Fender neck problem; never seen THIS before....

[pablomigraine]

So to get this thread started off right I'll say this is a newish Fender MIM jazz 4 string.

Once I brought the strings to pitch after shipping I gave a look down the neck to check the neck relief. Now, Im very picky when it comes to action... normally I like a perfectly flat board with no relief and very low action.... but wasnt expecting much out of the fretwork on this particular bass so I went in expecting some degree of compromise.

A peek down the bass side of the neck revealed PERFECTLY straight board. Zero relief, just how I like it. GREAT. Adjusted the saddles to taste, but noticed the G string needed to be a lot higher to relieve buzz. Bad frets, I thought... so I gave the neck a long glance down the treble side. WAY bowed. I check the bass side again... and it was perfectly flat. I decided this neck has a slight twist.... no problem I told myself... Ive seen this once before and fixed it with very little issue. So, I broke out the truss tool.

Here's where the problem begins. With the strings at pitch, and the greater part of the neck at zero relief.... I discovered the truss rod is at the absolute bottom of its action; totally loose. Tightening it 1/2 to 1 full turn brings the treble side close to flat, but presents very bad up-bow on the bass side.

Ive tried all the usual tricks. With strings totally slack and truss totally loose the neck is flat on both sides. Equal... no relief. Only tightening the strings way up from normal pitch with cause the bass side to bow even with the truss all the way loose, and causes massive bowing on the treble side.

What does me do?!?!?!?

[bass player 48]

Subscribed. Only idea I have is return to sender. Seems to me, with truss all the way loose and no string tension and there is no relief - something is defective. But you already knew that and are looking for a fix, so I'm subscribing to learn something here.

[msiner]

Maybe you can try getting some single strings to either raise the tension of the bass side strings or lower the tension of the treble side strings.

[Slowgypsy]

Is the instrument returnable?

Would you say your description, in a nutshell, is that tightening the truss rod is actually causing the neck to twist to one side, rather than bending the neck evenly?

Causes could be a truss rod installed at a slight angle... or the particular piece of wood the neck is at fault (perhaps the grain of one side is tight/looser/etc than the other)... or that the neck is not seated in its pocket correctly... or the pocket is not on the same plane as the bridge.

I'm also taking for granted that there's nothing unusual about the strings your using.

[pablomigraine]

Originally Posted by Slowgypsy

Is the instrument returnable?

Would you say your description, in a nutshell, is that tightening the truss rod is actually causing the neck to twist to one side, rather than bending the neck evenly?

Not returnable. The neck is dead flat with no tension from strings or truss. Any string tension causes the treble side to bow. Bass side stays flat regardless of string tension. Truss rod tightening straightens the treble side, causes up-bow in the bass side.

[dmusic148]

Sorry, but you're hosed. New neck time.

[hypercarrots]

you may have to experiment with different string gauges and tensions and see if something works out.

[Jonyak]

I dunno if it is the air up here... but every single MIM fender bass I have come across has had a messed up neck.

I have owned 2, 1 the neck was actualy broke, the other I sold because the neck was way too bowed and the truss rod was maxed.

My good friend has one and the same thing.

Every single one I have seen in any store around me has had a massive amount of releif in it.

[John Wentzien]

Get a fret-level job done on it.

[pablomigraine]

Originally Posted by John Wentzien

Get a fret-level job done on it.

I have a radius block.... If I were to sand these down to even the frets in first position on the bass side would be non-existant...

[John Wentzien]

Tighten the trus slightly and fret-level it.
Take just a little off...if you do this with the neck flexed back a little bit...you might be able to take a hair off of the middle frets and even it out.

[GlennW]

Originally Posted by pablomigraine

With strings totally slack and truss totally loose the neck is flat on both sides. Equal... no relief. Only tightening the strings way up from normal pitch with cause the bass side to bow even with the truss all the way loose, and causes massive bowing on the treble side.

Since it's already screwed up and out of warranty I'd try to reshape it with one heat lamp aimed at one side, and hope it takes on a workable relief when tuned to pitch. I'd try to get it so that when it's unstrung with no tension on the TR nut it's straight/flat on the bass side and backbowed on the treble side. It would be a hit-or-miss deal, and probably take a few tries to get it so it's acceptable when tuned.

Set it up with a backbow and heat the treble side for 6-8 hours; let it cool over night; string it up and see how it does.

[Slowgypsy]

Interesting problem. This one's going to be a bit difficult to diagnose accurately without actually having the instrument. But all things considered, I'd say the cause of this issue stems from the wood used in the neck... it simply has uneven loading capacity and this is causing the neck to twist when under tension from the truss rod. The only other thing I can come up with is that the truss rod was installed slightly off center, or the truss rod channel was routed off center... but at the moment I'd bet that it's just a bad piece of wood. And if that is the cause, there's no easy fix. Sorry...

[Slowgypsy]

And just because it's sometimes the "simple" things that get you... I'm just checking that (1) the neck is properly seated in the pocket, and (2) that all 4 neck screws are properly tight. I'm sure it's not that simple, but hey... you never know...

[HogieWan]

Originally Posted by John Wentzien

Get a fret-level job done on it.

