ABG - Neck Twist

[GreggBummer]

A friend of mine loaned me his Carlo Robelli Acoustic Bass Guitar. It is a few years old. It has some nicks and scratches. It needs a bit of work. The neck is a bit warped. I have done my own set ups in the past, but I have never encountered a "twisted" neck before. It seems twisted from the E string tword the G string (right handed bass). It looks to be somewhat uniform down the neck but the G string buzzes like hell from the 2nd fret down to he 8th or 9th.

It also clacks and bangs quite a lot.

I have no experience with truss rod adjustments on acoustics.

I want to clean up this thing and see if I can correct some of its issues before I return it.

Thoughts? Advice?

BTW: Even with all the issues, it has been fun being able to play anywhere in the house and at an acceptable volume when everyone is asleep.

[MIJ-VI]

Originally Posted by GreggBummer

A friend of mine loaned me his Carlo Robelli Acoustic Bass Guitar. It is a few years old. It has some nicks and scratches. It needs a bit of work. The neck is a bit warped. I have done my own set ups in the past, but I have never encountered a "twisted" neck before. It seems twisted from the E string tword the G string (right handed bass). It looks to be somewhat uniform down the neck but the G string buzzes like hell from the 2nd fret down to he 8th or 9th.

It also clacks and bangs quite a lot.

I have no experience with truss rod adjustments on acoustics.

I want to clean up this thing and see if I can correct some of its issues before I return it.

Thoughts? Advice?

BTW: Even with all the issues, it has been fun being able to play anywhere in the house and at an acceptable volume when everyone is asleep.

Hi GB.

You may receive more comprehensive help here: ' Luthier's Corner': http://www.talkbass.com/forum/forumd...aysprune=&f=57

[embellisher]

How much did he pay for it? It may not be worth repairing. A twisted neck is never good news, and on an ABG, the repair gets very expensive. Moved to Setup. Maybe somebody there knows a low cost way to fix this.

[GreggBummer]

Sorry for posting in the wrong place.

I don't think he paid much for it. I also don't think that he would spend any money to repair it... but if I can help him out that would be cool.

The twist is very subtle.

[202dy]

Actually, you've posted in exactly the right place. This forum is where people talk about repair. Luthier's Corner is where people talk about building.

Making a truss rod adjustment to an ABG (assuming set neck) is the same as making a truss rod adjustment on any set neck instrument. A truss rod adjustment is used to control the relief in then neck. While it may cause a change of string height, that is not the primary reason to twist that nut. String height adjustments are primarily made at the saddle. However, a set up is the sum of all the adjustments.

As far as twists go, that sounds as if it could be an advantageous twist. Most of time a guitar can be setup to accommodate the twist.

All of this is academic. More data is needed to render an a semi-accurate diagnosis of the maladies this instrument is suffering. Start with the basics. Measure the string height at the twelfth and last frets, bass and treble sides respectively. Measure the saddle height, bass and treble sides. Measure the relief at the seventh fret. Post the information here and someone will help you.