A bad neck????

[CTC564]

I recently purchased a bass online from a reputable dealer and am happy to have done business with them...

BUT....

I've had some issues...the neck buzzed like crazy when I first received it which was "mostly corrected" with guidance from the dealer

I had it set up and put flatwound strings on it and initially liked the setup but thought the action could be a little lower

So, I made an appointment with a good friend (very experienced) to learn how to properly maintain my instrument regarding truss rod adjustment, etc.

Upon initially sighting the neck, he says that it's got a "hump" in the area of the 12th to 15th fret on the G string side and in his opinion it will only get worse and will definitely be more pronounced with roundwound strings and lower action

Has anyone ever experienced this before and can it be fixed or is a new neck the best option here?

[Chasarms]

Not every bass will set up to your liking. Your first and best option is to return it and take your chances with something else. But if you want/have to keep it, I would offer a few points:


How bad is it? If the bass can be set up with a fairly decent playability, leave it alone. A lot of us love really low action, but for the lion's share of meat-and-potatoes playing, a bass doesn't need the strings laying on the frets to play well and sound great.

But, if you really want to address it, there are two options that will address it without replacing the neck. Depending, of course, on how severe the problem is.

The easiest (and cheapest) approach, if within tolerance, is to re-dress the frets in that area of the neck. Sometimes, if the hump is not bad, you can file the frets and re-crown them. This can improve the basses ability to get lower action.

The second, more drastic method is to remove the frets in the hump area a re-dress the fretboard itself. You can scape the hump out of the wood itself and then re-fret and dress the new frets. This would be an option if the hump is more severe.

Neither of the above is for the novice do-it-yourselfer.

Or, you can replace the neck.

Which approach makes sense totally depends on the value of the instrument.

Before I did anything, I'd get a second opinion on the whole situation.

[202dy]

Originally Posted by CTC564

I recently purchased a bass online from a reputable dealer and am happy to have done business with them...

BUT....

I've had some issues...the neck buzzed like crazy when I first received it which was "mostly corrected" with guidance from the dealer

I had it set up and put flatwound strings on it and initially liked the setup but thought the action could be a little lower

So, I made an appointment with a good friend (very experienced) to learn how to properly maintain my instrument regarding truss rod adjustment, etc.

Upon initially sighting the neck, he says that it's got a "hump" in the area of the 12th to 15th fret on the G string side and in his opinion it will only get worse and will definitely be more pronounced with roundwound strings and lower action

Has anyone ever experienced this before and can it be fixed or is a new neck the best option here?

Humps are not typical. It would be unusual for a hump to get worse. It is also unusual for a hump to be localized under one string. But anything can happen with wood.

Sighting a neck to determine a hump is questionable unless the hump is pretty big. It usually takes a precision straight edge to find them. Yours might be unusually large.

Without actually seeing the neck, all of this is conjecture.

Fixing a hump:

There are two ways to get around the hump. The first is a fret dress. Correctly done, the frets will be level regardless of the size of the hump. It may require removing and replacing some frets to allow for proper leveling.

The second way to do it is to perform a plane and refret. The frets are removed, the fingerboard is planed straight, and a refret is performed. The problem is solved permanently.

The question may come up concerning a partial plane and refret. If the hump is at F-12,15, the frets from the end of the neck back to approximately F-8 (or more) would have to be removed. Considering the amount of work, it is simpler to remove them all.

Overall, it might pay to get a second opinion from someone with the tooling and experience to diagnose this problem. If it truly is a hump, it may be more cost effective to purchase another neck.

[BigOldHarry]

This why it's best to play before you pay.

[CTC564]

Thanks for the replies...the instrument is less than 2 months out of the factory and has a reputation for great necks/playability

I've contacted the manufacturer and am happy to report that they are going to do whatever is necessary to "make it right"

@ BigOldHarry...I've owned one before and couldn't actually play the instrument prior to purchase but I totally agree with your statement's intention :-)

[jbednarski]

Happened to me too. Bought a bass online and when I got it the action was high so I lowered it and the buzzing began. My first instinct was a setup but it did very little to fix the problem. Read up on it and had the frets leveled, cost $40. help very little too. Went to a "tough love" luthier/repair guy and he pointed out the hump to me. Cost me an additional $300. to have the neck shaved and refretted. An outstanding bass now but I wish I had this knowledge before buying online.

[CTC564]

Interesting...given the HUGE advantage of buying online (regarding variety) I'm not sure how any future incident could be avoided...

[CTC564]

Received an email from the factory today stating that the bass is finished and all it needed was a set up


I'm a little concerned but am hopeful that the problem has been taken care of....

[john grey]

If your guy said that it had an uneven neck: that's NOT something that pops out with a truss-rod adjustment - that's a problem with either a poor fret fitting or a poor fret-board shape (or both).
The company MAY have just pulled a good one out and sent it to you but if I were you I would ask your friend to look at whatever is returned to you, etc, etc.

[CTC564]

Thanks...already plan on doing that

I'm really hoping it's been taken care of because I love this bass and have great respect for this company...