+1

Just because the neck is curved doesn't mean that the top of the frets need to be

[Fieldy Snuts]

Originally Posted by pablomigraine

So to get this thread started off right I'll say this is a newish Fender MIM jazz 4 string.

Once I brought the strings to pitch after shipping I gave a look down the neck to check the neck relief. Now, Im very picky when it comes to action... normally I like a perfectly flat board with no relief and very low action.... but wasnt expecting much out of the fretwork on this particular bass so I went in expecting some degree of compromise.

A peek down the bass side of the neck revealed PERFECTLY straight board. Zero relief, just how I like it. GREAT. Adjusted the saddles to taste, but noticed the G string needed to be a lot higher to relieve buzz. Bad frets, I thought... so I gave the neck a long glance down the treble side. WAY bowed. I check the bass side again... and it was perfectly flat. I decided this neck has a slight twist.... no problem I told myself... Ive seen this once before and fixed it with very little issue. So, I broke out the truss tool.

Here's where the problem begins. With the strings at pitch, and the greater part of the neck at zero relief.... I discovered the truss rod is at the absolute bottom of its action; totally loose. Tightening it 1/2 to 1 full turn brings the treble side close to flat, but presents very bad up-bow on the bass side.

Ive tried all the usual tricks. With strings totally slack and truss totally loose the neck is flat on both sides. Equal... no relief. Only tightening the strings way up from normal pitch with cause the bass side to bow even with the truss all the way loose, and causes massive bowing on the treble side.

What does me do?!?!?!?

I hate problems with necks like this, its always seems that just when you find a nice easy solution the world seems to hate you even more I feel your pain man.

[pablomigraine]

Originally Posted by GlennW

Since it's already screwed up and out of warranty I'd try to reshape it with one heat lamp aimed at one side, and hope it takes on a workable relief when tuned to pitch. I'd try to get it so that when it's unstrung with no tension on the TR nut it's straight/flat on the bass side and backbowed on the treble side. It would be a hit-or-miss deal, and probably take a few tries to get it so it's acceptable when tuned.

Set it up with a backbow and heat the treble side for 6-8 hours; let it cool over night; string it up and see how it does.

Gonna try this.

Originally Posted by Slowgypsy

Interesting problem. This one's going to be a bit difficult to diagnose accurately without actually having the instrument. But all things considered, I'd say the cause of this issue stems from the wood used in the neck... it simply has uneven loading capacity and this is causing the neck to twist when under tension from the truss rod. The only other thing I can come up with is that the truss rod was installed slightly off center, or the truss rod channel was routed off center... but at the moment I'd bet that it's just a bad piece of wood. And if that is the cause, there's no easy fix. Sorry...

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Slowgypsy

And just because it's sometimes the "simple" things that get you... I'm just checking that (1) the neck is properly seated in the pocket, and (2) that all 4 neck screws are properly tight. I'm sure it's not that simple, but hey... you never know...

Chk't

[doktorfeelgood]

Originally Posted by pablomigraine

So to get this thread started off right I'll say this is a newish Fender MIM jazz 4 string.

Once I brought the strings to pitch after shipping I gave a look down the neck to check the neck relief. Now, Im very picky when it comes to action... normally I like a perfectly flat board with no relief and very low action.... but wasnt expecting much out of the fretwork on this particular bass so I went in expecting some degree of compromise.

A peek down the bass side of the neck revealed PERFECTLY straight board. Zero relief, just how I like it. GREAT. Adjusted the saddles to taste, but noticed the G string needed to be a lot higher to relieve buzz. Bad frets, I thought... so I gave the neck a long glance down the treble side. WAY bowed. I check the bass side again... and it was perfectly flat. I decided this neck has a slight twist.... no problem I told myself... Ive seen this once before and fixed it with very little issue. So, I broke out the truss tool.

Here's where the problem begins. With the strings at pitch, and the greater part of the neck at zero relief.... I discovered the truss rod is at the absolute bottom of its action; totally loose. Tightening it 1/2 to 1 full turn brings the treble side close to flat, but presents very bad up-bow on the bass side.

Ive tried all the usual tricks. With strings totally slack and truss totally loose the neck is flat on both sides. Equal... no relief. Only tightening the strings way up from normal pitch with cause the bass side to bow even with the truss all the way loose, and causes massive bowing on the treble side.

What does me do?!?!?!?

Buy a new neck...period. Not worth the hassle to try and fix, IMHO. This is exactly why I never buy a bass that I can't play first and only then if it has a warranty. )-(

[rdpbass]

Fender makes necks? Every one I've owned with exception to some of the 70's, I thought they gave sticks to the kindergarden with plans and a cookie. Fender does'nt make necks, at least that I can play

[4Mal]

Wow - the Fender basher's sure arrived. Sad you've not found the right one (s) yet.... think about the numbers they've produced over the years and then get back to me on that ... I see far more average to good playing Fenders than sub-par... I do not consider that Squire = Fender however ... MIM on up...

Heat lamp & fret level - yeah, I'd give it a whirl and I'd be prepared to do a Mity Mite replacement neck. Last one I bought was under a c-note unfinished and it seems to be stable.