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Somehow I got my neck 2 1/4" at the 14th fret. I already have the fretboard on & the frets installed. Its also a bound fretboard. How badly will this affect playability if I make a bridge with 2 3/16" or even 2 1/4" spaceing? Or how can I fix the neck without trashing the frets & fretboard?

You really can't change the neck now it seem to me unless you are willing to take off the fretboard, narrow the neck and make a new fretboard.

Some folks like a wider neck, like me.

If left as is, your pin spacing will be 2 1/4 or maybe even 2 5/16 like my latest. Some folks like this wide a neck and string spacing, although if you are used to narrower necks it takes some adjusting in your playing.

You should take some thin string and simulate the lines of the 1st and 6th strings like you want them to lie on the neck with a nut in place and bring them down to the bridge in place on the top. Then measure the spacing.

Here is an Opinion:

huh?

the ideal string spacing at the bridge is 2.2"
this means the ideal neck width at the 12th is 2.2"
(some want wider there, but it's allll good)
this also means that the ideal neck width at the 14th is 2.25"

So what's yer problem?

Make your string spacing at the bridge 2.2" and rock on!

(this comes from actual measurements of my Best Guitar, and discussions with it's builder!)

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-donh-

Everything is a tone control!

I'm with Steve. A wider fretboard fits my hands better.

How does it feel? I'd keep it like it is if it plays good for you.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

I also dont mind a bit more meat under the strings there. . better for vibrato and pull offs. what you are talking about is pretty a minimal issue IMO (BTW, I use 56mm at the saddle, about 2 3/16, and I dont actually measure my FBs at the 12th or 14th .. I use 2.350 at the end, or 12st, and it all works out fine)

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I have a pre-made bridge with 2 1/8" spacing. I'll just have to make my own now and i don't have any material.

John,

There are several sources for pre-made bridges with 2 1/4" spacing, like John Watkins of CNC, LMI and Stewart MacDonald. However, it is fun to make your own and you can space the pins any way you need.

But again, if you haven't actually mocked up your finished guitar and measured where the strings would fall over the bridge, you should do that just to be sure. So, you should fit a nut blank to the neck, secure the neck temporarily to the body, tape the bridge lined up with the neck at the correct distance from the nut and measure where the strings would pass over the saddle. Your answer (on how to proceed) will be revealed without any guesswork!

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck