Neck Relief, Pros and Cons

[knoxy26]

Hi Guys,

I know set-up is a personal thing and is something to be played with, but I was just wondering about preferences for neck relief. Most people seem to try and get it a flat as possible with a little relief, which if what I have always done for years, but I was wondering if there are any benefits to having a neck with a relatively large amount of relief (obviously not to the point where it would be detrimental to the instrument).

Does it positively effect the tone of the instrument but at the cost of how low you can set your string height??

Cheers

[neepheid]

I've always seen neck relief as a technical necessity to allow for string movement rather than something that affects the tone of the instrument, and it's like seasoning - just enough is enough, more than enough (or none) and you end up with unsatisfactory results (or even ruin the meal).

[Horizontalste]

I think relief and string height when set properly can make even a relatively bad bass play nice.
Its all about ergonomics and economics and being easy to play, too much relief and more effort is needed for fretting.

[Beer of the Bass]

From the couple of basses I've had with more than the optimum amount of relief, I have the impression that basses with too much relief tend towards thumpiness on the lower strings and any dead spots tend to be worse. Perhaps that's something to do with the stiffness of the neck, I don't know.

[Paul S]

Also a lot depends upon how you play. A couple of times recently I have had to adjust a neck on a bass I have just acquired to give more relief. I play with a pick most of the time and give the strings a bit of a thump so basses with an almost flat neck and very low action get too buzzy.

[Marc S]

I find it also varies, depending on the bass
Sometimes you can give a neck more relief on one bass,
and it seems to work well....

... on another bass however, a similar amount of relief
(difficult to judge whether it is exactly the same)
and it doesn't work so well, and you may end up with buzzing etc

[MoonBassAlpha]

This probably depends on the overall level-ness of the frets. As you reduce the relief any higher ones will become more noticeable.

[Jonnyboy Rotten]

Call me Mr Obvious but I think there is an optimum relief where there is no/minimal buzzing but that still doesn't require too much effort to play although this will vary depending on the height of the frets, string gauge, action, and how enthusiastic you are with your picking and finger plucking.

[HowieBass]

I'd bet that more people are playing basses with too much rather than too little or optimum relief - it's the fear of adjusting the truss rod (and something bad happening) that prevents many people from doing their own set-ups. I think the majority of us know that some relief is required but it's those of us confident (or even obsessive) about doing our own set-ups in order to make a bass play as well as it can who end up getting pretty level fingerboards.

[sblueplanet]

After being left disappointed and poorer after forking out for a local luthier to give a few a setup which wasn't to my liking I now set up my own basses. Still not perfect but doesn't cost me anything to give them a tweak now and then.

[iconic]

[quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1401446074' post='2463657']
I think relief and string height when set properly can make even a relatively bad bass play nice.
Its all about ergonomics and economics and being easy to play, too much relief and more effort is needed for fretting.
[/quote]

Good call