Mojo Neck Problems/Repair

Discussions of every Fly in every variation including Deluxe, Classic, Mojo, Artist, Supreme, Stealth, Concert/Bronze, and custom Flys
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Piplodocus
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Mojo Neck Problems/Repair

Post by Piplodocus »

Hello! Long one I'm afraid...

The short version: my neck is buggered, anyone know who would be best to fix it? And what needs fixing? Preferrably UK-based, but based on the problem, might have to go further away for the right fix. And quite what may or may not need doing I could do with some advice from anyone here who has had anything similar...

Here's the history...
I had a Mojo Flame I bought new in 2004. Great. Played the hell out of it. It's still great. Then got a few ~2000 Niteflies. Lovely. Then when Parker went bust and closed down about the end of 2016 I thought I should try acquire another good mojo. Bought a gorgeous looking 2nd hand black 2014 Mojo Flame... here's where the problems started...

I bought it from World Guitars who are reputable and specialise in high-end intruments. When it turned up (I bought it online) I thought the set-up was crap and was surprised they'd have sent it as-is as I had a load of fret buzz down the bottom end. It was this point where I should have sent it straight back, I guess as something happened to it in transport. Not returning it was one of the worst decisions I've ever made. Doesn't appear to have been mistreated in the post and was in a hard case, but since I got a load of fret buzz and I presumed it was ok I thought maybe I could just fix it myself and save the trouble.

So I then tried to get rid of the buzz and had to adjust the truss rod a good bit. This made it better but wasn't quite right still. Unfortunately due to having the other Mojo I was playing most of the time this ended up not being a priority and I didn't do anything to proactively get it fixed so sat in the case a good while. Later when I came to look at it again I noticed a couple of small looking grooves in the back of the neck!

I'll jump ahead a year or 2 (or 3) of it mostly laying in the case to when I next looked at fixing it. At this point I noticed the frets were too high near the nut. So I came to the conclusion that since this is the latest revision neck (from after when it went from conical section to flatter radius) I think it has a dual action truss rod. Does this mean rather than just tension you can put tension in both directions? My presumtion is that I tried to correct for these high frets by putting too much reverse tension on the neck. That's where the small grooves I can see on the back of the neck parallel with it came from. I think it was too much reverse tension and it tried to start to split it! :( So I quickly backed off the truss rod tension so I wouldn't do it any more bad. I did also speak to World Guitars but because I'd buggered about with it and it was a couple of years after I bought it they weren't much help and me suggesting they sold me a faulty guitar only resulted in them seeming quite incensed at the suggestion they would have sent it with a problem before it left and otherwise they couldn't really help. (Thought for the day: if ever you buy a guitar and it turns up with a problem send it back immediately. Don't try fix it yourself and definitely don't leave it ages to actually be proactive about it)

More lack of funds to do anything serious about it and another 2 or 3 years has gone of playing the others while that collects dust in it's case (even though that guitar has been my iPhone background wallpaper for years!!!). So after a weekend of playing lots of my blue mojo (I tend to usually play my customised Niteflies more these days), I'm thinking about that wasted great other Mojo sat there again in need of fixing...

So, to fixing:
If it seems the issue is it should have been ok with the truss rod at the original setting when it arrived and the lower frets are too high, to just make it playable, in theory, I guess it could just have the bottom frets levelled? Then reasonable truss rod setting and voila! Sorted. But how did this happen? I *presume* it left World Guitars ok. So I presume the lower frets raised during transport? How could that happen?

This was around the time some horror stories were coming out about fretboard de-laminating from certain later era flies. So would/could this be the fingerboard lifting at the bottom end? I can't feel anything though. And I can't see anything visibly wrong at the bottom end. Should I be looking for anything in particular? If it starts lifting I'd have thought I'd get cracks around the edges of the fingerboard paint or I'd feel it being "squishy" or something? Just getting the frets levelled is pointless if it may then make the fingerboard come away from the guitar later and this seems to be addressing a symptom of the problem, not the original issue that caused the symptom.

So should the fingerboard be lifted and re-glued, then check/level frets? Or what? If I'm gonna shell out a big load of cash to fix it I don't want it to just re-occur again 6 months or a couple of years later. I certainly don't want these (basically irreplaceable) frets filed down, only to have the fingerboard reglued later and them then be too low.

So I guess as well the marks/cracks in the back of the neck should be addressed too. Is it likely these are cracks from over-tensioning the truss rod in the wrong direction? What would be the suggestion for that? Just fill and paint? Or should they have glue injected into them or something? Or would this be a serious structural damage issue and the whole neck may be a write-off (although doesn't seem completely so)?

So basically anyone seen similar with a Fly neck? Anyone got ideas of what should be done to fix this properly. And who would be a good place to fix it (preferrably UK, but obvs this may not be simple). It may be that it's not the hardest to lift, inject a bit of glue, glue back down the fingerboard, level frets, and it's back and quite a few luthiers would do it. Or it might be a massive amount of work and need sourcing of an entirely new fingerboard, maybe carbon repairs all the way up the back of the neck and would need serious specialist work no-one would take on to get a Parker fingerboard off/on.

