A lot of folks complain about the 1st E string on the EJ Strat running too close to the edge of the fretboard but what people don't seem to recall is that this is how Eric Johnson's Strats are setup. If your 1st string is off the neck or incapable of being fretted then, yes, this is a factory defect but if it is just weirdly close to the side of the neck compared to your other guitars, this is actually how the guitar is supposed to ship, it is setup this way according to the original specifications. This was all explained in his early video lesson, Total Electric Guitar, back in 1990. The nut is cut to shift all the stings slightly to the treble side of the neck. I discuss this in the following video: