neck... straight ar little bow??

panazza · #1 01-01-2004, 08:35 AM

My friend's ibanez has a straight neck... I can't see the lightest bow on it. I tried to do the same on my jazz bass but it didn't work and it all started trembling. My neck must have a little bow to play. So should the neck be totally straight or with a little bow?? I never uderstood this.....

pkr2 · #2 01-01-2004, 09:44 AM

Some players prefer a straight neck. You must have a very accurate fret job along with a very light playing touch to get away with a straight board. The vast majority of basses and players need a small amount of bend (relief) to avoid fret buzz ( strings rattling on the frets).

Harrell S.

bizzaro · #3 01-01-2004, 10:14 AM

Your neck bow is contingent on your playing style
and the bass itself. Strings vibrate eliptically, hence the usual up bow of the neck to provide for some relief for the string to vibrate. If you take your friends bass and hold the string down at the first fret,(by the nut) and the last fret( by the bridge), I bet you will see some space between the string and the frets
somewhere between the 5TH and 10Th frets(usually greatest at 7 and 9). I would doubt that many bassists play with an absolutely flat neck. And I would also argue that you can probably get a lower action with some relief, than with a flat neck. IE: If your neck is flat and you're getting a little string buzz you will have to raise your action to eliminate the buzz making your action higher.

So it really isn't a question of which is better,or best, but of which is better or best for you and your style, technique. The bass will also dictate how you set it up for optimum performance according to your playing.

I guess this is a long winded vote for:

A LITTLE BOW

panazza · #4 01-01-2004, 11:59 AM

thanks... anyway my friend's ibanez does not rattle anywhere... maybe it's because of the fretwork. Anyway you're right with a flat neck I must raise the string height...the fretwork on my bass was made for a little bow... the instruction's manual says the neck needs a little bow... maybe modern basses like ibanez have a different philosopy.. mine is a good old fender!

bizzaro · #5 01-01-2004, 04:33 PM

I am telling you his bass has a little bow also, but you just can't see it by sighting down the bass. And his fret work is probably better so he can get away with a "flatter" neck. But it is unlikely it is flat. Do you have a squire? The one I owned needed a pretty good up bow to keep it from buzzing. Squires are made to get you to buy a Fender(entry level product{some might say CHEAP }), and attention to detail is not a priority IMO!! It really has nothing to do with modern or old school either. How much up bow do you need? Does it take the fun out of playing?? It may be time for some fret work

Here is a pretty good url to explain some stuff. http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass...tupmanual.html Stolen from a thread just above this one.

panazza · #6 01-01-2004, 06:50 PM

hey bizzaro... talkin' about squier... I just made the setup for squier and it has better fretwork than my fender! ugh! anyway my fretwork is still nice and the bass is a pleasure to play... I will ask a luthier if it could get any better... thanks for replying

panazza · #7 01-01-2004, 06:51 PM

hey bizzaro... talkin' about squier... I just made the setup for squier and it has better fretwork than my fender! ugh! anyway my fretwork is still nice and the bass is a pleasure to play... I will ask a luthier if it could get any better... thanks for replying

tplyons · #8 01-01-2004, 07:13 PM

Depends on the bass, I can keep my Stingray's neck absolutely straight, action within millimeters and have no problem.

While I tried that on my P-bass and it just doesn't sound good. So I keep the action a bit higher.