Neck shift season?

[Mr. Foxen]

Had a bunch of wet days, and the season is clearly changing. I am noticing the necks on my basses are on the move, some new rattles and easier playing actionseems to be happening. Anyone else getting this?

[JTUK]

Yes..but nothing major.

I am very aware of how I store a bass between gigs though.

[Grand Wazoo]

Time to give the trussrod a half turn to the right.

[Clarky]

Same here. My Alembic (burn him, he's a toff) now buzzes on the G string whereas it played perfectly 2 weeks ago. Trus rod tweak needed. Must be problematic for a very thin necked bass like a Geddy Lee.

Time for the Status owners to come over all smug with their carbon graphite-yness

[waynepunkdude]

Yep.

[essexbasscat]

Until this thread came along, I've treated the neck shifting on my latest favourite bass like an embaressing personal problem - I just dont' talk about it.

I'm coming out of the closet, one of mine is shifting too

T

[G-77]

[quote name='Clarky' post='977752' date='Oct 4 2010, 10:13 PM']Time for the Status owners to come over all smug with their carbon graphite-yness[/quote]


i wasn't going to say anything but....

[Clarky]

But where's the fun in an entirely stable neck? I thought we bassists love to tweak truss rods and, er, other things? I imagine Status owners have carefully manicured lawns and quartz watches that are accurate to 1 picosecond per millennium. Chaos, entropy (killer word), wild times, thats what life's about ... and slightly shifting bass necks

[Clarky]

[quote name='JTUK' post='977749' date='Oct 4 2010, 10:13 PM']Yes..but nothing major.

I am very aware of how I store a bass between gigs though.[/quote]
JTUK, when I look at your avatar and read about how you "store your bass between gigs", I get bad thoughts

[essexbasscat]

Missus came home early the other day and nearly caught me adjusting a trussrod...

luckily I was able to get my glam costume on in time to save any embaressment.....

T

Edited October 4, 2010 by essexbasscat

[molan]

My new Alembic has gone insanely floppy!

First 5 frets virtually unplayable & everything buzzing & rattling right up to 12th!

Admittedly the action was pretty low to start with but I've never seen a bass move quite this far in such a short space of time.

The Alleva Coppolo seems to have moved a bit as well - funnily enough both of these have had real pro set-up jobs to get them as low as they'd go & now both are buzzing away too much for me.

[ahpook]

plus the one here too.

it's autumn...season of mists, mellow fruitfulness and allen keys

[Clarky]

[quote name='molan' post='977800' date='Oct 4 2010, 10:45 PM']My new Alembic has gone insanely floppy!

First 5 frets virtually unplayable & everything buzzing & rattling right up to 12th!

Admittedly the action was pretty low to start with but I've never seen a bass move quite this far in such a short space of time.

The Alleva Coppolo seems to have moved a bit as well - funnily enough both of these have had real pro set-up jobs to get them as low as they'd go & now both are buzzing away too much for me.[/quote]
Both should be dead easy to adjust Barrie. You need a 1/4 inch spanner for the Alembic (may have come with the bass anyway) and turn each of the two truss rods the same amount, probably only an eighth to a quarter of a turn. You could always bring them round to me to adjust although you may discover you are a bass light when you get home

[RhysP]

[quote name='Clarky' post='977752' date='Oct 4 2010, 10:13 PM']Time for the Status owners to come over all smug with their carbon graphite-yness[/quote]
And the Zon owners..............

[JTUK]

[quote name='Clarky' post='977784' date='Oct 4 2010, 10:38 PM']JTUK, when I look at your avatar and read about how you "store your bass between gigs", I get bad thoughts [/quote]


she has that effect.

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='Clarky' post='977783' date='Oct 4 2010, 10:36 PM']But where's the fun in an entirely stable neck? I thought we bassists love to tweak truss rods and, er, other things? I imagine Status owners have carefully manicured lawns and quartz watches that are accurate to 1 picosecond per millennium. Chaos, entropy (killer word), wild times, thats what life's about ... and slightly shifting bass necks[/quote]

Imagine again, my "lawn" looks more like a bramble patch and half the time I don't even know what day it is.

My Status basses however never change, but the old Fenders need the necks taking off to adjust.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Fat Rich' post='977854' date='Oct 4 2010, 11:31 PM']... the old Fenders need the necks taking off to adjust. [/quote]

No they don't - just enlarge the access slot enough to allow an offset driver head in there.

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='977859' date='Oct 4 2010, 11:37 PM']No they don't - just enlarge the access slot enough to allow an offset driver head in there.[/quote]

They're '62 reissues so they don't have any access slots, but I learnt from Bernie Goodfellow at the London Bass Bash that I can loosen the neck bolts and tilt the neck out of the pocket enough to get to the truss rod without completely removing the neck. Still means slackening all the strings though and guessing how much to adjust.

[Mr. Foxen]

Adjusting truss rods makes me feel loads more capable than all the guitarists I know.

[Grand Wazoo]

Would you like me to draw you a pic?

[Delberthot]

So am I the only one never to have had to adjust my truss rod ever?

I used to leave my bass in the car overnight in all weathers and didn;t have to touch anything

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='977750' date='Oct 4 2010, 10:13 PM']Time to give the trussrod a half turn to the right.[/quote]
Half a turn?! That's [i]loads[/i]! I've never had to do more than an eighth... maybe a quarter at a push... when the seasons change.

I've also found that summer to autumn seems to flatten the necks off (introducing rattles and buzzes), rather than causing more bow, so I've gone to the [b]left[/b] at this time of year.

Do different neck woods react completely differently to seasonal changes?

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='978329' date='Oct 5 2010, 01:41 PM']So am I the only one never to have had to adjust my truss rod ever?

I used to leave my bass in the car overnight in all weathers and didn;t have to touch anything[/quote]
Do you have a high action? I used to favour a high action when I was playing hard with a plectrum, and I didn't notice the seasonal shifts in neck relief anywhere near as much as I do now with my lower actions.

[Bloodaxe]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='978329' date='Oct 5 2010, 01:41 PM']So am I the only one never to have had to adjust my truss rod ever?

I used to leave my bass in the car overnight in all weathers and didn;t have to touch anything[/quote]
Can't match "never", but I haven't adjusted the fretless in over a year & the main fretted hasn't needed anything doing to it since Bernie Goodfellow "laid hands" on it at the London Bash back in the summer. Neither have a 'fag paper' action, but they're not high by any standard, & all adjustments have been to suit my playing style.

Mind you, the way that an Aria SB neck is put together it has no business moving about

[i][b]Never[/b][/i] had fret sprout on anything I own, don't understand that one at all.

Pete.

Edited October 5, 2010 by Bloodaxe

[xilddx]

Not a single problem on my Warwicks yet