Cold Weather / Low humidity setup ?

OxJohnson · #1 12-12-2007, 08:22 PM

So it finally got cold here and the heaters are on... the humidity in the house is gone. With that I noticed that the strings on my RD500 are getting quite a bit of buzz. As a matter of fact the other day at practice I had to use my other bass because the strings were so low that they were touching the first fret

. Now normally the action on that bass is set very low anyways so I assume with the seasonal change this is all normal. Here is the question:

Should I adjust the truss rod, or just raise the saddles up? I would assume that the change in the action is due to movement in the neck because of the weather, which to me would imply that I should adjust the truss rod... but is this actually correct? If so, I assume that I need to add more relief, right?

I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing here. I would like to keep the action as low as possible and tweak it as little as possible...

Thanks all,
Ox.

MysticMichael · #2 12-12-2007, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OxJohnson

Should I adjust the truss rod, or just raise the saddles up? I would assume that the change in the action is due to movement in the neck because of the weather, which to me would imply that I should adjust the truss rod... but is this actually correct? If so, I assume that I need to add more relief, right?

Hmmm, that's funny. The necks on my basses shift with changing humidity as well, but they always lose relief as the air becomes more humid - not less humid...

Yes, you're correct. Since this is strictly a neck issue, it has a neck solution. Tweak the truss rod, because there's no need to raise the saddles. You'd just have to lower them again anyway...

MM

OxJohnson · #3 12-12-2007, 09:20 PM

Thanks for the quick response!

To tell you the honest truth this is the first time that the change in season has had any effect on one of my instruments. But... this is my first winter of playing bass!

My regular electric guitars never really seem to be affected too much. But then again, my main guitar (and my only one at this point) weighs more than any of my basses and has a shorter scale so I guess it makes sense...

Thanks again!
Ox.

davich · #4 12-14-2007, 10:25 AM

You could check the finish on the neck too. If it is unfinished, you should apply bit of fingerboard oil or something like that as a humidity barrier.

I use Gerlitz Guitar Honey on my bass and it worked great. It is recommended for darker colored wood though.