Tuss rod readjusting- general cost?

darshman · #1 07-20-2007, 05:56 PM

I'm no repair man by any means, and the fret buzz is getting to me so much that practicing songs unplugged isn't going so well. I know price varies on the store and where you live, but how much did it cost you for the tuss rod to be adjusted? Someone mentioned that Guitar Center charges $25, but they did a lousy job. I know that not every Guitar Center is going to have bad service, but it's all I have to go off of right now.

Zooberwerx · #2 07-20-2007, 07:42 PM

Do it yourself. Its a simple procedure provided the truss rod is in good working order. Keep in mind that any changes in relief may knock your intonation out of whack so be prepared to make adjustments.

Check out the sticky at the beginning of the forum for more info and tutorials.

Riis

Rattman · #3 07-21-2007, 12:46 AM

Two things...

1. Please completely fill out your member profile

2. This issue has been discussed many, many times already: Use "search" for those threads

Foamy · #4 07-21-2007, 01:06 AM

DIY
Free and personally setup to your taste

darshman · #5 07-21-2007, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rattman

2. This issue has been discussed many, many times already: Use "search" for those threads

I sure did before posting, but I kept getting "This page could not load properly" messages from FireFox. Thanks for the other replies though. I'll see what I can do. It should be in working order since it's all pretty much new.

Zooberwerx · #6 07-21-2007, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darshman

I sure did before posting, but I kept getting "This page could not load properly" messages from FireFox. Thanks for the other replies though. I'll see what I can do. It should be in working order since it's all pretty much new.

We understand. IMO, $25 is way too much. No sense throwing $$ at GC for a chore you can easily perform at home.

One more thing: do spend the $$ for a TB Supporting Membership so you can utilize all the resources TB has to offer.

Riis

ErnieD · #7 07-21-2007, 07:47 AM

in my case I may have to spring the $$ for the setup. I have a KSD j70 fretless 5. I took off the Chromes to put them on my 55-01, it sounds great with the flats. So, I had just received some new SS's from Lakland, I decided to put them on the fretless to see how they'd work. But before I put the SS's on the KSD it sat for 2-3 days without strings cause I just did not take the time to put em on right away. So once I put em on, I tuned it up, set the intonation and parked the bass for a few days. Once I picked it up again the strings are virtually stuck to the fingerboard on all 5 strings along almost half of the lower part of the neck, since its lined, I'll say the 1st thru about 7th fret area. I turned the trussrod, loosened it, about a 1/4 turn for 3-4 days, tuned it each time and let it set. The strings are still sitting flat against the fingerboard. Have I been turning the rod the wrong way? The rod feels quite loose now so I just stopped messing with it and may just have to take it to a shop soon. But could the new SS strings tension be so different from the Chromes to have caused this? I imagine having it with no strings for a couple days coulda caused this as well, but I figured the neck woulda responded by now. So is it reparable by me before I go spend the $35 bucks myself?

202dy · #8 07-21-2007, 10:48 AM

Anyone can learn to perform a setup correctly if they have the desire. To get started, read the sticky at the top of the page. Then measure the relief and the string height at the twelfth fret, bass and treble sides. Then you can make some decisions about the adjustments that will be required to make your instrument play well. If you are having problems after that, post the measurements on this forum and someone will help guide you through the work.

If after reading the sticky you elect to have the work performed elsewhere, you will at least be conversant in the terms and the work to be done.

Scott in Dallas · #9 07-21-2007, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ErnieD

in my case I may have to spring the $$ for the setup. I have a KSD j70 fretless 5. I took off the Chromes to put them on my 55-01, it sounds great with the flats. So, I had just received some new SS's from Lakland, I decided to put them on the fretless to see how they'd work. But before I put the SS's on the KSD it sat for 2-3 days without strings cause I just did not take the time to put em on right away. So once I put em on, I tuned it up, set the intonation and parked the bass for a few days. Once I picked it up again the strings are virtually stuck to the fingerboard on all 5 strings along almost half of the lower part of the neck, since its lined, I'll say the 1st thru about 7th fret area. I turned the trussrod, loosened it, about a 1/4 turn for 3-4 days, tuned it each time and let it set. The strings are still sitting flat against the fingerboard. Have I been turning the rod the wrong way? The rod feels quite loose now so I just stopped messing with it and may just have to take it to a shop soon. But could the new SS strings tension be so different from the Chromes to have caused this? I imagine having it with no strings for a couple days coulda caused this as well, but I figured the neck woulda responded by now. So is it reparable by me before I go spend the $35 bucks myself?

You can typically take the truss rod nut completely off, and you might as well back it off before taking it to someone who's going to to exactly that and charge you for it. You can loosen it until you get the neck roughly where you want it and THEN give it a day to stabilize (it doesn't take a day to move), then you can make small tweaks to adjust it perfectly. The only advantage to taking it to someone is that if they screw it up, they're on the hook for it. If you screw it up, you only have me to blame.

ErnieD · #10 10-09-2007, 05:22 AM

About 2 weeks ago finally took the KSD to local store, Tx Music Emporium, they set up this same bass for me a couple yrs ago, it came out really nice this time too. Though they said I almost totally stripped the nut on the trussrod, oops.

I got it setup mostly to sell it off since I dont play it anymore. Then I found a singer/songwriter on CL that wanted a bassist to sit in on a Sunday afternoon gig at a popular icehouse in Houston. I listened to some of his tunes on his myspace and thought, wow, I could really apply a fretless to his tunes. So I used the KSD at the first gig this past Sunday, rained like hell but we were in a covered area. The bass felt and sounded very nice to me and the bandmates said I sounded so much better than the previous bassist. I was kinda making up basslines to his tunes as we played the gig so I had a great time and they dug it. Looks like a steady outdoor gig on Sundays, if the weather ever turns nice should be a blast. Turns out the singer's family owns a very popular BBQ place in Houston, hope I can hit em up for a player discount,hah. OH, looks like the KSD will stay around for awhile longer. I hope the humidity doesn't effect the maple/ebonol neck too badly, I imagine another setup will require alot more $$ now that the trussrod nut is damaged, rats.

202dy · #11 10-09-2007, 05:41 AM

Replace the truss rod nut. It is an inexpensive part. The tech at the music store should have done that as a matter of course and charged you for it when the setup was performed.

62bass · #12 10-09-2007, 09:09 AM

You can easily replace the truss rod nut as long as it's only the truss rod nut that's damaged and not the threads on the truss rod.

gre107 · #13 10-09-2007, 09:13 AM

Everyone should know how to do this. It's simple, there are thousands of tutorials on this and you get the bass to play the way you want to.

Checkout Gary Willis' site for a great tutorial on action and relief.

Peace

ErnieD · #14 10-10-2007, 03:07 AM

the stickys here on TB for setups. Ive applied that to a couple my other basses and its worked. The KSD really had the strings stuck to the fingerboard and I apparently forced the wrong tool into the nut slot. When I felt it slip a couple times I just stopped and decided to take it in to prevent any more damage. One has to know his limitations. And I have to pickup some strings I ordered there, I'll ask the tech if he did replace the stripped nut, tho Im guessing not since I did not see a charge for it. I think it was still workable with the right tools they use but I'll def ask when I go back.