It has been discussed a bit in the "basses" forum, and a few of my posts have prompted some PMs about how to replace the stock truss rod nut with a spoke wheel nut (like on the music man basses) so that you can adjust the truss rod without removing the neck. So here is how I completed the mod step-by-step:
The spoke wheel mod is fairly simple if you are comfortable routing the bass pickguard and body. Step by step, you need to: 1) buy the spoke wheel (here is a link to the one that I bought: Invalid Link Removed it's only $5.16). 2) remove the neck from the body by backing out the four neck bolts (no damage to the bass if you are careful). 3) Unscrew the stock truss rod nut by loosening it until it comes off. 4) Thread the new truss nut onto the stock screw (they are the same size) you may want to add 1-2 small washers between the bolt and the truss rod nut as the spoke wheel nut is a hair shorter than the stock nut. 5) With the spoke wheel on the neck I held the neck back in the body pocket and traced around the wheel with a permanent marker. 6) I then routed out a small notch where the neck meets the body to accomodate the wheel using my marker lines as a template (this adds just enough room so that the wheel will rotate freely). 7) Then I used the sharpie marker to fill in the new body route (so that it doesn't "show" as much--you could use paint for a better look. 8) I then took a piece of paper and made a "rubbing of the new neck pocket and route that I used as a template to cut a notch in the pickguard (this time I worked inside the lines so that the hole was smaller than the body route)--I used a dremmel tool fairly easily for this step. Now it is just a matter of screwing the neck and the pickguard back on the body and adjusting the bass back to playing shape. If you are not comfortable doing this all yourself, buy the nut and take it into a repair shop for professional routing.
This is an easy mod to make that will allow you to adjust the truss as needed without having to take the neck on and off. And other than the body and pickguard route, you can return the bass to "stock" with the original nut and pickguard (I bought a new black pickguard that I routed just in case I ever wanted to go back to "stock"). I hope that that helps.
The spoke wheel mod is fairly simple if you are comfortable routing the bass pickguard and body. Step by step, you need to: 1) buy the spoke wheel (here is a link to the one that I bought: Invalid Link Removed it's only $5.16). 2) remove the neck from the body by backing out the four neck bolts (no damage to the bass if you are careful). 3) Unscrew the stock truss rod nut by loosening it until it comes off. 4) Thread the new truss nut onto the stock screw (they are the same size) you may want to add 1-2 small washers between the bolt and the truss rod nut as the spoke wheel nut is a hair shorter than the stock nut. 5) With the spoke wheel on the neck I held the neck back in the body pocket and traced around the wheel with a permanent marker. 6) I then routed out a small notch where the neck meets the body to accomodate the wheel using my marker lines as a template (this adds just enough room so that the wheel will rotate freely). 7) Then I used the sharpie marker to fill in the new body route (so that it doesn't "show" as much--you could use paint for a better look. 8) I then took a piece of paper and made a "rubbing of the new neck pocket and route that I used as a template to cut a notch in the pickguard (this time I worked inside the lines so that the hole was smaller than the body route)--I used a dremmel tool fairly easily for this step. Now it is just a matter of screwing the neck and the pickguard back on the body and adjusting the bass back to playing shape. If you are not comfortable doing this all yourself, buy the nut and take it into a repair shop for professional routing.
This is an easy mod to make that will allow you to adjust the truss as needed without having to take the neck on and off. And other than the body and pickguard route, you can return the bass to "stock" with the original nut and pickguard (I bought a new black pickguard that I routed just in case I ever wanted to go back to "stock"). I hope that that helps.
