Cool info thanks for that.
Thereās no shame in taking your guitar to a qualified tech. In fact thatās exactly what I would do in this case and have done in the past.
Itās worth looking at Crimson Guitarās youtube site, where Ben Crowe shows everything from building guitars to setting intonation, relief etc.
Setting the correct relief really needs a straight edge at the very least - and a notched straight edge for preference.
The neck needs to be flat under tension or have a slight bow in the centre, then move on to action and intonation.
I am going to do this soon on my new guitar - I havenāt got a proper straight edge yet, but will find a way round it.
Andy, as I understand it you can measure the height of the E strings above the fret at the midpoint. Earlier in this topic I posted up recommendations from Fender on that height to set your relief, which was dependent on neck radius.
The guy I bought the guitar from had taken it to a tech just before I bought it off him. Maybe he asked for a really low action but the high e really buzzed (playing anything requiring open e was just annoying) which the tech should have solved. The buzz has completely gone since I raised the string height.
For me the guitar was unplayable as I couldnāt bend on it so it was sitting in the case whilst I played the pacifica. I figured I couldnāt make it any worse as it was already unplayable & I worried if I took it to a tech I might not get back what I wanted. Figured I had nothing to lose. Right now the strat plays the same as my Pacifica so Iām happy & I learnt some stuff
Maybe in the future when I find a tech I know I can trust Iāll see if they can make it any better.
If you like how it plays you did good. It really isnāt that complicated. Nice work!