A twist in the neck? (Hwy One)

mello_bedwetter · #1 01-07-2012, 12:39 PM

I got a new Fender Highway One Jazz bass a couple days ago...a real nice looking bass. I put some new strings on it(flats)tuned it up and have been playing it the last 2 days.
Today I took it by a shop to get it set up and the guy said the neck has a slight twist in it and to keep an eye on it. It may stay the same or could worsen. I'm wondering if any of my other basses may have a "twist". I would have never known the Hwy One's has a little twist. The thing plays good and feels right.
I wonder how many basses are sold that have a similar problem and goes without notice?

fhm555 · #2 01-08-2012, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mello_bedwetter

I got a new Fender Highway One Jazz bass a couple days ago...a real nice looking bass. I put some new strings on it(flats)tuned it up and have been playing it the last 2 days.
Today I took it by a shop to get it set up and the guy said the neck has a slight twist in it and to keep an eye on it. It may stay the same or could worsen. I'm wondering if any of my other basses may have a "twist". I would have never known the Hwy One's has a little twist. The thing plays good and feels right.
I wonder how many basses are sold that have a similar problem and goes without notice?

Or perhaps he's trying to impress you with BS disguised as troubleshooting skill or angling for an inflated setup fee based on fear of a non existent problem he can solve for you? Or perhaps he can actually see a twist...like some people can hear beyond normal human range.

Did he show you the twist, or tell you how to determine if it was getting worse? Did you ask him to show you the twist or how to tell if it was getting worse?

fourstringdrums · #3 01-08-2012, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fhm555

Or perhaps he's trying to impress you with BS disguised as troubleshooting skill or angling for an inflated setup fee based on fear of a non existent problem he can solve for you? Or perhaps he can actually see a twist...like some people can hear beyond normal human range.

Did he show you the twist, or tell you how to determine if it was getting worse? Did you ask him to show you the twist or how to tell if it was getting worse?

+1 If it plays great to you I wouldn't worry about it so much.

But that being said, did you buy the bass from this store? If you did and it does have a twist, I'd be exchanging it for another.

mello_bedwetter · #4 01-08-2012, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fourstringdrums

+1 If it plays great to you I wouldn't worry about it so much.

But that being said, did you buy the bass from this store? If you did and it does have a twist, I'd be exchanging it for another.

To me the bass sounds and feels fine. The guy pointed towards the headstock of the bass, about the first four frets or so on the lower edge(G). He didn't show me what he did to distinguish the twist...I just figure he knows more than me about it. He's been at this shop for 11 years and he doesn't do any "sales", strictly repairs and set ups.
I don't think he was trying to impress me in my opinion. He wasn't going to gain anything on it. He just said keep an eye on it and if it gets worse to contact the dealer. I should have had him show me how he "measured" to find the twist.
I'm taking the bass to a guy here in town tomorrow after work and let him go over it for me. I'll tell him what I was told by the guy that did the set up and see what he comes up with.
In the mean time I have emailed the store that I bought it from to let them know what's going on. I hate to send the thing back, I'm around the St. Louis area and ordered it out of Fort Worth, Texas. I'm sure it will take quite a while to get everything swapped. On the other hand since it is new and if it is twisted it needs to be taken care of.

darkstorm · #5 01-08-2012, 12:54 PM

Sight down the neck from body end and look for any indication of twist. If you see even the slightest hint take it back to store you bought it at for replacement or refund. Since you only bought it a few days, ago no reason for them not to give replacement or refund for defective neck. Twisted neck on new bass, even if slight is a mfg defect.

mello_bedwetter · #6 01-09-2012, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fhm555

Or perhaps he's trying to impress you with BS disguised as troubleshooting skill or angling for an inflated setup fee based on fear of a non existent problem he can solve for you? Or perhaps he can actually see a twist...like some people can hear beyond normal human range.

Did he show you the twist, or tell you how to determine if it was getting worse? Did you ask him to show you the twist or how to tell if it was getting worse?

