DB neck is a little warped

klem.gote · #1 06-12-2009, 06:08 AM

Hello,

At a recent trip to the luthier he noticed that the neck on my DB is bent forward a little bit. Not bad, I never even noticed it, but of course he did. He says he can fix it, though it's a big job and I'd be without the bass for a week. My questions:

how serious is this and is it something I should take care of sooner rather than later to prevent more damage?

will I notice a big difference in the way the bass plays, feels and sounds?

I'd appreciate any thoughts on how to deal with this, thanks!!

Tony F · #2 06-12-2009, 07:14 AM

I've just had this done! My luthier spotted the same thing on my bass. I needed to have my fingerboard removed anyway (it was starting to lift away from the neck) so he took the opportunity to shave the front of the neck down slightly, as my projected bridge height was way too high.

While he was doing this he planed the fingerboard to take some of the excessive scoop out of it, and lowered the string height at the nut.

The good news is that the work he's done has made the bass much much easier to play, so much less effort required of the left hand. It's totally changed the instrument.

The not-so-good news is that when we strung the bass up the warp in the neck came back, which we put down to it being a cheap bass with not the best wood used. It's very minor, in fact I can't see it, but he tells me it's there.

We're of the opinion that the strings I'm using are way too high tension for the bass, and if we used a lower tension string like the Spirocore Weichs that I'm planning to buy, then the problem will be solved and the bass will be even better to play.

Cheers,

Tony

klem.gote · #3 06-12-2009, 06:02 PM

Well thanks for that. I've had this bass for almost 40 years and it wasn't new when I got it, but it's a decent bass. My guy thinks he can fix it so it will be fine. I'd never have noticed it myself, he put a rule along the line between the fingerboard and the neck to really point it out. Just a little bend at the top of the neck, but now I can see how it affects the string height a little bit down the neck. The strings aren't really all that high now, maybe 7mm for the G string and comparable across to the E. Just kind of wondering how the work would affect the bass over all.

basswraith · #4 06-12-2009, 06:44 PM

"The not-so-good news is that when we strung the bass up the warp in the neck came back, which we put down to it being a cheap bass with not the best wood used. It's very minor, in fact I can't see it, but he tells me it's there." Tony F.

The way to avoid the warping coming back is to install a Carbon Graphite rectangular rod into the maple of the neck. It gets glued in and then the FB is glued back on the the neck. When the strings are up to pitch the re enforcement prevents any bending of the neck. This usually increases sustain on some basses. The feeling is solid in the left hand.

klem.gote · #5 06-12-2009, 06:59 PM

[QUOTE/]
The way to avoid the warping coming back is to install a Carbon Graphite rectangular rod into the maple of the neck. It gets glued in and then the FB is glued back on the the neck. When the strings are up to pitch the re enforcement prevents any bending of the neck. This usually increases sustain on some basses. The feeling is solid in the left hand.[/quote]

I think that's what my luthier has in mind, a rod in the neck. He also mentioned possible more sustain and a more solid feeling. I guess those are both good things!! The last trip to see him helped open the bass up, but it was a wait for the work trip, this would be about a week. And it's a little scary, having the bass taken apart like that. But I do trust the guy, and it sounds like it would be worth it. Thanks!

Andrew McGregor · #6 06-13-2009, 08:26 PM

Yup, definitely worth it. I had that done to mine not so long ago... he actually bent it back to straight, then inlaid the graphite rod to keep it there. Once it's done it then lets the luthier improve the precision of the fingerboard shape, which means the string height can feel more consistent (the shape is quite complicated to get that to happen, so it's not actually that it IS more consistent, quite...).