Click Noise Above 12th Fret

[StyleOverShow]

So. Cal. weather has been stranger than normal. In less than a week recently it went from less than 10% humidity, you might have seen the stories about the fires, to a downpour rain (1 night only) back to warm and now fog from the Pacific in the morning and evenings. My Carvin 5 neck has freaked out.

It has been a very stable neck, but given the changes it developed an out-bow between the 5th to the 10th frets. Using the Stew-Mac thread sticky I was able to get it flattened out and adjusted the saddles to get clean sounds but above the 12th fret on the A and D strings I have a definite 'click' sound.

Previously, the action was pretty low on some high tension flats (Jamerson's). It sounds to me like the string is striking the fret(s).

So my questions are:

1. More relief or saddle adjustment(s)?
2. Since it looks like the contact is over the neck through area, will relief adjustment help at all?
3. Just don't play above 12 on the A and D string.

Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

-Richard

[fretlessman71]

Two thoughts:

1) If it's above the 12th fret, you might need to raise action just a touch and TIGHTEN the truss rod just a touch. Just A Touch.

2) If it's just the A and D strings, that tells me that your saddles might not be adjusted properly to match the curvature of the neck. The A and D need to be a little higher than the E and G, and looking at the fretboard will give you an idea of how much higher.

HTH- Fret

[dmusic148]

+1 to the above. Less relief and higher saddles.

[202dy]

When you say "out bow" do you mean that the neck has flattened or bowed toward the strings?

Since you used the Stew-Mac link, what were the measurements before you made adjustments and what is that action data right now? Please include string heights at F12 and the last fret, and relief at F7. This will make it much easier to diagnose the problem and provide accurate advice over the internet.

[StyleOverShow]

Originally Posted by fretlessman71

Two thoughts:

1) If it's above the 12th fret, you might need to raise action just a touch and TIGHTEN the truss rod just a touch. Just A Touch.

2) If it's just the A and D strings, that tells me that your saddles might not be adjusted properly to match the curvature of the neck. The A and D need to be a little higher than the E and G, and looking at the fretboard will give you an idea of how much higher.

HTH- Fret

1. Like 1/16th a turn on the truss nut?
2. Thought about the crown of the neck but thought that all strings would rise evenly (from their previous position) but come to think of it, the distance from the neck changed with the relief adjustment, so yeah, sounds right.

Thanks - will report on changes.

[fretlessman71]

1. You'll need to noodle with it; every neck is different in every climate.

Usually I go 1/6 turn, or 60°, or "one notch" on the allen wrench and check things out. It's going to be a balancing act, PLUS whenever you adjust a truss rod, the wood takes its own sweet time settling into place - sometimes as long as 24 hours (oftentimes much less). With such a subtle adjustment like the one you're looking for, maybe half that...? Again, you'll have to judge whether it worked or not, but "1/12th" is a good starting point, and easy to approximate.

2. Sounds like you're convinced of the physics of this part. Good deal.

Let us know!

[StyleOverShow]

Had one very dry day yesterday and today it was foggy again. Neck stable in position.

Raised the saddles on A and D without any more relief adjustments. Sounds good and I'm leaving it alone for awhile. Have a gig this Thursday and want to use it.

Thank all for your input.