bassix Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Last week I sent my bass off to my usual technician for a setup as I'd noticed that the action was unusually high. Get a call today to say that the truss rod is maxed and it cannot come down to how he'd setup my Squier. As this is still within warranty I took the bass back to the shop where I bought the bass and they say the tech has over tightened the truss rod as the cap now doesn't sit flush with the neck. Further they said they wouldn't try to correct for liability issues. They have agreed to send the bass back to the manufacturer to be investigated but they didn't sound very hopeful of a positive resolution. Not being particularly technical with basses but on a simplistic level what is the manufacturer's obligation? From my perspective, if I can get a lower action on a bass a third of the cost then surely something has got to be wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I don't understand this bit "they say the tech has over tightened the truss rod as the cap now doesn't sit flush with the neck"? What cap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 (edited) I also don't understand what the shop is trying to say! However you may have voided your guarantee with the shop by taking the bass elsewhere to be worked on. Edit : the only way to "over tighten" a truss rod is if you over do it and break the nut off the end. Unless the rod is broken any adjustment can be reversed. Edited May 5, 2015 by Dom in Somerset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassix Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 Sorry, demonstrating my lack of knowledge.. When I refer to the cap I actually mean the screw/adjuster at the base of the neck. The screw wasn't flush with the neck, the tech said it should be. There was no suggestion that the truss rod is broken but then the tech wouldn't have known as he refused to touch it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 So lets get this straight - you sent the bass to your tech who examined the bass and spotted the problem, told you about it and did nothing? The shop are accusing your tech of damaging the bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassix Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 (edited) In a nutshell, yes. The tech that wouldn't touch it was the shops though. Edited May 5, 2015 by bassix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 If the rod's as tight as possible and it hasn't broken then I'd guess that the rod has compressed some wood in the neck (at one end of the rod) and the nut/bullet has run out of adjustment. I'd hope that whichever expert looks at this will know you can add washers between the adjustment nut and the threaded rod to take up some of the slack - however I wouldn't expect this to happen with a nearly new bass (as you say it's still under warranty) which suggests that perhaps there's been something wrong with the neck from the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 But the shop's tech says your guy did the damage when in fact he did nothing more than look at it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassix Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 That is basically the explanation given to me by the tech I took it to. It is the shop's technician who is questioning this. He seems to think the tampering of the tech may invalidate the warranty?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassix Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 My technician did take it apart to look at it to try and get the action lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 (edited) "[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]He seems to think the tampering of the tech may invalidate the warranty?? " - as far as I'm aware it does.[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]You may have some wriggle room if you'd just said he took the strings off to get a better look. If your guy only looked , you're covered.[/font][/color] Edited May 5, 2015 by Dom in Somerset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@23 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I wonder which shop this is, as I've had almost the same thing from a big UK retailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassix Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 I'm gonna wait for a resolution before I start slinging around names! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazed Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I had the same but from a private seller. I'm sure it was a manufacturer fault but will never be able to prove it. Unfortunately a friend collected the bass from seller and I didn't get to it for a month, by which time the seller denied all knowledge. How does that warranty work? If tweaking the truss rod is going to void it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I'd argue that adjustment of a truss rod is little different than setting intonation, pickup height and the action - they're all needed when setting up an instrument. It's common to have to adjust neck relief when changing string gauge and you can only do that via the truss rod. That you can run out of adjustment with a nearly new neck to me suggests a manufacturing fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassix Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 These are echoing my thoughts exactly, if touching the truss rod voids the warranty that seems ridiculously low standard to void a warranty when you need to use it to get the action setup correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Adjusting the truss rod shouldn't void the guarantee. Taking the bass elsewhere to be worked on does. Playing Devil's advocate here - how does the shop know that your tech didn't damage the bass? The shop can't be held responsible for work carried out by third parties. If you have an issue with a bass under guarantee your first port of call should be the shop you bought it from (or at least don't tell the shop that someone else has worked on it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassix Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 I think to regard his role as work would be an exaggeration. It went to him for a set-up, that's what he attempted to deliver prior to finding the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booboo Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I've had Fenders that have needed the usual washer fix for a maxed/nearly maxed truss rod and it's worked well, but sometimes the truss nut does sit proud of the recess afterwards. Just to be clear, I'm talking about the vintage style necks with the truss nut at the heel. I'm a bit of a Fender fanboy, but frankly I'm sick of expensive supposedly top of the range US built instruments needing the washer/shim fix to get a low action when any mex / mij instruments I've owned have all been fine. I now only own one US fender (which is fine actually) and it's mij for me all the way now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Being really pessimistic here; you took the new bass, under warranty to a 3rd party "tech" for a set up. That guy then tells you the TR has a problem and you take it to the shop. If the manufacturer claims you have broken or damaged the TR mechanism yourself, what insurance cover does your tech have? What bass is this that by a simple adjustment of the TR it's possible for an experienced tech to unwittingly break the mechanism? I think I'd be simply asking for a refund under the terms of the "Sale of Goods Act". That bass is not fit for purpose, unless there's something else happening here we don't know about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassix Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 This one has the truss rod access at the heel so potentially the same issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booboo Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 If it's a fender you'll find their 'standard' measurements for string height, relief, and so on on their set up guide are pretty high - certainly not what anyone I know thinks of as a low action although it's fine for many. This allows them to claim that virtually any neck is functioning normally. There also seems to be a tacit agreement within the bass community to accept that neck pocket shims and washers added to the truss are perfectly normal to acheive a good set up. Shims even seem to be factory fitted at times. Apologies if I'm barking up the wrong tree and it's not a Fender BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@23 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 [quote name='bassix' timestamp='1430850548' post='2765244'] I'm gonna wait for a resolution before I start slinging around names! [/quote] I wasn't fishing for a name. Merely stating that I've been here before, with a major retailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassix Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 Ah fair enough, how did that end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@23 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 (edited) [quote name='bassix' timestamp='1430855453' post='2765343'] Ah fair enough, how did that end? [/quote] It ended well, in that I got a full refund. But only after travelling the 100 or so miles to the shop as I wasn't getting anywhere with phonecalls. Their argument was that I had invalidated the warranty by taking it to a third party. Even though, a trained eye could tell just by looking that it was a dud and no work had been done. If i hadn't said so, they wouldnt have known. I should have mentioned, this was the 3rd bass they'd sent too, the first two were also faulty! Which is the reason I took it to my tech as I was getting fed up sending the things back. Got my money back and went elsewhere. Since then I've only bought from shops run by actual musicians, not sales people. Hope it works out for you in the end! Edited May 5, 2015 by M@23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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