Strings are resting on all frets on assembly

[loinmute]

I am putting together my mim jazz after doing some electronics upgrades. After getting the bridge and neck back on, I re-stringed it and it is way off kilter. The strings rest all the way down the neck. I tuned using the last fret and got tension and still they didnt raise a single millimeter. Naturally, I raised the saddles...nothing. I took the neck off several times. Put shims in...(made it worse of course). I am really bewildered. These are the original parts that came off. The only other thing is to either shim the bridge a few milli or plane the neck pocket.

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[JLS]

Whoa! Take a few deep breaths, and step away from that bass! Things may not be as bad as they appear.

See if the neck doesn't resettle after a few hours--J necks are skinny & often will keep moving back when unstrung; if the trussrod was very tight, this is a strong possibility. Barring that, shim the heel on the neck side of the neck pocket, after removing any shims you may have added on the body side, which would have been counterproductive, to say the least.

[MarkA]

What was the action like before? Also, at the risk of stating the obvious, did you bring the tension back up with all four strings or only three (as in the pics)?

Obviously, something's changed since the parts were last on, either in the bridge adjustment, the way the neck sits in the pocket (was it flush before?), or in the neck itself. Does the truss-rod still work well? I'd check that first, then make sure the neck is in fact properly seated in the pocket. See if you can get it right with what feel like reasonable adjustments to the saddles and truss-rod. If the truss rod feels sticky, or if you've got to put the saddles up way higher than seems right, take it to someone who knows more than I do!

[MarkA]

Originally Posted by JLS

See if the neck doesn't resettle after a few hours--J necks are skinny & often will keep moving back when unstrung; if the trussrod was very tight, this is a strong possibility.

Sounds like good advice to me. I also wouldn't make big changes to the truss rod adjustment at one time. As for shims, if things were right before, it seems they'd be unnecessary, but shimming is beyond my limited expertise.

[berwick63]

Just wondering if the pictures is how you were looking at it. In the pictures, none of the strings seem to be at pitch, and the G string isn't on. Necks work on counter tension to get the strings above the fretboard. It appears to me as if you just need to tune everything up to pitch and get some actual measurements with some feeler gauges to better help everyone out here with the current set up.

[loinmute]

I had all 4 on and tuned to the last fret as stated in op

and last night w/ all 4 strings tuned to the last fret (the only way I could tune to tension) I checked the relief: about 1.5 mm at fret 8...a bit high but |I wouldnt think enough to be a problem?

[JLS]

Originally Posted by loinmute

I had all 4 on and tuned to the last fret as stated in op

I'd suggest putting them all back on, and tuning it up.

Do you have a good straightedge, so that you can see if the fretboard is flat, or backbowed? This is information you'll need, to proceed.

[madmatt]

Originally Posted by loinmute

I am putting together my mim jazz after doing some electronics upgrades. After getting the bridge and neck back on, I re-stringed it and it is way off kilter. The strings rest all the way down the neck. I tuned using the last fret and got tension and still they didnt raise a single millimeter. Naturally, I raised the saddles...nothing. I took the neck off several times. Put shims in...(made it worse of course). I am really bewildered. These are the original parts that came off. The only other thing is to either shim the bridge a few milli or plane the neck pocket.

[IMG][/IMG]

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I am not sure, maybe the neck pocket wasn't tight before you started to turn the screws into the neck. There may be a gap.
I have to ask, why did you take the neckoff to do electronics work? It isn't usually neccessary.

Edit: I also get a problem when I change strings most of the time. Whenever I take the string out, the saddle height screws are sometimes shaken loose. Especially on those stock MIM bridges.
Just a guess.

[tstone]

I suspect that the clearance holes in the body for the neck attachment screws are too tight, so the neck never got pulled down solidly to the bottom of the pocket. You should be able to push the screws through the body holes without turning them.

[loinmute]

Originally Posted by tstone

I suspect that the clearance holes in the body for the neck attachment screws are too tight, so the neck never got pulled down solidly to the bottom of the pocket. You should be able to push the screws through the body holes without turning them.

took off the neck because I had jumped the gun on some plans.

tstone...the body holes are as wide as the screws. This is how it was from factory. If I bored out the 4 screw holes in the body; the neck would cinch better in the pocket? umm....

[john grey]

Originally Posted by tstone

I suspect that the clearance holes in the body for the neck attachment screws are too tight, so the neck never got pulled down solidly to the bottom of the pocket. You should be able to push the screws through the body holes without turning them.

This observation is very valuable. All too often people use electric screwdrivers on the installment of necks and the results can be problematic. In addition to dropping th neck too low (which may be shimmed ext. The frequent issue is unnoticed until years later the finish as cracked all about the neck pocket!
Many times this does not result in any cracking in the body wood itself; but try telling that to someone you plan to sell it to.
They will want pictures at the least!
IF the holes have been stripped or an electric screwdriver HAS been used, that issue should be attended to and not left in an overly tightened position. Cracking, even in polyurethane finishes can develop in a year or less depending on temperature fluctuations in addition to the string height issue you are now contending with.

[MarkA]

Well, if the holes in the body (not the neck!) are wide enough to allow the screws to still turn freely when they're all the way in, they'll pull the neck snug into the pocket when you tighten them.

If the threads catch in the body like they do in the neck, then you have to make sure the neck is snug beforehand -- and stays snug 'til the screw threads catch -- or else any little gap you have will still be there when you've tightened the screws down.

Whether the body holes "should" be that loose or not, I don't know. They are not on my Fender -- still plenty tight. In fact, now that I think about it, I once did what I described above and got a result similar to what you're getting. What I did the last time I had the neck off the instrument was to lightly clamp it in the pocket on reassembly (after reading about a builder doing this). NOTE! I used two clamps, with both a layer of rubber gasket material and a layer of soft scrap wood between the bass and the clamps for protection, and I was careful not to overtighten. I did get a nice, tight fit in the pocket though.

Anyway, I reiterate, make sure the neck is snug in the pocket (this isn't achieved by over-tightening screws, btw).

Originally Posted by loinmute

took off the neck because I had jumped the gun on some plans.

tstone...the body holes are as wide as the screws. This is how it was from factory. If I bored out the 4 screw holes in the body; the neck would cinch better in the pocket? umm....

[loinmute]

fixed.

I bored out the 4 body holes and now the neck is fully seated in the pocket. Thanx ya'll