Cold weather's gone and bowed my bass

Lowpro · #1 01-10-2010, 02:58 PM

Hey guys, I know this is a simple question with a simple answer, but let me explain.

I am gone from home for 10 days or so, and come back to find the heat's out, and must have been out for awhile. Everything's freezing, including my birds (God rest their souls)

But all four of my basses were drastically out of tune. Once I let the house warm up, I gave them a day and slowly retuned them. However my Musicman bass seems to have a permanent bow even in the warmth. It's been a few days and the bow's still there.

I don't want to fiddle with the truss rod until I get approval from more knowledgeable people on what to do.

Meatrus · #2 01-10-2010, 03:29 PM

Hi,

You will need to alter the truss rod (tighten), as it wont go back by itself. Normally it is damp which does it rather than cold, or maybe the sudden change of temperature could have done it.

Out of interest what birds do/did (sorry if its did) you keep? I'm a falconer myself, so was interested to see the mention.

Oren Hudson · #3 01-10-2010, 03:42 PM

Sorry for your loss Lowpro.

I've been going through some of my basses lately, and find that, even without the extreme that you experienced, some basses that were perfect a year or so ago are awful now. Sometimes, it's just one of them deals. Just be careful and patient with your truss rod adjustment. There are lots of good threads and cites on here if you need guidance.

Lowpro · #4 01-10-2010, 03:42 PM

Two cockatiels.

We had a low of 9 degrees for three of four days at night, when I came home both had died.

A friend also mentioned about how I kept the basses on a stand (one stand holds three basses) and it's kept at an angle at the bass with another holder holding the neck. He said that and low temps tend to make the necks bend. This Musicman is my only maple wood neck (I have 2 ebony boards both with bubinga necks) and one graphite neck.

Meatrus · #5 01-10-2010, 06:39 PM

Sorry to hear that. Better get out there and replace them with something else, (it sounds insensitive, but its often the best thing to do IME).

I'm sure the stand will have had nothing to do with the problem you are having at the moment. The quick change in temp will have caused your problem. Although having said that, unless your house is very hot all the time 9 C shouldnt have had much effect on the basses, if it dropped from 20 to 9 it may. My living drops to 10 C every winter night if there is no fire lit! (poorly insulated).

Lowpro · #6 01-11-2010, 01:29 AM

Heh well I live in America and we use the Fahrenheit scale. 9 degrees Fahrenheit is about -13 Celsius. To put it in perspective, my refrigerator would keep my food warmer than my house.

Stuggi · #7 01-11-2010, 05:56 AM

Tighten/loosen the truss rod slowly to get it back to spec, do it in 1/8 turn per hour, no more than 3 sessions per day and you should be ok. Maple necks without a thick coat of paint and maple fingerboards tend to drift the most since they are so uniform construction wise.