Floppy E string

[OptimusPrime]

I've had this problem for a while now but never made a thread about it. Last July I bought a MIA Fender Jazz bass. In November I swapped the body, added a Badass II bridge and a few other upgrades. In December I started using Ernie Ball Power Slinkys, instead of the yellow normal ones. After each "upgrade" my E/D string has gotten progressively floppier. I swear with a stock Fender bridge with a .105 E string was tighter than with a Badass II and a .110 E string. Why? I'm all about high and tight. I have extremely high action (on purpose) and I use some thick strings. What's causing this problem? All of my other strings are fine. What do I need to do to fix this?

[knuckle_head]

How did you handle the seating of the neck?

Some basses have neck bolt screws that thread into the body AND the neck and if the neck is not clamped tightly to the body when reassembled can make for lousy neck/body contact.

While some deem this blasphemous, I strip out the bolt holes in the body so the screws thread into only the neck. This assures that there will be no mechanical gap caused by screw threads between the body and the neck.

[OptimusPrime]

Originally Posted by knuckle_head

How did you handle the seating of the neck?

Some basses have neck bolt screws that thread into the body AND the neck and if the neck is not clamped tightly to the body when reassembled can make for lousy neck/body contact.

While some deem this blasphemous, I strip out the bolt holes in the body so the screws thread into only the neck. This assures that there will be no mechanical gap caused by screw threads between the body and the neck.

I don't know. At the time I wasn't comfortable reassembling it myself. I don't know why though. Now I would have no problem assembling my own bass.

EDIT: I had some "repair" guy at a small music store do it for $20. Probably a mistake.

[Mushroo]

Probably not what you want to hear, but there is a lot of trial and error in this sort of thing... if you liked the bass better before you made the changes, you might consider switching it back to the way it was. Not saying this is necessarily the case for you, but sometimes we bass players (myself included) mod things for the sake of modding them, and the result is not what we expected. I'd suggest switching back to your old type of strings, and if that doesn't work, switch back to the old bridge and/or body...

[OptimusPrime]

Originally Posted by Mushroo

Probably not what you want to hear, but there is a lot of trial and error in this sort of thing... if you liked the bass better before you made the changes, you might consider switching it back to the way it was. Not saying this is necessarily the case for you, but sometimes we bass players (myself included) mod things for the sake of modding them, and the result is not what we expected. I'd suggest switching back to your old type of strings, and if that doesn't work, switch back to the old bridge and/or body...

Bridge and body were sold as soon as they were taken off. That was probably a mistake too. The only thing that has changed SIGNIFICANTLY is that my Warmoth body isn't string-through-body. I've never bought into that whole argument ... but I was talking to someone about it and that came up as a possible reason (I still don't believe it). How can there be thousands of bass players who have a J bass with Badass bridge and all say it's improved their bass when it hasn't done much for me?

[Mushroo]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime

Bridge and body were sold as soon as they were taken off. That was probably a mistake too. The only thing that has changed SIGNIFICANTLY is that my Warmoth body isn't string-through-body. I've never bought into that whole argument ... but I was talking to someone about it and that came up as a possible reason (I still don't believe it). How can there be thousands of bass players who have a J bass with Badass bridge and all say it's improved their bass when it hasn't done much for me?

Right on, what's done is done, and you are stuck with the new body. Your cheapest option is probably to experiment with different strings until you find something that doesn't feel floppy to you. One suggestion is that a lot of string manufacturers sell single strings. You could try going with a heavier gauge E string.

My only other advice is don't make assumptions about which changes are "significant" and which aren't... look at all of the different variables... trust your own experience, hands, and ears. Good luck!

[OptimusPrime]

Originally Posted by Mushroo

Right on, what's done is done, and you are stuck with the new body. Your cheapest option is probably to experiment with different strings until you find something that doesn't feel floppy to you. One suggestion is that a lot of string manufacturers sell single strings. You could try going with a heavier gauge E string.

My only other advice is don't make assumptions about which changes are "significant" and which aren't... look at all of the different variables... trust your own experience, hands, and ears. Good luck!

Yeah, I sold everything because I really needed the money. I love the bass, exactly what I was going for. I might try some DR Lo-Riders to see if it fixes my tension problems. Does anyone else on the planet have to use a .115 or .120 for a D string? No ... because that's big enough for a B string!

[knuckle_head]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime

Does anyone else on the planet have to use a .115 or .120 for a D string? No ... because that's big enough for a B string!

Nah.... a B string ought to be so much bigger.



I'd suggest removing the center strings entirely, leaving the outside two in place. Detune them so that there is minimal tension on them but they still maintain their position over the fret board.

If there is equal space between the outsides of your strings and the edges of your fret board then find or get a clamp and tighten it down where the neck meets the body. Back the neck bolts out all the way then check to be sure the clamp is still tight. Retighten the screws.

If it were mine I would remove the neck entirely and press the screws through the holes in the bass body so that the screws no longer threaded into the body. Then I'd realign and clamp it, and bolt it back together.

[EagleMoon]

I'm wondering if somehow the bridge wasn't placed in the correct place? How is the intonation of the bass?

[OptimusPrime]

Originally Posted by EagleMoon

I'm wondering if somehow the bridge wasn't placed in the correct place? How is the intonation of the bass?

How do you mess up screwing in 5 screws? Intonation seems fine.