|  | 
11-15-2008, 04:26 PM
| | |  Synapse Truss Rod adjustment
Sign in to disble this ad
Ladies and Gentlemen
I've a fretless Synpase, which is my second. On the first one, I snapped the truss rod and sent it back to G.C. (they were very cool about it, even paid for return shipping on this used bass). I bought a new one, and don't wish to snap this puppy also. I've adjusted truss rods for 20 years, never a problem. I know to flex the neck straight before tightening, since truss rods just hold a neck in place and can't/aren't designed to pull a neck straight. And I'd assume the graphite neck is a bunch harder to straighten than a typical wood neck. Any advice other than to bring it to an "Authorized Service Center", which was the Gibson people's advice. (Also, but unrelated, Gibson did say that the fretless synapse is discontinued; no mention of the other synapse products.)
On my bass there's a bunch of glue in the hole where the truss rod nut is. Should I maybe clean it out, loosen the truss rod all the way and slick it up with some vaseline before tightening it back up again? I need this neck just a little straighter than it is.
Peace
Paul K |
11-15-2008, 07:13 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Virginia Beach, VA | | | How did you manage to snap the first one? Doesn't matter if you flex the neck or not while tightening; if the nut is at the end of its travel, you're screwed. Any way you can remove the truss rod nut and add a spacing washer or two? I also use graphite powder as the lubricant not vaseline. Glue gumming up the truss rod access? Can't explain that one.
Riis
__________________
"20% of the money will buy you 90% of the sound..another 30% of the money will buy you another 5% of the sound..you can't buy the remaining 5% of the sound because nobody can agree about what it is." |
11-15-2008, 09:02 PM
| | | | I snapped the first one by tightening about an eighth turn, four times over two and a half days or so. The nut felt like it was moving, didn't feel like I was bending metal; and the relief stayed the same for the whole duration.
How do you tell if the nut is at the end of the travel? And with this graphite neck, anything special I should know should I decide to remove the nut and lubricate before re-installing? I'd think that nothing special would be needed, but I also thought that before I snapped the first one!
The glue-stuff in the hole where the nut is appears to be scooge left over from when the bass was manufactured, probably part of the finish process. It looks like it'd be easy to clean out with a drill bit (by hand, not the 18 volt power drill......) |
11-19-2008, 11:38 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Virginia Beach, VA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul K  I snapped the first one by tightening about an eighth turn, four times over two and a half days or so. The nut felt like it was moving, didn't feel like I was bending metal; and the relief stayed the same for the whole duration.
How do you tell if the nut is at the end of the travel? And with this graphite neck, anything special I should know should I decide to remove the nut and lubricate before re-installing? I'd think that nothing special would be needed, but I also thought that before I snapped the first one!
The glue-stuff in the hole where the nut is appears to be scooge left over from when the bass was manufactured, probably part of the finish process. It looks like it'd be easy to clean out with a drill bit (by hand, not the 18 volt power drill......) | A 1/2 turn (total) over 2 days and no change in relief? Yeah, that's kind of a giveway right there.
IIRC, the Synapse necks are not graphite although they do have a U-shaped graphite channel runing the length of the neck. Given the previous experience, it would not be a bad idea to remove the truss rod nut and clean up the whole area. Add a couple of small brass washers / spacers, graphite powder and you should be good to go. You may want to experiment with truss rod "travel" before reinstalling the strings. You'll get a good feel for how far things can be tightened without creating undue stress.
Riis
__________________
"20% of the money will buy you 90% of the sound..another 30% of the money will buy you another 5% of the sound..you can't buy the remaining 5% of the sound because nobody can agree about what it is." |
11-19-2008, 01:24 PM
| | | | Ah, success. But instead of doing the DIY thing that I usually do, I brought it down to the pros. He took out a clamp, two blocks, and a straight edge, and first flexed the neck straight with the clamp. Then tweaked gently the truss rod nut. In the past I've always done that Karma Sutra postition with a knee behind the base of the neck, pulling back on the neck with my left hand, allen wrench in the right hand.
I'll have to spend some more time with it, but it appears to be at the proper amount of straightness. $18 well spent, I guess.
The original bass that I broke could very well have been at the end of it's travel, which might have been why the previous owner traded it in....but we'll never know for sure....
Peace
Paul K |
11-19-2008, 01:39 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Virginia Beach, VA | | | Ah...all's well that ends well. I'm still of the opinion that you should be able to perform minor relief adjustments without strong-arming the neck.
Riis
__________________
"20% of the money will buy you 90% of the sound..another 30% of the money will buy you another 5% of the sound..you can't buy the remaining 5% of the sound because nobody can agree about what it is." | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is On | | | |
