help with twisted neck?

mikeoh · #1 08-23-2009, 11:49 AM

Hi, just wanted to solicit some help with my MIM Jazz neck. maybe I have a bad eye, but I have trouble telling whether it's straight. I had put some GHS flats on it for a recording project, and the engineer mentioned how high the action was and how much he thought the neck looked like it bowed. i'm posting a couple of pictures, which may or may not be useful; if anyone can give some input on if it is twisted I would appreciate it. if it is tweaked, could it have happened with the higher string tension from the flats? is it easy or even possible to fix, or should I just be looking into a new neck? help! thanks.

rcarraher · #2 08-23-2009, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeoh

Hi, just wanted to solicit some help with my MIM Jazz neck. maybe I have a bad eye, but I have trouble telling whether it's straight. I had put some GHS flats on it for a recording project, and the engineer mentioned how high the action was and how much he thought the neck looked like it bowed. i'm posting a couple of pictures, which may or may not be useful; if anyone can give some input on if it is twisted I would appreciate it. if it is tweaked, could it have happened with the higher string tension from the flats? is it easy or even possible to fix, or should I just be looking into a new neck? help! thanks.

I've got a Made in America Peavey Foundation that appears to have the same problem, a twist. I'll be interested in input on how to correct it.

bassmanrocke · #3 08-24-2009, 06:36 PM

Most flats have a much higher tension than similarly gauged round wounds. Frequently this will cause additional bow in the neck. The solution is to either adjust the truss rod, or switch to a lighter gauge flat wounds.

cb56 · #4 08-24-2009, 06:43 PM

Isn't a bowed neck different from a twisted neck?

Craig_S · #5 08-24-2009, 07:42 PM

I don't think it's twisted. It might be an optical illusion caused by the string thickness. Hard to say, though, without actually looking at it from a proper perspective. A photo won't cut it.

Fajah · #6 08-25-2009, 03:56 AM

If you had a good setup on the bass before replacing the strings, then chances are your neck is not twisted (torsionally). It's just bowed due the increased tension of the GHS strings. If you plan to keep those strings on for a while, a truss rod adjustment is the fix.

Here are some pics of what I would call a twisted neck:

Not twisted (for comparison):

Twisted:

In my experience there's no fix for a torsionally twisted neck. In this particular case, I replaced the neck.

lug · #7 08-25-2009, 08:40 AM

Just leave a twisted neck alone. It doesn't effect playing near as much as a bowed neck. There is even at least one manufacturer that does this on purpose.

In action....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLi8pOa6zYk