The guy I usually go to here in town wasn't in Saturday so I went to a different place. Today after work I went to the local shop and talked to the guy that works on my basses. He eye-balled it and did some measuring with a straight edge over and over again and never could find a twist...not even a little twist. Another guy that works on guitars checked it out and couldn't find anything. After they looked at it the owner came in and looked at it...nothing. After watching them I'm pretty confident the bass is fine. They said there's nothing wrong with it...in fact the neck is straight as can be. One guy that plays bass said it played and felt better than any bass he has played. So it looks like this Highway One is staying with me.

bass_lord_mutha · #7 01-09-2012, 10:00 PM

I've done some guitar teching before I was a woodwind repairman (still do from time to time) and from my experience some times the nut creates an optical illusion to make it appear that there is a twist, which may be what the guy saw and if the nut threw his sight off he's definitely either a novice tech or just an overall poor tech. An even if there was a twist in the neck, it doesn't necessarily mean that it would definitely not play right. My 6 string Cirrus has a slight twist in the neck if you look at the headstock in relation to the body and also the first fret in relation to the body (sighting from the butt end of the bass), but the bass side of the board is straight and the treble side is straight also and it sets up with super low action every time.

walterw · #8 01-09-2012, 10:03 PM

check it yourself, by using the strings as a straightedge:

hold down the first string at the first fret and last fret, and look at the gap between the string and the top of the 8th fret.

then hold down the last string the same way, and compare the gap.

if they're about the same size, you're good. if the gap under the bass side is a little bigger than under the treble side, you're likely also good (an accidental circumstance that can actually be in your favor).

if the gap under the G is a lot bigger than the gap under the E, you might have an issue.

Turnaround · #9 01-09-2012, 10:49 PM

Twist in a neck isn't necessarily bad. Some builders design them that way - on purpose!

Bongolation · #10 01-09-2012, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walterw

check it yourself, by using the strings as a straightedge:

hold down the first string at the first fret and last fret, and look at the gap between the string and the top of the 8th fret.

then hold down the last string the same way, and compare the gap.

if they're about the same size, you're good. if the gap under the bass side is a little bigger than under the treble side, you're likely also good (an accidental circumstance that can actually be in your favor).

if the gap under the G is a lot bigger than the gap under the E, you might have an issue.

Two points on this:

1: In some string instruments, notably fine classical guitars, symmetric relief is not correct.

2: If you do want symmetric relief on a bass (and this is usually what the manufacturer intends) and find it's off, I have repeatedly found that this is due to someone at the factory running down the trussrod from slack to tight in one go (presumably with a power driver) and getting it crossed-up in the neck. The effect is to have more relief on one side than on the other, because the rod is slightly twisted and bearing unevenly on the back of the fretboard.

Loosening the trussrod until it's slack with the strings loosened and very carefully taking the slack out and tapping the neck to seat the trussrod properly will alleviate this problem.

I have repaired many "twisted" necks on new instruments this way.

Metalbasshippy · #11 01-09-2012, 11:29 PM

And thats why its always good to get a second opinion

mello_bedwetter · #12 01-10-2012, 04:23 AM

Bass_Lord said..."from my experience some times the nut creates an optical illusion to make it appear that there is a twist, which may be what the guy saw"....
That's what the guys here at the local shop said because they couldn't find anything wrong. Tim, the guy that does most of the repairs and set ups asked me where it's suppose to be twisted. He didn't want to "down-grade" the guy but he said there is nothing wrong with the neck. The other 2 guys checked it out and just smiled and said keep the bass, nothing is wrong. They did say the action on it is really nice.

walterw · #13 01-10-2012, 12:22 PM

Point taken on the classical guitar thing (plausible, since nylon trebles and basses are so different from each other in tension and behavior).

Interesting idea about the "shifted truss rod" cause for twist. I'll have to look at that next time I run into this issue.

Either way, my suggestion on a method for checking is still useful, I think, and with the normal range of steel-string instruments, you do want symmetrical or slightly bass-emphasized relief.