Or in a dream world someone might just tell me 2014 Mojos had a habit of being completely stable for about 2.5 years, then the frets move overnight in a delivery van, then they're completely stable forevermore and I just need frets levelled and maybe the little grooves in the back of the neck filled. But I'm guessing that's sheer fantasy and I need to address the issue properly!

(Random other note: I also bought a never finished MaxxFly body/neck in a sell-off of old factory bits years ago too. This guitar has never been built-up as I figure there was something wrong with it. Not only does it have a few paint blemishes but it actually seems to have a similar thing where the lower frets seem a bit high. That guitar is a whole other story though...)
2004 Blue Fly Mojo Flame (MH/MH), Distressed Red 2000 NiteFly M (MH/MH), 2000 MIDIFly (MH/MH), 2000 NiteFly SA (SA/MH), 2007 Southern NiteFly (SA/Maple), 2014 Fly Mojo Flame (with neck issues), rather tatty 1997 Nitefly NFV1 (Maple/Basswood).
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vjmanzo
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Neck Problems/Repair Related to High Frets?

Post by vjmanzo »

Hi @Piplodocus—I had a similar issue with my 2007 Deluxe: I bought it used and it developed problems similar to yours over time.

The remedy for me was to ask my technician to flex the neck backward as @Ken Parker described here and then level the upper frets as you suggested. @mmmguitar also has written a great post with some setup suggestions that you may find helpful.

It doesn't sound like your fretboard is actually lifting and that seems like an issue that was primarily a problem in 2008 as far as "originating at the factory" problems go. It's not taboo to level the frets especially with the type of issue you're describing, but it would be worthwhile to have a qualified tech look at the neck to see that it has the correct curve/shape.

#FretIssues
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mmmguitar
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Re: Mojo Neck Problems/Repair

Post by mmmguitar »

@Piplodocus, would you be willing to post photos of the problem areas of the neck straight on and in profile; so we can see if there's any bulging or delamination?

I have a 2011 Fly that should be quite similar in construction to yours (narrow nut, constant radius, dual action truss, etc.). I'd be happy to take photos or video as a reference point aiding in diagnosing the extent of your Mojo Flame's issues. A straight edge for checking neck relief, as well as a fret rocker for checking fret evenness, are two cheap tools I encourage every guitarist to invest in. Your describing the first few frets as being "too high" indicates backbow/insufficient relief - Which a dual action truss should be able to mitigate, assuming it's still properly seated in its channel within the neck. Thank you VJ for reminding me I'd written up a pertinent post (which I subsequently tidied up a bit).

We have a tech resource thread which, so far, has only two vetted UK entries. If you end up taking the guitar to anyone, please update us with your experience; so the thread may be updated.

Lastly, I found the trick to keeping my neck from being buggered was to start wearing a scarf. Cheers.
Summary of the Parker Guitars speculator market from 2020 onward: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory
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Voice Of Reason
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Re: Mojo Neck Problems/Repair

Post by Voice Of Reason »

You had great suggestions to investigate your Fly Mojo’s problems (which is likely caused by a combination of factors). A fret dress could also end up being needed. Frets on Flys are not all perfect. That I wished I had been informed much earlier.
1998 Fly Classic
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Piplodocus
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Re: Mojo Neck Problems/Repair

Post by Piplodocus »

Cheers for this info. (Sorry didn't know there were replies as I stupidly hadn't subscribed to replies! 😝) I'll post some pics and more info soon when I get a chance.
2004 Blue Fly Mojo Flame (MH/MH), Distressed Red 2000 NiteFly M (MH/MH), 2000 MIDIFly (MH/MH), 2000 NiteFly SA (SA/MH), 2007 Southern NiteFly (SA/Maple), 2014 Fly Mojo Flame (with neck issues), rather tatty 1997 Nitefly NFV1 (Maple/Basswood).
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Piplodocus
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Re: Mojo Neck Problems/Repair

Post by Piplodocus »

mmmguitar wrote: Mon Jan 09, 2023 3:52 pm We have a tech resource thread which, so far, has only two vetted UK entries. If you end up taking the guitar to anyone, please update us with your experience; so the thread may be updated.
P.S. Has anyone spoken to CA Guitarworks in a while? Their FB was last updated about 2016 I thought and their website has gone. I last bought a spring off them aeons ago.
2004 Blue Fly Mojo Flame (MH/MH), Distressed Red 2000 NiteFly M (MH/MH), 2000 MIDIFly (MH/MH), 2000 NiteFly SA (SA/MH), 2007 Southern NiteFly (SA/Maple), 2014 Fly Mojo Flame (with neck issues), rather tatty 1997 Nitefly NFV1 (Maple/Basswood).
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