Warwick truss rod doesn't seem to work?

[Ruoska]

I have a 1994 Fortress Mastermann 4. I need it in drop-B for the time being so I put an Elixir .065 to .125 set on it.

I knew this would mess the neck, but adjusting the trussrod doesn't seem to work. Over the past four days I've gone almost two turns in small increments and let it set with the strings very loose. It was fine with my previous set of strings (.045 to .105) in drop-C and C#.

What happens now is the neck goes flat which is nice but when I tighten the strings it curves in a bit and I get buzz around the 8th fret area and bit too much action at the high frets.

What's up with my neck and truss rod? I think I need just a bit of convex neck bow so the strings pull it straight but it doesn't seem to go convex. Or am I being too gentle?

[Lo-E]

Two turns is an awful lot! Most neck adjustments can be accomplished with a quarter turn or so.

I believe that Warwick used trussrods that turned in the other direction from time to time. I recommend you contact Warwick and ask them what they suggest for proper truss rod adjustment.

[slaphappychappy]

Yup, agreed, or Google for some tips on ya bass.

[Ruoska]

I've googled around and also read two versions of the Warwick user manual that comes with their basses. I'm also familiar with setting up instruments so I'm not just randomly touching stuff.

Good idea on contacting Warwick, they have their own dedicated forum for W instruments and I've heard the customer service is very helpful in general.

I'm not in a rush, I have no active bands so it's not like I desperately NEED a bass but I had planned on doing some recording next week. Hopefully I can get this sorted out during the weekend. I'm absolutely in love with this bass, had it for three years now. I've been playing for about 10 years and I've always been very quick to sell what I had to try out something new. A few years ago I had this and a Peavey USA custom that was worth twice the money, ended up selling the Peavey. While it was a superb instrument in scratchless condition and my W has a few battle scars here and there the 'wick just has this inexplicable feel to it

[Rokoko]

you should be aware that some of the older warwick have reversed single acting truss rods. (Eg left turns straighten the neck). Yours might be one of those. Perhaps the warwick forums have more answers

[Lo-E]

I recently set up a friend's '95 Warwick and found that trussrod to be just barely enough for the job. I ran out of turns just as the neck got to where I wanted it to be. It's fine for now, but i told him if he needs to make any further adjustments he should consult Warwick before he strips that thing out.

Since his is about the same age as yours, perhaps there was a period where this was common?

[john grey]

+1

While I totally agree that 2 turns is an awful lot I think there MIGHT be another issue.
Several rod types are NOT threaded all the way up. They stop their threading (please see web sites that sell replacement rods, etc) at about 2" and it MIGHT be possible that you've reached that "stop". See if you can back it down and it's in the thread.
Again: I'm guessing obviously, but you may have a very flexible neck. If that's the case Warwick may have a solution to the issue using some stiffening arrangement.

[Ruoska]

Originally Posted by Lo-E

I recently set up a friend's '95 Warwick and found that trussrod to be just barely enough for the job. I ran out of turns just as the neck got to where I wanted it to be. It's fine for now, but i told him if he needs to make any further adjustments he should consult Warwick before he strips that thing out.

Since his is about the same age as yours, perhaps there was a period where this was common?

Yeah, this turned out to be the case actually! I got the thing fixed, I'll post something about here incase someone else is in the same ditch.

Turns out mine was the regular old 2-way W truss rod. I was instructed on the Warwick forum to take it out and see if it still works. They have video showing you how to do it, it's a very simple process. It turned out to be just fine. The truss rod cavity is full of that lubricating gunk so keep some kleenex handy while you do this

When the old 2-way truss rod is completely flat, it can turn a full turn either way before it feels snug at all. It's very light at that point.

I put the the truss rod back and started turning. Now my new strings are BF#BE (.125 to .65, originally meant for BEAD) so they have loads more tension when in tune compared to my old medium set in DADG. I gave the truss rod about 4 full turns before it actually gave enough resistance to the string tension. It has just the slightest bow at the low fret end to eliminate buzz but other than that it's very flat.

Incidentally, that's about where the truss rod started to feel dangerous. It's just starting to show some extra resistance and I fear that with an extra turn it would burst right thru the fingerboard. Luckily it's just right now anyway

So, it turned out ok in the end. Seeing the actual truss rod really helped me understand how it does what it does. It was nothing like I imagined it would be :P

edit: I say 4 full turns up there. Before anyone goes "FOUR TURNS!!" you need to realize every truss rod has a few turns in them, it'll curve like a banana when the strings are in tune if there isn't some tension in the truss rod. From my previous tuning I think I needed about two to three turns more. I have excellent action now