Bass adjustments

Parlous · #1 12-28-2006, 07:16 PM

Well, today I realized my p-bass needs some minor tweaks. I get bad buzz on the first fret and on my mid neck frets the strings rattle on the frets. I feel its nessacary for me to learn how to do this on my own instead of paying Guitar Center twenty dollars everytime I take it to them. So what do I do to fix this?

membranophone · #2 12-28-2006, 07:18 PM

To begin with, it sounds to me like your truss rod could be loosened a hair.

Parlous · #3 12-28-2006, 07:23 PM

Like a 1/4" turn?

membranophone · #4 12-28-2006, 07:27 PM

It takes a little while for a wood neck to adjust to a truss rod tweak. To be on the safe side, I like to turn it 1/8th of a turn at a time, giving it a few hours to adjust inbetween. The neck will adjust more quickly if you gently pull the headstock in the direction that the trussrod adjustment will take it. In your case, the neck is probably backbowed a little, so I would loosen the rod 1/8 of a turn at a time while gently pulling the headstock forward.