DiMarco Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Hi, Amazing bass guitar. Sounds DA BOMB! But it recently started suffering from rattling B, E and A strings near the 2nd and 3rd frets, and near the 15th fret onward. Inspecting the neck shows it is straight at the G string side, but there's too much relief near the 12th fret on the B string side (it is straight again from the 7th fret in the direction of the headstock). The truss rod is adjusted on the body side of the neck. Will tightening it fix my problem or has my neck gone bad for good? I am wondering where the area of effect starts with this type of truss rod, I have only ever fixed problems on headstock side adjusted truss rods before. Thanks for any enlightenment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Hi, Amazing bass guitar. Sounds DA BOMB! But it recently started suffering from rattling B, E and A strings near the 2nd and 3rd frets, and near the 15th fret onward. Inspecting the neck shows it is straight at the G string side, but there's too much relief near the 12th fret on the B string side (it is straight again from the 7th fret in the direction of the headstock). The truss rod is adjusted on the body side of the neck. Will tightening it fix my problem or has my neck gone bad for good? I am wondering where the area of effect starts with this type of truss rod, I have only ever fixed problems on headstock side adjusted truss rods before. Thanks for any enlightenment. Take it to a Tech. Much easier . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xroads Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 If you have different relief on the treble and bass side of the neck, then the neck is warped. This cannot be fixed with a (single) trussrod. On the other hand, sometimes frets have gone bad, which is a different issue. I agree with the previous poster, a tech should have a look at the bass... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 (edited) Yes, judging by your detailed description you unfortunately have a twisted neck. You could take some relief out, which may solve the lower frets buzzing, but there is no easy cure for the twist, it's the neck wood itself rather than the truss rod. The cure is either serious luthiery, or a new neck. There are a few methods a luthier will use to fix it, but none are cheap or 100% guaranteed to last forever. Edited November 6, 2017 by Manton Customs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiMarco Posted November 6, 2017 Author Share Posted November 6, 2017 (edited) Having taken the strings, and then the neck off, and letting the neck rest for some time shows a beautiful curve existing only on the B string side so it probably isn't caused by string tension or whatever... OHNOES! What to do... The neck shape is different from other jazzes on this Marcus sig and I really preferer it to the standard ones. I will try and see where exactly the truss rod does most of its work. I am hoping it works mostly near the 12th fret as this is the problem area. Maybe just a little push will make it be more even on both sides. Let's try and make the most of it and if needed have the frets shaved according to the (not so huge) neck twist. If that doesn't turn out to make it playable I will throw a carbon neck onto it as wooden necks (apart from the Rickenbacker ones) keep giving me trouble. Thanks guys. Edited November 6, 2017 by DiMarco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Having taken the strings, and then the neck off, and letting the neck rest for some time shows a beautiful curve existing only on the B string side so it probably isn't caused by string tension or whatever... OHNOES! What to do... The neck shape is different from other jazzes on this Marcus sig and I really preferer it to the standard ones. I will try and see where exactly the truss rod does most of its work. I am hoping it works mostly near the 12th fret as this is the problem area. Maybe just a little push will make it be more even on both sides. Let's try and make the most of it and if needed have the frets shaved according to the (not so huge) neck twist. If that doesn't turn out to make it playable I will throw a carbon neck onto it as wooden necks (apart from the Rickenbacker ones) keep giving me trouble. Thanks guys. The truss rod will do most of it's work in the same place that any other bass will and it really isn't going to correct the bow/twist if it's straight up until the 7th fret. You'll just end up with even more buzzing at the lower frets and a backbow on the G side. A fret job may cure the buzzing, but the twist will remain, so you'll still have a crap setup. So not really worth the expense. You could look into multi laminate necks for more stability if you didn't want to go the carbon fibre route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Having taken the strings, and then the neck off, and letting the neck rest for some time shows a beautiful curve existing only on the B string side so it probably isn't caused by string tension or whatever... OHNOES! What to do... The neck shape is different from other jazzes on this Marcus sig and I really preferer it to the standard ones. I will try and see where exactly the truss rod does most of its work. I am hoping it works mostly near the 12th fret as this is the problem area. Maybe just a little push will make it be more even on both sides. Let's try and make the most of it and if needed have the frets shaved according to the (not so huge) neck twist. If that doesn't turn out to make it playable I will throw a carbon neck onto it as wooden necks (apart from the Rickenbacker ones) keep giving me trouble. Thanks guys. Maybe ask Fender to rectify the problem. Depending on where you bought it from of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiMarco Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 I bought the bass used. Neck was inspected by me then and okay. For now I will stick to playing the Zon when a low B string is needed, the Miller sig is scenery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 Oh man, I hate it when this happens. I had a Jaydee Supernatural back in the day - the neck developed a terminal back bow of considerable proportions. Heartbreaking. Sadly this is the perils of wood...you just never know how it will behave regardless of how well seasoned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GisserD Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 i had a guitar years ago that i put in a case and left leant up against a radiator for a winter. when i came to play it the neck had twisted. i cant be sure that it was the radiator.... but i sure as hell am more careful about where i store instruments now. and i dislike radiators im sorry for your loss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiMarco Posted November 16, 2017 Author Share Posted November 16, 2017 Yeah it kind of sucks. I love the feel and look of that lacquered neck with its bindings and block inlays. Currently waiting for a price tag and delivery time on a Moses Graphite 5 string jazz neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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