Weird problem, notes choking above 17th fret.

[periodical]

I just got done traveling a bit, and somewhere along the way my bass got out of whack. All notes above the 17th fret are choking and won't sound at all, I just get the percussive sound of the string hitting the fret. I've tried to loosen the truss rod a little, but it seems odd that the notes that are affected are so close to the body. Should I keep loosening the truss rod or is something else going on? There's no buzz or choking anywhere else on the neck.

[bassmanrocke]

Loosening the truss rod will allow the neck to flex more under string tension. It is more likely that tightening the truss rod(no more than a quarter turn at a time) would reduce the fretting out. However, any adjustment of the truss rod can result in changes to intonation. It might be a good time to take it to a local tech and have a pro setup done.

It is not unusual for the neck to fret out near the body. If there is too much bow in the neck as you pass the midpoint of the neck you are effectively moving into the valley of the curve, as you move farther up the neck you are coming up the backside of the valley and the strings are being brought closer to the fretboard. Eventually they can not clear the "walls" of the valley and hit a fret or the board at a point higher then they are being fretted at.

[Joshua]

You should measure the relief, and only adjust the truss rod if needed.

[TomB]

Fret the E-string at the 1st & last frets. At the midpoint of the resulting bow, you s/b able to just fit 2 business cards between E-string & frets. Adjust the truss rod as needed to achieve this bow, loosening to increase the bow & tightening to decrease it.

If the problem persists, try raising your bridge saddles. ...and yes, measure w/a straight rule. Fret your E-string on the 1st fret & measure the distance from the top of the 12th fret to the underside of the string. Adjust to a minimum of 3/32'', or higher to taste.

If the problem persists then you will need fret work.