necks and truss rods and SR premium
 

Hi fellow bass players,

My Yamaha RBX JM2 (second hand) has a rattling truss rod, audible when i play unplugged and put my ear close to the neck, while playing in the lower registers on the B string.

So i need a new six stringer. One of the main criteria for me is a good B string, and also its very important that the bass sounds good unplugged, as i spend a lot of time playing on the bed late at night. I like to feel the vibrations of the strings i pluck, im very obssessive about that. To me a good bass is one that feels right when played, with strong sustaining vibrations and a strong fundamental note. This is even more important to me than the 'plugged in' sound.

Anyway, i had major GAS for an SR 1206 premium, seemed perfect until i tried it... to my surprise it also had the rattling truss rod issue. Its not major but its audible when listening close to the lower register, playing on the B string. Besides that the SR1206 produced all sorts of harmonic overtones when played dry, not very impressive. The bass wasnt set up properly but still, i was very surprised by the lack of sound from this awesome looking bass.

So i went on trying basses randomly and was shocked to find that MOST basses produce a rattle when played on stronger vibrating lower strings (especially low B). Among the few basses that did not produce a rattle were a Fender jazz 4, a Squier jazz 4, a cheapo Cort 5 and some signature SR ibanez 5.

Im sure its not fret buzz, i know fret buzz. This is a rattle coming from the neck. Have any of you noticed this about basses or am i missing something here? How hard is it to make a 'solid' neck... i just dont get how such rattles are considered okay. Doesnt this rob the bass of tone? or is tone produced solely by the preamp nowadays?

How much money will i have to spend on a bass which has no rattling in the neck, with nice fundamentals when played dry?

Sorry for my rant, im just dissapointed i cannot buy a good quality bass where i live (EU). Ill try to find a warwick dealer next.

Thanks