truss rod maxed!

[therex]

i cant keep adjusting the truss rod in my bass and there is still too much relief, its my only bass, and i dont have money for another neck, i need to solve this.
i heard that you can put some washers inside the rod to solve this, but any more info will help me, it seems like i need to make 3/4 of turn to put the neck on a proper set up
the bass is a squier P VM and strings are ernie ball hibryds

Ps sorry for my english

[The modifier]

You might as well get an SX neck if its a Squire, only a 50$ ish dollar upgrade and some hand work on the neck pocket.

[The modifier]

Oh, sorry seems the price is more around 40$ heres the link http://www.rondomusic.com/spbneck.html

[therex]

thanks for the sugguestion the modifier, but as i say i dont have money, and my family is having a bad economical time, also i am not in the USA where i could probably just buy a squier used neck at 30$ wich is still a lot money to me

[The modifier]

I see, well hope you get it fixed, ive heard about the washer trick on here, but im not sure hows its done, ill try to dig out a thread for you if I can find it.

[The modifier]

Heres one thread on someone who had success with this It worked! Washer under truss rod nut

[The modifier]

You could try lost of different solutions for this other than the nut, heres some that come to my mind

-Lubricating The Rod
-Loosening it up all the way and then try to readjust
-Loosening it up all the way and clamping it into a back bow for a couple of days would also be a sure fix.

[therex]

Originally Posted by The modifier

You could try lost of different solutions for this other than the nut, heres some that come to my mind

-Lubricating The Rod
-Loosening it up all the way and then try to readjust
-Loosening it up all the way and clamping it into a back bow for a couple of days would also be a sure fix.

the 1st one was already tried 2 weeks ago, it helped but there is still more turns required
the 2nd one seems like a dangerous idea to since i could end up warping the neck more
the 3rd ons is a bit scary to me, since if take out all the string the neck is already on a back bow and a very bad one so i think my neck is super weak, but i could re check

[The modifier]

Originally Posted by therex

the 1st one was already tried 2 weeks ago, it helped but there is still more turns required
the 2nd one seems like a dangerous idea to since i could end up warping the neck more
the 3rd ons is a bit scary to me, since if take out all the string the neck is already on a back bow and a very bad one so i think my neck is super weak, but i could re check

Almost all necks without strings will have a back bow (your neck isnt weak), the truss rod is meant to counter act the action of the strings at full tension, so when you remove the strings it its going to have all that extra force from the truss rod pulling it back (which is why you loosen it up completely before clamping ), when you clamp it its going to adapt the shape of the back bow WITHOUT using the truss rod, so when you unclamp the neck, youll need less truss rod pressure than what you're using now(so you wont need to add any washers and if it goes well you'll even have extra turns to spare), but just fix it how you feel comfortable fixing it

[therex]

Originally Posted by The modifier

Almost all necks without strings will have a back bow (your neck isnt weak), the truss rod is meant to counter act the action of the strings at full tension, so when you remove the strings it its going to have all that extra force from the truss rod pulling it back (which is why you loosen it up completely before clamping ), when you clamp it its going to adapt the shape of the back bow WITHOUT using the truss rod, so when you unclamp the neck, youll need less truss rod pressure than what you're using now(so you wont need to add any washers and if it goes well you'll even have extra turns to spare), but just fix it how you feel comfortable fixing it

dude you are awesome you are really help full
i'll look up for more info and then try this

[therex]

how much time i am supposed to clamp the neck, also some drawings or even better pics of how to will be usefull

[The modifier]

At the moment im having trouble digging up old threads on clamping but if I remeber correctly your going to need C-Clamps and a couple of pieces of scrap wood , I dont have a lot of experience with clamping but ive seen a lot of threads on it I think in the luthiers corner section of TB, but if I remember correctly clamping is most efficient when done in conjunction with heat lamps and its a slow process,just a guess but you probably have to leave it clamped for a couple of weeks for the neck to start adhering to the forced position, post a new thread on clamping as there's people on here who have a lot more experience with clamping and can explain the whole clamping process a lot better than I can.

[therex]

Originally Posted by The modifier

At the moment im having trouble digging up old threads on clamping but if I remeber correctly your going to need C-Clamps and a couple of pieces of scrap wood , I dont have a lot of experience with clamping but ive seen a lot of threads on it I think in the luthiers corner section of TB, but if I remember correctly clamping is most efficient when done in conjunction with heat lamps and its a slow process,just a guess but you probably have to leave it clamped for a couple of weeks for the neck to start adhering to the forced position, post a new thread on clamping as there's people on here who have a lot more experience with clamping and can explain the whole clamping process a lot better than I can.

thanks. i`ll post the new thread on the luthiers corner, i think i`ll got more answers there

[The modifier]

Alright dude, hope its repaired soon.

[ashtray]

Wait - if I understand this correctly, you're going the wrong way!

Which way is the neck bending? Are the strings laying on the fretboard or are they a mile off?

If the strings are laying on the fretboard (backbow), you want to LOOSEN the trussrod (turn to the LEFT).

