advice please- truss rod problems

[.......]

My fretted bass is suffering a problem, the action is just too high despite the adjustment at the bridge being at the lowest setting. I am guessing that it could be something to do with the truss rod, but never having touched this before I am not sure what I should do?

For years I had light guage strings on it, and a year or so ago I put standard guage on, this may have caused thye problem. The bass is a JD, if this makes a difference. I don't play it much, as I like my fretless much more.

Any advice gratefully received

David

[Rocky McDougall]

The quick way to check a neck is to press down on the E string at the first and last fret, use the string as a straight edge. The neck should have a very slight "bow" about the thickness of a credit card. If the neck is fairly straight and you have too much height on the strings at the bottom of the neck and the saddles are as low as they will go, you probably have a truss rod problem. Adjusting truss rods is something any bass player needs to learn. There are some very good online aids on "how to do it"

 

Here is one site.

 

http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/trussrods.htm

 

Rocky

[jcadmus]

My personal advice is to take it to a tech for a proper trussrod adjustment and set-up. It's worth the 50 bucks.

 

You can terminally screw up a neck if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[Edro]

Now might be a good time to learn to adjust the truss rod. It will save you money, and I think there's a great amount of satisfaction in setting your own basses up. If a year has gone by since putting heavier gauge strings on and the bridge saddles are at their lowest...without actually seeing it, it would be a safe assumption that your neck has some serious forward bow. Follow Rocky's instructions, checking the neck relief at the 7th or 8th fret(some companies differ on which one to check it at in their manuals. either one is fine). Take baby steps when tightening the truss rod, 1/4 turn at the most, and wait 24 hours before adjusting it again. If you're getting a lot of resistance when trying to turn it, better to be safe than sorry, find a good tech to check it out.

[The Geoff]

Yeah, *NEVER* force it - that could cost mucho dinero!

 

g.

[Rocky McDougall]

If you are going to do the truss rod adjustment yourself, do not try to tighten the nut if there is any resistance. Loosen the strings, make sure your wrench fits tightly, turn the nut counterclockwise but do not force it. If it moves freely, remove the nut, place a small amount of lubricant ( like Vasaline) inside the nut on the threads. Reinstall and tighten until you have a slight upbow. Tune the bass and check the neck and sting clearance. Hopefully you can get your action where the strings saddles are half way. If the neck is not nearly flat and if you still have too much string clearance you may have to shim the tilt on the neck.

Rocky

[.......]

Thanks for all the really useful advice.

I am going to try to tighten the truss rod a 1/4 turn and see if that helps. There is way to much clearence at the 7 th fret, although it is a bit better after a few days with a lower tuning. I will not force it at all, but I am worried it will be stiff as its never been adjusted in the 20+ years I've had the bass. The action has always been perfect until now.

cheers, David

[Rocky McDougall]

Loosen before you tighten

 

Rocky

[yourlord]

All good advice. Another idea is going back to light gauge strings since that is what your truss rod is apparently set for. Also look at how the strings sit in the nut and saddles. If they are cut for light gauge strings and you move up to medium or heavy the strings may be sitting higher on them than they should since they can't seat into the grooves.

 

If the gap in the test Rocky suggested is large then the nut and saddles are less suspect, though they can still be contributing to your pain.