It seems I need a neck adjustment every month or 2...

ghouldani · #1 10-20-2006, 05:48 PM

I play it, put it on it's stand, dont' abuse it, and keep it in tune. Yet it seems every month or so I need to bring it in to get a nut/neck adjustment otherwise frets 10 and beyond buzz...Help?

spudmaster34 · #2 10-20-2006, 05:50 PM

what kind of bass do you have?

ghouldani · #3 10-20-2006, 05:55 PM

Fender standard jazz, only a year or 2 old.

spudmaster34 · #4 10-20-2006, 05:59 PM

have you tried contacting fender, that seems like to nice of a bass for that much of a problem

ghouldani · #5 10-20-2006, 06:02 PM

yeah, but i talked to the dude at the repair shop and he said, "it's normal"

62bass · #6 10-20-2006, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghouldani

I play it, put it on it's stand, dont' abuse it, and keep it in tune. Yet it seems every month or so I need to bring it in to get a nut/neck adjustment otherwise frets 10 and beyond buzz...Help?

A lot depends on your environment-temperature and humidity. I have a Fender and here in Southern Ontario we get some wild changes in humidity but mainly between summer and winter, but I only adjust it twice a year. It seems some bass necks are worse than others for this. My Fender suffers the most dramatic changes in neck straightness. My Carvin, hardly any. My Ibanez is in between. I don't have super low action but it's not ridiculously high either. I don't get any buzzes when the bass is set up properly. When there is a change in humidity the neck changes slowly over a period of days before I notice it.

See if there is some way you can keep the humidity and temperature more constant where you store the bass. Make sure your neck is well sealed with a finish. It might help, or at least slow down the changes, if you have the fingerboard finished with something, but my Fender has a maple fingerboard that's finished the same as the neck, and, as I said, it's the worst.That's about all i can suggest.

Scott in Dallas · #7 10-20-2006, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghouldani

put it on it's stand,(

There's your problem right there. Keep it in the case.

Magneto · #8 10-21-2006, 08:29 AM

I suppose this depends alot on the bass and its neck, but I'm surprised that more truss adjustments aren't needed, more often.

Any time temps and humidity change where the bass is kept, this will affect the wood, causing it to contract, expand, etc..
If you keep it in a temperature controlled area, it won't change much, but then you'll find that it changes when you take it to a jam or practice.
Keeping it in a tight-fitting case will help, but only to a point.
Keep your truss wrench handy, and know just what relief you like on the bass.
Don't try to chase the setup by lowering and raising string saddles. Once they are set, they RARELY require adjustment. When the action doesn't seem right, you'll find that it's only a small truss adjustment away from being put back to where you need it.

Mag...

ghouldani · #9 10-21-2006, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott in Dallas

There's your problem right there. Keep it in the case.

The closest thing to a case I ever had for it was the box it was shipped in

ghouldani · #10 10-21-2006, 10:32 AM

Now that you mention temperature and whatnot, it makes some sense...my apartment building isn't insulated well and there are rapid temp changes throught the day. Thanks everyone for the helpful insight!

62bass · #11 10-21-2006, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghouldani

Now that you mention temperature and whatnot, it makes some sense...my apartment building isn't insulated well and there are rapid temp changes throught the day. Thanks everyone for the helpful insight!

That explains a lot. Anything tou can do about it short of moving?

fretless Bob · #12 10-21-2006, 02:37 PM

honestly almost all basses i have do it to some extent,even my Fodera does it, maybe not quite as often as you are talking about but i think that a setup is needed at least twice a year and maybe 3 times a year depending on what i am doing.

all you can really do is keep it set up often and change your strings often to keep the tension consistent.

i spoke with Martin Peterson at the Bass gallery today, he makes Sei basses if any of you guys didnt know (www.seibass.com)

and he was surprised to hear that my Fodera did it as well, he thought it was just his basses

although you do ocasionaly get that "special" bass that will not move all year round.

Dave

arbitrary · #13 10-21-2006, 06:53 PM

The only bass that I never really adjust is my Modulus, thats pretty much expected.

My carvin's neck moves like an s.o.b, my Ritter gets an adj. once every couple months and maybe the ol' Alembic once a year.

All in all, it happens, you just have to know how to adjust it back and give the bass a good ol' setup.

niftydog · #14 10-23-2006, 09:50 PM

A neck will take a while to settle, instead of adjusting it until it's "perfect," just tweak a little bit in the right direction and leave it for a week. Then, if it needs more, tweak a little more. Small steps, patience and a gentle touch works wonders.

Also, temperature and RH is a huge influence. Find somewhere in your place that stays relatively constant in temp and humidity to store your instruments. Cupboards work well, provided they're away from heaters etc.

Don't do what my local music store does, they adjust every neck in the shop for "perfect action" about once a month. Trouble is, they do one neck in about 10 minutes, leaving the wood no time to settle. By the following week, that same neck is now skewed in the other direction, so they adjust it back, and the cycle repeats ad infinitum.

Poop-Loops · #15 10-23-2006, 11:45 PM

A week is way overkill. A day is enough. You're not glueing anything, you're just tweeking it a little.

pkr2 · #16 10-24-2006, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poop-Loops

A week is way overkill. A day is enough. You're not glueing anything, you're just tweeking it a little.

+1

Stuggi · #17 10-24-2006, 10:49 AM

About differences between diffrent basses, My G&L Tribute L-2000 needs a setup every now and then, about 3-4 months apart (can't really tell since I haven't owned it for more than a half year). It's a brand new bass. But my old as hell Yamaha RBX250 has only needed one proper setup by a professional player (I don't concider my self as a pro since I need all kinds of tools to get it right, he just does it on feel), and it have kept it for about 3-4 years. My personal teory is that as the bass gets older, the wood hardens and becomes less flexible, which results in less need to adjust it.

niftydog · #18 10-26-2006, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poop-Loops

A week is way overkill.

Maybe for the wood to settle, yes, but you might find during that week that you're happy with the action as is!

HMZ · #19 02-11-2007, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuggi

My personal teory is that as the bass gets older, the wood hardens and becomes less flexible, which results in less need to adjust it.

New bass necks still think there trees.

MohawkHarry · #20 02-19-2007, 07:07 AM

I had a Warwick FNA vette that had to be tweeked weekly, but my Fenders, EBMM and Spectors pretty much stay put. I always thought it was the breathable woods that tend to move as they dry or swell which shouldn't be a problem on a Fender.
If you got a good stiff fender neck after your 1/4 turn of the truss rod always wait a day to see how much adjustment was actually made before over tweeking. It could be your over or under adjusting your truss rod and not seeing the change until a day later.