The action is still a TEENY high for my taste, but we're talking less than a mm difference between the baritone and my Les Paul, so I'm sure it can be sorted out as well.

Thanks for the help, everyone!

Good to hear!

Glad it seems fine!

I bought a strat once without any adjustment left in the truss rod. I asked a luthier about it, and found it was only about $100 to "heat bend" the neck---can sometimes work to rebow or cure a twist.

Moot point for OP, but I thought something like that would have been more expensive. In fact, I once sold a 70s les paul copy that I think this treatment could have helped. Oh wellz