Need Advice, truss rod

[TRichardsbass]

Hey guys!

I just received my used by almost new Brubaker KXB-5, and am setting it up for me. When I got it he neck had a ton of relief, which it shouldn't have had.

I did a couple of truss rod adjustments over the past two days, carefully taking only about an eighth a turn each time and letting it settle. I even tried the Garry Willis "assist'.

I have put between a half and 5/8 of a full turn in it, and it still has a little more relief then it should, and a touch more then even my Brute has, which has a normal amount (credit card measured at the 9th fret with the string held down at the 2nd fret.

I'm gonna leave it for now, but I haven't ever worked with a double action rod before. Is this too much into the rod?

I just don't want to damage my $4K bass.

tom

[dmusic148]

Nothing to be concerned about. It's that time of year. You can't hurt it unless your truss rod tool gets very hard to turn, and you force it further. If I were you I'd grab it right now and just crank it another quarter-turn with the strings loose. Tune it back up and see where you're at.

[TRichardsbass]

Originally Posted by dmusic148

Nothing to be concerned about. It's that time of year. You can't hurt it unless your truss rod tool gets very hard to turn, and you force it further. If I were you I'd grab it right now and just crank it another quarter-turn with the strings loose. Tune it back up and see where you're at.

Thanks. I have never had to do this with any bass before. Normally in the winter you have to loosen slightly, not rip it up. I'll give it a small tweak now and then do some set up in an hour. Gig tonight and I want to play this baby!

[a2zbassman]

Maybe you should PM Brad or email Kevin. I haven't had to do a lot of adjustment on mine, just an 1/8 of a tweak one way or the other. But I have noticed is that the adjustments seem to be opposite of my Brute, or any other bass I've owned as a matter of fact. Think I read this posted in the "Official Brubaker" forum. Meaning, lefty tighty, righty losey. Or, when I turn counterclockwise it straightens the neck, clockwise seems to give more relief.

[202dy]

Has the nut bottomed out? If not, turn it until the relief is correct.

[Floyd Eye]

If it isn't hard to turn you're OK.

[TRichardsbass]

Originally Posted by a2zbassman

Maybe you should PM Brad or email Kevin. I haven't had to do a lot of adjustment on mine, just an 1/8 of a tweak one way or the other. But I have noticed is that the adjustments seem to be opposite of my Brute, or any other bass I've owned as a matter of fact. Think I read this posted in the "Official Brubaker" forum. Meaning, lefty tighty, righty losey. Or, when I turn counterclockwise it straightens the neck, clockwise seems to give more relief.

Yes, the truss rods on the customs are double action, so it is reverse.

I did some additional tightening, and it seems to be okay, however I am concerned it had much more relief then my stock Brute and required almost a full tur.

[a2zbassman]

Originally Posted by TRichardsbass

Yes, the truss rods on the customs are double action, so it is reverse.

I did some additional tightening, and it seems to be okay, however I am concerned it had much more relief then my stock Brute and required almost a full tur.

Good, glad you knew that. Just wanted to be sure so you weren't unknowingly adding more relief when you though you were straightening.

The Brute truss rods are dual-action also. But they turn the "traditional" way. I found this out from personal experience when I first got my JJX and thought I had "neck issues". I had to loosen the rod until it started tightening again in the opposite direction to correct it. Then all was fine.

[202dy]

Originally Posted by TRichardsbass

Yes, the truss rods on the customs are double action, so it is reverse.

I did some additional tightening, and it seems to be okay,

You fixed it. Good. Celebrate!

however I am concerned it had much more relief then my stock Brute and required almost a full turn.

So? The truss rods may be the same but the wood is different-probably from different trees from different forests cut in different years. So was the environment before you acquired them. As was the batch of glue used to laminate the neck. And the sharpness of the blades used to harvest, mill, and shape the lumber was different, too. Why should an adjustment on one guitar have any bearing on what must be done to another?

It doesn't. The number of turns one makes on a truss rod nut is meaningless.* The only thing that is important is the result.



*It is only meaningful if one is recording truss rod nut movement in order to return the neck to the original adjustment. Assuming the relief was not correct to begin with, why would anyone wish to return to the original point? It makes sense if someone is experimenting in order to learn. But that is an exercise to be performed on a yard sale special, not several thousand dollars of exotic wood and wire. Besides, measuring the relief and string height is far more accurate than counting on wood to react reliably to changes in compression and tension.

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by TRichardsbass

Yes, the truss rods on the customs are double action, so it is reverse.

I did some additional tightening, and it seems to be okay, however I am concerned it had much more relief then my stock Brute and required almost a full tur.

You should be able to dial in the neck straight. I keep mine straight (with low action) and I don't think I've ever done a complete turn on any of them from when I initially got them, regardless of the setup. They also don't need to settle... the results should be immediate and stable.

BTW I called you back last week.

[TRichardsbass]

Originally Posted by Brad Johnson

You should be able to dial in the neck straight. I keep mine straight (with low action) and I don't think I've ever done a complete turn on any of them from when I initially got them, regardless of the setup. They also don't need to settle... the results should be immediate and stable.

BTW I called you back last week.

I have it pretty good. I might give it another short turn this week.

I just always give my basses a couple of hours to settle in before I do any more adjusting. I've found that workds well when I set up any bass. That way, if for some reason the neck doesn't react well or "overreacts" I can clean it up and save a ton of labor.

tom

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by TRichardsbass

I have it pretty good. I might give it another short turn this week.

I just always give my basses a couple of hours to settle in before I do any more adjusting. I've found that workds well when I set up any bass. That way, if for some reason the neck doesn't react well or "overreacts" I can clean it up and save a ton of labor.

tom

Again, you don't need to do this with a Brubaker. It doesn't have to settle in. You dial it in and, barring a pretty good atmospheric shift, it stays there.

I keep my action set low so it would be very noticeable if this weren't the case.

[MaddAnthony_59]

Yes, I'm having a similar issue, with possibly the same bass!

When I got the bass the action was so low it was scary! But now the weather has changed and the relief if about 1/8". I need to get a Shorty Allen wrench to get in and adjust the truss rod with. There's not much room to get in to adjust with a standard allen wrench...And it turns "Backwards, right? Righty = Loosey?

[MaddAnthony_59]

Wow! I sent an E-Mail to Brubaker. In less than a minute I got a response from one Kevin Brubaker! He's sending me the tool and documentation on how to adjust the truss rod. What a Swell guy!

[MaddAnthony_59]

And the Black Beast is back in the LineUp!

[XBASSX]

Glad to read this isn't uncommon. I just bought a used custom 5 and it has a lot neck relief. The action is high with tension. I just need the tool to adjust it and it should be ok.