Truss Rod Help

[mbizy]

Hello friends,

I recently bought a 1983/84 Squier P bass made in Japan. The bass is excellent, near mint condition and sounds incredible. The truss rod is the type that is accessed at the heel, but it has a problem. I need to add relief to the neck to stop minor buzzing on the frets nearest the headstock and setup the bass the way I prefer, but the when I attempt to loosen the truss rod the nut comes loose and will not adjust the neck. I can run (tighten) the nut up to the rod, but as soon as I attempt to loosen the rod the nut simply spins off. Is there a cure for this? Please lend a hand.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Mike

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by mbizy

Hello friends,

I recently bought a 1983/84 Squier P bass made in Japan. The bass is excellent, near mint condition and sounds incredible. The truss rod is the type that is accessed at the heel, but it has a problem. I need to add relief to the neck to stop minor buzzing on the frets nearest the headstock and setup the bass the way I prefer, but the when I attempt to loosen the truss rod the nut comes loose and will not adjust the neck. I can run (tighten) the nut up to the rod, but as soon as I attempt to loosen the rod the nut simply spins off. Is there a cure for this? Please lend a hand.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Mike

How much relief exists with the truss rod nut loose or slack? Are the strings to pitch?

Riis

[mbizy]

Thank you for your reply.

The guitar is tuned properly and the neck has ever so slight back bow to it. I have tried to snug the nut up and then loosen the truss rod, but the nut simply comes loose without moving the rod.

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by mbizy

Thank you for your reply.

The guitar is tuned properly and the neck has ever so slight back bow to it. I have tried to snug the nut up and then loosen the truss rod, but the nut simply comes loose without moving the rod.

It's stuck....maybe. You may want to "encourage" the neck by placing one hand behind the the neck at the level of the 2nd-5th frets (not the headstock!) and the other on the fretboard at the 8th-12th and gently apply opposing force. This may help. If not, don't monkey...take it to a tech.

Riis

[Slowgypsy]

What gauge strings are you using? One type of fix is to tune the existing strings up about 2 steps sharp. Give it a try with the truss rod totally loose. That should move the neck in the direction you want. If it does, leave it like that for a day or so and it'll probably stay. Keep us posted....

[ia02]

so with the truss rod nut "off" the neck still has a slight back bow?

here is what i would normally do: loosen the nut a bit (1/8 to 1/4 turn) and restring to pitch. if you get to the point where the nut is not providing any tension on the neck stop there, string to pitch and let the bass sit for a day or so. sometimes the movement you're looking for takes time.

if all else fails you could use heavier strings for a while to provide extra tension.

[Rocky McD]

Completely loosen the the nut and wait several days and recheck, using the E string as a straigt edge, measue the relief at the 8th fret before and after. I like about .020" relief.

[mbizy]

Thanks to each of you for you valuable input.

"ia02" yes, with the nut loose or even completely off there is slight back bow.

"Slowgypsy" the strings are medium lights.

I am trying the gentle pressure approach by loosening the nut and tuning the bass two steps sharp. The bass is in a room with constant temperature. I will leave it in this state for a couple of days and let you know the results.

Again, thank you for you input. I'm very grateful.

[Youngspanion]

How'd the bass do?

[mbizy]

Sadly, the above advice did not help the neck. I ended up selling the bass with full disclosure of it's condition.