just took my bass apart to look at the truss rod, what is this?!

[bassist 4 life]

Okay, my ibanez ATKs truss rod wasnt responding to adjustments, so i decided to take the bass apart and look at it. Ok first of all, this bass has the musicman wheel of fortune style adjustment thingamajig.

Now, when i took the neck off, i noticed that the wheel of fortune thingy wasnt even screwed on right, it was like bent, like this : \
i think thats what the cause of the problem is, it wasnt screwed on right.

when i backed it up and took it off so that i can put it back on the right way, i noticed that this thingy on the truss rod, kind of like this gunk type of goo, its not even like a flat substance, its like 1.5 cm in depth length and width, ill take pictures in a sec after i have dinner.

UPDATE PICS :

[62bass]

The gunk is a lubricant. Leave it on.

Does the adjustment nut go back on properly without cross threading?

[SawgrassRaven]

I'm no expert, but it looks like a glass of water.



Seriously, looks like some sort of lubricant or anti-seize.

Does it still thread (their not stripped are they)?


EDIT TO ADD:

Dang '62, beat me to it!

[JehuJava]

Def looks like anti-seize.

Not implying idiocracy, but were you turning the wrong way and it backed out completely? I always have to think about it for like 20 minutes to make sure I turn the right way...I can never remember.

[bassist 4 life]

.

btw, this bass has always had a problem with its truss rod as it wouldnt respond to adjustments. Anyways, i guess the problem was that it wasnt screwed on right i guess.

btw i screwed it back on and its still bent, ill take a picture now:



i dont know if this means that its stripped or not.

[Mikeyd74]

Why does it seem like something is missing? I have to look at my ATK when I get home. It just seems strange that the resistance is directly against the wood. Am I just not seeing it right?

[bassist 4 life]

okay i put my bass back together and now every string just plays one harmonic note no matter where i fret :s

[Mikeyd74]

WHAT?
....loosen the tension on your strings and hold off from doing anything else.
There is apparently something very wrong going on here.
Could you please explain what you mean by all of the notes are the same.

[lug]

Originally Posted by bassist 4 life

okay i put my bass back together and now every string just plays one harmonic note no matter where i fret :s

What tha....? Are your strings resting on the last fret?

[bassist 4 life]

this is a new bass, when i took my old bass apart loads of times with no problems.
yeah, they are resting on the last fret, just noticed that.

[Mikeyd74]

Lug may be right about the strings resting on the last fret.
I'm thinking that the truss rod isn't assembled correctly or it's missing a part.
Give us some more pictures to work with.

[bassist 4 life]

what pictures do you want?
the strings are resting on the last fret.

[Mikeyd74]

A picture looking down the neck and up the neck in order to see the bow of your neck.

[JustOpenYourMind]

Two things could have happened:

You tightened the truss rod too much while putting the neck back on, now is has too much back bow, and the strings are resting against the frets. Try loosening the rod.


When taking the neck off and dremoving the tension from the rod all at once the neck warped and now it has a severe back bow that the truss rod cannot fix, if it's the case you'll need to bring the bass to a luthier because you won't be able to fix it.

[lug]

Originally Posted by JustOpenYourMind

Two things could have happened:

You tightened the truss rod too much while putting the neck back on, now is has too much back bow, and the strings are resting against the frets. Try loosening the rod.


When taking the neck off and dremoving the tension from the rod all at once the neck warped and now it has a severe back bow that the truss rod cannot fix, if it's the case you'll need to bring the bass to a luthier because you won't be able to fix it.

First situation far more likely, loosen the truss rod.

[bassist 4 life]

okay, so i just screwed it on the thing after loosening it off. How can i loosen it more then :/

[62bass]

Take it to a competent bass tech. You don't know enough about what you're doing. Also the language barrier makes it difficult for us to communicate.

[bassist 4 life]

can't do that, there aren't any over here. Wow lol after four years at talkbass this is the first time someone says its difficult to communicate with me because of my language.

sitch really sucks for me yeah?

[Dan1099]

Do you know how to properly set the relief on the neck? Put the truss rod on snug but not tightened and string the bass up. Hold down your strings at the first and last fret, and check for how much room there is between the string and the 8th fret. There should be about enough room to stick a business card in there.

If there is more than that, you need to tighten the truss rod, only 1/4 of a turn. Then tune it again, and wait twenty minutes or a half hour. Tune it again, and check the relief again. It should be less than before. Repeat this process until you have approximately enough room to fit a business card between the string and the eighth fret. No more, No less.


If there is LESS than the amount of room to fit a business card in there, you need to loosen the truss rod. Follow the same order as above: loosen 1/4 turn, tune it, let it sit for a while, tune it again, and check the releif. Repeat as necessary.

[Mikeyd74]

Maybe you should start learning about bass repairs and become a tech there.
This is your first big project and there isn't much worse to deal with then truss rod issues. Start reading up as much as you can and try to figure it out. You could become the first skilled bass luthier in Bahrain! Recognize the need for a service, then capitalize on it.