Trussrod loosened but neck still straight

[Basgubben]

On my P-bass 78 (maple neck) the trussrod bolt comes out from the neck when I loosen it. The neck doesn´t respond by getting more bowed. I need to have it a little more bowed because I play pretty hard and get a "smacking" sound when finger-playing. I have tried to shim the neck but it didn´t help - the neck is too straight and need more relief.
Is the trussrod broken inside the neck?

[John Wentzien]

Try a heavier string guage?

[Basgubben]

Already have 105-85-65-45 on.

[mikezimmerman]

The truss rod's not necessarily broken--I think if it were, it wouldn't be adding tension to the neck at all. Rather, it sounds like your neck may have developed some natural backbow. I've heard that you can use heat to fix that, but you'd want to take it to a good guitar tech to confirm the problem and give ideas about fixing it.

Mike

[John Wentzien]

Originally Posted by Basgubben

Already have 105-85-65-45 on.

+1
Yep-
It shouldn't have back-bow with those.

[Basgubben]

Originally Posted by mikezimmerman

The truss rod's not necessarily broken--I think if it were, it wouldn't be adding tension to the neck at all. Rather, it sounds like your neck may have developed some natural backbow. I've heard that you can use heat to fix that, but you'd want to take it to a good guitar tech to confirm the problem and give ideas about fixing it.

Mike

Is it something special about one-piece maple necks, do the more easily get permanent bows och warp? What if I let the bass hang over a chair a couple of days, strings facing down, body outside chair, and the weight of the body will put a pressure on the neck - will that help, or can it make the problem worse?

[sjb64]

Maybe have some of the back (of the neck) shaved off and then refinished.

[John Wentzien]

Try putting an old set of strings on and tuning the bass up a whole step.
F#-B-E-A and let it set overnight on a guitar stand-truss-rod just barely loose...

[Basgubben]

Originally Posted by sjb64

Maybe have some of the back (of the neck) shaved off and then refinished.

Hrmm .... why?

[Basgubben]

Originally Posted by John Wentzien

Try putting an old set of strings on and tuning the bass up a whole step.
F#-B-E-A and let it set overnight on a guitar stand-truss-rod just barely loose...

I'll try that. Maybe that's enough pressure to make the neck bow

[John Wentzien]

Originally Posted by Basgubben

I'll try that. Maybe that's enough pressure to make the neck bow

Don't get too carried away..
Sometimes they just need a gentle "nudge" to pull out of it.
JW

[fenderhutz]

What's your humidity like at your place where the bass is kept?

Pretty low or high? If you have low humidity that neck is going to be pretty darn rigid anyway.

[Basgubben]

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

What's your humidity like at your place where the bass is kept?

Pretty low or high? If you have low humidity that neck is going to be pretty darn rigid anyway.

So a bit more humidity will make the wood more flexible?

[emils]

Why not just raise the saddles a bit since you're not geting any buzz at the moment.

[Basgubben]

Originally Posted by emils

Why not just raise the saddles a bit since you're not geting any buzz at the moment.

The saddles are at maximum already. Maybe if I shim the neck more it will make more space between strings and neck.

[Tim Skaggs]

Saddles are at max? Can you throw a frisbee under the strings without touching the body or the strings? It soulds line somebody already has a huge shim under the very end of the neck. It also sounds like you need to remove that shim and move it out to the edge of the body heel of the neck pocket. From what i've observed, if you have a P-bass with the bridge saddles as high as they will go, you need to put an end pin on it and play it like an upright. The strings would normally be 1/2 inch high at the 12 fret! If you want to create some foward bow with strings, put some heavy gauge flatwounds on the bass. If it can bow, it will!

[Basgubben]

Originally Posted by Tim Skaggs

Saddles are at max? Can you throw a frisbee under the strings without touching the body or the strings? It soulds line somebody already has a huge shim under the very end of the neck. It also sounds like you need to remove that shim and move it out to the edge of the body heel of the neck pocket. From what i've observed, if you have a P-bass with the bridge saddles as high as they will go, you need to put an end pin on it and play it like an upright. The strings would normally be 1/2 inch high at the 12 fret! If you want to create some foward bow with strings, put some heavy gauge flatwounds on the bass. If it can bow, it will!

Are you drunk?