What should I do to my J Bass's neck?

Chen Chen · #1 07-23-2008, 08:26 AM

I bought my American standard J Bass in few months ago from sweet water and I found the action of string was pretty high and the neck was too concave when I checked it for the first time, therefore, I started trying to adjust the truss rod to make the neck get straight, but I felt the truss rod nut was amazingly difficult to tighten even thought I did loosen all strings before adjusting the neck. After trying my best, the neck finally went straight and I felt very happy and comfortable for the new action of string, but at the same what I worried about is I felt the truss rod had almost reached its limitation of tension, I don't think I could be able to tighten it anymore. Recently I found the neck is getting a little bit concave again and the action is also getting higher and higher but I really dare not to adjust the truss rod anymore, I am so afraid of it will damage somehow if I force myself to tighten truss rod nut. What should I do now? Is my instrument still fine ?

P_bass · #2 07-23-2008, 08:29 AM

I would call Sweetwater and tell them the issue. They are very good to deal with.

Plus I would let an authorized Fender repair site do the initial work to make sure there is no major issue if I were planning to keep it.

stflbn · #3 07-23-2008, 08:33 AM

Warranty. Take advantage of it and get a different bass with a good neck on it.

therex · #4 07-23-2008, 05:36 PM

take it to a pro or use your warranty
trust me as soon as you feel there is something being pushed stop i am telling this by own experience

Chen Chen · #5 07-23-2008, 09:51 PM

Thanks for replying, guys, I just wrote an e-mail to sweetwater to report the problem of my J-Bass, I agree with that I should stop adjusting the bass by myself and use the warranty. I didn't choose to send my instrument back to sweetwater immediately is because I am living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and I don't hope there will be a damage which is caused by oversea shipping....

anyway I will take the suggestions from you guys, thanks!

Relic · #6 07-24-2008, 08:49 AM

Is the truss nut in the headstock or heel?

The steps outlined below often work, but you need to use a little imagination and creativity if you do not have the proper tools:
remove the strings & neck, and completely loosen the truss nut. Carefully clamp the neck into a straight position, or even a SLIGHTLY convex position (not sure what to tell you here, you would have to get creative in doing so), leave it that way for a day or two, then slowly retighten the nut until it's snug (NOT tight), then give it another quarter turn. reattach to bass body, re-string and see how that goes.

If it adjusts at the heel, even better yet. Completely remove the nut and place a small washer over the truss rod end, and replace the nut over the washer and again tighten until it's snug. That will usually work when all else fails.

now, my disclaimer - I've done all of this before with success. But back in the early days before I knew what to do and what not to do, I most definitely made mistakes and ruined things. If you choose to attempt any neck repair, do so carefully and at your own risk. Plus also bear in mind that any damage or obvious signs of tampering may void the warranty. It's virtually always better to have it repaired by a pro rather than doing it yourself, but if all else fails, the above steps may help.

Or...you could always fly me out to Kuala Lampur for a vacation to fix it in person.

j/k good luck!

Chen Chen · #7 08-04-2008, 01:06 AM

To Relic: Thanks for telling all those tips about adjusting my bass's neck, they are pretty useful for me, right now I am going to send my bass to Malaysia local fender dealer to check whether there is a serious problem on it before sending it back to sweetwater and use warranty. Btw, you are always welcome to Kuala Lumpur to teach me more tips of caring instrument...haha!