Aussiephoenix Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Hi guys, not knowing what else to do, I've decided to throw this problem on here, maybe someone can help shed some light on it for me. I've put together a nice little frankenstein from parts I've scrounged and bought from all over. I'm pretty pleased with the result, but there is one little hitch... That's the neck. I bought a new no-name jazz bass neck off the bay, some German power seller I cant remember at the moment, and when I put it on the bass, I was pretty pleased as it fit perfectly with the neck pocket, so, strung it up, and as expected, it needed a setup... So, I look at the neck... its pretty damn straight. Lets add a little bow on there. took the hex key to the nut and turned a little. checked it again... hmmm, maybe I didnt turn enough... turned a little more, checked it again, and still no change, though I could defenitely feel that the trussrod wasnt just spinning in place. I also didnt hear any alarming wood crunching sounds, so I dont think the end is eating at the wood... If I turn the truss a few turns, it reaches a point past which it will not turn any more in any direction, so it seems to be functional. I took the bass to a "luthier" friend, who took a quick look at it, played with the trussrod and told me that there's nothing wrong with the trussrod, the problem is the neck wood is just too damn strong... (this is a first) Its a normal maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, nothing strange or special about it... At the moment, the bass is playable cause I put a little shim between heel and neck pocket, but Obviously, I'd like to get this problem sorted. Any Ideas on what might be happening here? Any tips on things to try to get it to bend a little? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 What strings are you on at the mo? More tension, i.e. heavier strings, will apply more pull on the neck and may well work. Otherwise I'd guess you're off to the repairman for a fingerboard re-glue or steaming or somesuch. I'd go for the strings! The other good thing with heavier strings is that they flap less, so you can actually get a much slinkier action using them. HUGH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 There is nothing wrong with having a shim in the pocket. Truss rod is only to adjust the curve of the neck. It also takes time for the wood to shift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [quote name='Aussiephoenix' post='401353' date='Feb 5 2009, 06:31 PM']Hi guys, not knowing what else to do, I've decided to throw this problem on here, maybe someone can help shed some light on it for me. I've put together a nice little frankenstein from parts I've scrounged and bought from all over. I'm pretty pleased with the result, but there is one little hitch... That's the neck. I bought a new no-name jazz bass neck off the bay, some German power seller I cant remember at the moment, and when I put it on the bass, I was pretty pleased as it fit perfectly with the neck pocket, so, strung it up, and as expected, it needed a setup... So, I look at the neck... its pretty damn straight. Lets add a little bow on there. took the hex key to the nut and turned a little. checked it again... hmmm, maybe I didnt turn enough... turned a little more, checked it again, and still no change, though I could defenitely feel that the trussrod wasnt just spinning in place. I also didnt hear any alarming wood crunching sounds, so I dont think the end is eating at the wood... If I turn the truss a few turns, it reaches a point past which it will not turn any more in any direction, so it seems to be functional. I took the bass to a "luthier" friend, who took a quick look at it, played with the trussrod and told me that there's nothing wrong with the trussrod, the problem is the neck wood is just too damn strong... (this is a first) Its a normal maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, nothing strange or special about it... At the moment, the bass is playable cause I put a little shim between heel and neck pocket, but Obviously, I'd like to get this problem sorted. Any Ideas on what might be happening here? Any tips on things to try to get it to bend a little?[/quote] Truss rod changes can take a while to settle in. To add relief you should be loosening the truss rod - that's turning left or anti-clockwise. The strings will pull relief into the neck, it just can take some time. I refuse to believe for one minute that the wood is "too strong" - maple is in no way the hardest wood on the planet, it's easily outdone by bubinga, wenge, certain rosewoods and ebony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiephoenix Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) I've always heard say that it takes a while for trussrod changes to settle, but that's never really been my experience. of course, the full effect will take a little while but usually you can see a small diference straight out. I do know how to setup a bass by the way (no expert, but know enough i guess), I only turned it to both extremes because I couldnt see ANY change, and was testing there wasnt some kind of problem with the rod itself. Hubrad, I've always played .45's. at the moment its stringed with Rotosound SwingBass 66's. Any specific strings you'd recommend? "repairman for a fingerboard re-glue or steaming"... kinda out of the question for 2 reasons... one is, I spent hardly anything building this, and that would defeat the purpose, Id rather buy another neck second hand lol. the other reason is, the only repairman that I know that could handle this job, Im kinda pissed off with since he didnt bother touching my bass for 2 weeks since I last dropped it there, because he had "more important clients" to handle in the meantime. Edited February 5, 2009 by Aussiephoenix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Is there a chance there is a faulty truss rod in the neck and that would make it a cheap seconds purchase? Have you tried coaxing the neck with muscle power and then backing that up with a general truss rod tightening? Maybe its an old fashioned truss rod type and they havent routed enough of a convex channel fot the rod to sit in so its not bowing as it should when its tightened. i'm speculating. But possibly not accumulating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiephoenix Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 (edited) Could be, but i dont think so... theres always a small resistance to it except when it gets to the extremes, where it tightens up a lot, making it almost impossible to move. Havent tried forcing the neck, knowing me, Id probably cause some damage to it lol. Edited February 6, 2009 by Aussiephoenix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpig Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 some rods are just a bit crap. it is possible a well made neck is very stiff and the string tension is not enough to bend it forward significantly. if your having trouble getting a playable action on it withour buzzing you could try stoning some relief into the frets by basically leaning on the neck to put a back bow in it and then levelling the frets. when you release the pressure on the neck the frets will be slightly forward bowed this would only need to be half a millimeter or so. what shape is the shim you fitted? the problem could be more to do with the neck angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiephoenix Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 [quote name='rockpig' post='411662' date='Feb 17 2009, 02:02 AM']some rods are just a bit crap. it is possible a well made neck is very stiff and the string tension is not enough to bend it forward significantly. if your having trouble getting a playable action on it withour buzzing you could try stoning some relief into the frets by basically leaning on the neck to put a back bow in it and then levelling the frets. when you release the pressure on the neck the frets will be slightly forward bowed this would only need to be half a millimeter or so. what shape is the shim you fitted? the problem could be more to do with the neck angle.[/quote] The shim's area is the shape of the neck pocket, very thin, thinnest towards the bridge. With the shim in, its not a problem. still, I've been thinking, and there's a change in weather coming... I wonder how the neck will react to it... Sooner or later I'll endup buying another neck and turning this one into a headlamp or something lol. Still at the moment, no cash to spare for that, so Ill have to make do with the shim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Sounds to me like you've got a neck with a natural bow and that the truss rod has no adjustment left. To see if that's true, loosen the truss and see if that makes any effect. If it does : You could try removing the nut from the rod and putting washers on it, put the nut back on - that will give you more adjustment. I did this once, it worked, but the truss broke through the back of the neck. Apparently though, that's a very rare occurrence and we did hear warning "creaks" before it did. The neck got fixed by glue and submergence in water in a jig. It's now fine. If it doesn't - does the truss rod haver any effect at all? ever? if so - I reckon you should remove it - clean it, and reinstall it. If that doesn't work - get a new neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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