If the strings are way off the fretboard (bowing forwards), you need to tighten the trussrod. In order to tighten it "more", you can try removing the strings so you're not working against the string tension, making it easier to turn.

That said, it sounds like you overtightened the truss rod, and you need to loosen that thing to get the strings off the fretboard. Keep the strings on, at pitch, to help assist in getting the backbow out.

[The modifier]

Originally Posted by ashtray

Wait - if I understand this correctly, you're going the wrong way!

Which way is the neck bending? Are the strings laying on the fretboard or are they a mile off?

If the strings are laying on the fretboard (backbow), you want to LOOSEN the trussrod (turn to the LEFT).

If the strings are way off the fretboard (bowing forwards), you need to tighten the trussrod. In order to tighten it "more", you can try removing the strings so you're not working against the string tension, making it easier to turn.

That said, it sounds like you overtightened the truss rod, and you need to loosen that thing to get the strings off the fretboard. Keep the strings on, at pitch, to help assist in getting the backbow out.

Originally Posted by therex

i cant keep adjusting the truss rod in my bass and THERE IS STILL TOO MUCH RELIEF, its my only bass, and i dont have money for another neck, i need to solve this.
i heard that you can put some washers inside the rod to solve this, but any more info will help me, it seems like i need to make 3/4 of turn to put the neck on a proper set up
the bass is a squier P VM and strings are ernie ball hibryds

Ps sorry for my english

If theres too much relief he needs some back bow in there, he explained it in the first post

[therex]

Originally Posted by ashtray

Wait - if I understand this correctly, you're going the wrong way!

Which way is the neck bending? Are the strings laying on the fretboard or are they a mile off?

If the strings are laying on the fretboard (backbow), you want to LOOSEN the trussrod (turn to the LEFT).

If the strings are way off the fretboard (bowing forwards), you need to tighten the trussrod. In order to tighten it "more", you can try removing the strings so you're not working against the string tension, making it easier to turn.

That said, it sounds like you overtightened the truss rod, and you need to loosen that thing to get the strings off the fretboard. Keep the strings on, at pitch, to help assist in getting the backbow out.

the strings are way away from the fretboard, and i cant adjust the rod anymore, is really deep inside the hole in the neck

[62bass]

Originally Posted by therex

the strings are way away from the fretboard, and i cant adjust the rod anymore, is really deep inside the hole in the neck

I've used the clamp method combined with a heat lamp for a few hours successfully a couple times on particularly troublesome necks. Combined with a couple washers that usually saves the neck. I had to do it on a 70s Fender Jazz that had been stored for years in a closet that kept it about 90 degress F the whole time. But often, just the washers alone will suffice. One badly bowed 76 Jazz neck I did about 7 years ago for a pro player who uses it as his main bass, has held up fine. He can still adjust for seasonal changes which we have to do up here in our weird climate. I also successfully did it on my old Fender P which ran out of adjustment room.

There are old threads on this and the luthers forums and at least one had some photos of the clamping method I believe. It's pretty easy and if I could draw pictures in this post I could easily explain it. There are also explanations in a couple guitar repair books I've read. It's certainly not some unknown or untried method and has been used by pro repair guys for a long time.

I wouldn't just jump in and do it myself without getting a full understanding of what you're going to be doing. A pro could do it easily but you can't afford one, so do your research before attempting it yourself.

[therex]

Originally Posted by 62bass

I've used the clamp method combined with a heat lamp for a few hours successfully a couple times on particularly troublesome necks. Combined with a couple washers that usually saves the neck. I had to do it on a 70s Fender Jazz that had been stored for years in a closet that kept it about 90 degress F the whole time. But often, just the washers alone will suffice. One badly bowed 76 Jazz neck I did about 7 years ago for a pro player who uses it as his main bass, has held up fine. He can still adjust for seasonal changes which we have to do up here in our weird climate. I also successfully did it on my old Fender P which ran out of adjustment room.

There are old threads on this and the luthers forums and at least one had some photos of the clamping method I believe. It's pretty easy and if I could draw pictures in this post I could easily explain it. There are also explanations in a couple guitar repair books I've read. It's certainly not some unknown or untried method and has been used by pro repair guys for a long time.

I wouldn't just jump in and do it myself without getting a full understanding of what you're going to be doing. A pro could do it easily but you can't afford one, so do your research before attempting it yourself.

i am not going to do this without a week of resaerching, i need to have this done right in the first try so any tips or anything will be useful

[62bass]

Originally Posted by therex

i am not going to do this without a week of resaerching, i need to have this done right in the first try so any tips or anything will be useful

Good. Once you've got it researched check back and post what you've decided to do just to make sure you have it right. The clamping of the neck isn't at all hard. You just have to make up some wooden jigs so the clamp will hold on the round back of the neck without sliding off. For clamps, just about any large enough hand clamp will do. They all provide plenty of clamping force. I think a 6" opening C clamp would be about right. See what you have or can borrow that will work.