AndyBass Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I think the neck of my P bass is warped. A while back I had the nut filed so I could switch the strings round and have it as a lefty (badass II bridge was fine so no other mods needed) - would the changed load on the neck from the reversed strings cause it to warp? No other reason comes to mind. Anyway, do the photos give an indication of how bad it is and if so any thoughts what I can do about it? Sorry, I'm normally a double bass man so I'm pretty rubbish with electric basses and am at the mercy of your knowledge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 The truss rod runs down the centreline of the neck so there's no asymmetry designed into it with regard to expected string tensions; in fact I only just read on here the other day about Andy McCluskey (of OMD) reverse stringing his Jazz bass in exactly the same manner as yourself. Have you checked the truss rod to see whether it's able to be adjusted (you'd need to tighten the bullet nut in order to take some relief out). As to why the relief/bow has increased - is where you keep the bass now colder or more damp than usual? It's not unknown for necks to move with changes in the season/weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyBass Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 Oddly enough, the room that bass lives in is pretty much the only one in the house without fluctuating temperature and moisture! It may all be in my head but it seemed warped when I first took it out if the case again after a long time away following the conversion. I've had the truss rod adjusted once but I'm not convinced they know their stuff particularly...I'll try taking it elsewhere in the hope they can sort it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 A good starting point is here [url="http://www2.fender.com/support/articles/bass-guitar-setup-guide/"]http://www2.fender.com/support/articles/bass-guitar-setup-guide/[/url] Gives a guide to what you should be able to achieve and how to get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulhauser Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Andy, what do you mean by warped? english is not my native language, but I'd imagine warped means that the fingerboard is kind of twisted. Due to the pics you have posted I have a feeling the there is a bow in the neck which should be easily cured be adjusting the truss rod. While there is a tension difference between the strings (and it depends a lot on what kind of strings being used) I would never think that a lefty change would twist the neck. Causing different tesion and making truss rod adjustment neccesary yes, but not twisting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 A warp is like a screw in the neck with rotation top to bottom. I don't see that in your pics, just a neck with too much relief. Tighten the truss rod bit by bit and, by the looks of it, you'll probably need to raise the saddles too. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyBass Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 My bad, yes it's bowing rather than warping then. I did get the truss rod adjusted once but the views here that air should be sorted with that and addled adjustment just convince me the guy who did it didn't really do it very well. I'll take it elsewhere today and see if it's a really easy fix. Thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Did you change to a heavier string gauge when you had it switched? looks to me to be the same as Geoff has said, give the truss rod a tighten and see if its any better, there are some very good youtube tutorials and its not as daunting a job as you may think (unless its siezed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alembic1989 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 It doesn't cost a lot to sort out. Take it to a proper luthier..they will heat the neck..and bend it back to straightness...£50 max. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 It looks like you just have a little too much relief. If you'd like to find out the extent of the bow, try this. Capo the first fret and fret the last one of the E string, then get yourself either a feeler gauge or failing that a ruler which starts at 0. While capo'd at the first and fretted at the last, take a measurement between the bottom edge of the E string and the 8th fret crown (aka top). Make a note of that measurement and report back if you like . If you'd like to know if the neck is twisted you can repeat this process on the G string. You want that measurement to be the same or very close to the one from the E string. If it's considerably different then there is some element of twist present. Though I doubt that's the issue here . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cameltoe Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 I second the above, just looks like there is a little too much relief in the neck. Traditional designed necks with a single adjusting truss can be prone to a bit of movement throughout the year and both my Precision basses require at least one, maybe two minor tweaks in a year; one is always around winter time. As above, fret the first and last frets and measure the distance between the top of the 8th fret and bottom of the E-string. A rough guide is credit card width, although I like to see a little less relief here, but it's personal taste. With experience you'll be able to get your desired relief by eye (if the fretwork allows it), but it's nothing to be afraid of. Just don't go mad and aim for a 1/4 of a turn, restring and allow it to settle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raslee Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 (edited) Wrong thread! Edited January 17, 2021 by Raslee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 On 29/12/2015 at 14:33, alembic1989 said: It doesn't cost a lot to sort out. Take it to a proper luthier..they will heat the neck..and bend it back to straightness...£50 max. If it’s just too much relief and the truss rod works ok you don’t need to heat bend the neck! Just adjust the trussrod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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