Bowks Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I've recently rescued a Cort Elrick bass that was in need of some TLC. So far I've managed to stop the G string rattling against the zero fret by filing the nut slot a little deeper, given the frets and the fingerboard a good polish with steel wool and some fingerboard oil and restrung it. I've also had the neck off and shimmed the neck at the back of the neck cavity in order to lower the action, however, when I measure the string heights across the neck, there is more clearance at the 12th fret than there is at the 22nd-24th fret. I was always under the impression that there should be a small amount of relief in the neck, but this would appear to be causing the difference in string height, which is leading to a little bit of clattering of the strings against the higher frets. I will say that the action is pretty low at around 1.8mm at the 12th fret. Would anyone have any advice on the amount of relief I should have set in the neck and what could cure this height disparity? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Photos would be helpful.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowks Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 No problem. What would you need to see? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRISDABASS Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 (edited) Hey One of the best ways i have found to check the relief of a neck is press the E string down on the first fret with the index finger of your left hand and using your little finger on your right hand hold down the same string on either the last fret or at the fret where the neck joins the body. This makes a straight edge out of the string and you can clearly see the relief between those points. (i then use the thumb on my right hand to to press the string down in the middle to give me an idea of feel) I would say the issues you are having with clattering high up is more to do with the shim pushing that end of the neck up, making the last few frets slightly higher than they should be. This can be solved quite simply with what is sometimes called fall away. This process makes each fret from around the 15th onwards progressively lower than the one before it (by only thousandths of an inch) this stops all that clattering and makes the notes sound as they should If you'd like any further info on how to do this then please let me know cheers chris Edited April 13, 2013 by CHRISDABASS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.