Hi all, first post here after lurking for about a month. Haven't participated in an online community for a good year now. Hopefully I won't deter you all 
Anyway, my problem comes after much tinkering with why Gretsch Baritone. I got it about three months ago, mainly because I'm a guitarist turned bassist who wanted a baritone guitar to muck around with, so I got the cheapest and most available one I could find - The Gretsch G5265, made in China. It was also one of the first bolt-on necks I've had in a while.
Out of all my guitars and basses, this one is the only one I've tinkered with so much just to try and get the setup right for me. But I can't seem to get it to feel right and I'm not sure if it's because it's a botched instrument.
I've only just been getting into this side of basses so I'm not sure if this neck bow is excessive. Apologies in advance for lazy camerawork (if you want better pictures, I can take more in daylight).
On my Ltd neck-thru, the action starts high at the nut and remains high all the way through (the way I like it). And only my Sterling, the action starts low and stays moderately low all the way down. Same with my guitars.
This is the only instrument I've got that starts with a low action and then jumps so damn high. I read before I bought the Gretsch that it had a high action, but because the neck bows like that, it's really offsetting and some of the lower notes aren't on key (noticeable enough for a tone-deaf moron like me to notice). The rod is tightened fairly tight, where I have to apply a fair amount of strength to get it to tighten a quarter turn. Which leads me to my next question, Gretsch recommends adjusting the truss rod with the strings in standard tune, but are you supposed to do it without the strings/loosened?
Some other things I've been curious about are the fact that the neck heel (or tongue, which was it?) doesn't sit flat on the body; it kind of goes up a little bit. Also, the neck seems to have been made from two pieces of wood - peculiarly, that's where the neck starts to bow upwards. I have a strange feeling that that's a terrible sign of workmanship. Final question, is my bridge supposed to be leaning forwards like that?
If all this is botched, then we might have a decent review for this guitar, coz I noticed some others were questioning this guitar elsewhere in the forums. Cheers in advance.
Anyway, my problem comes after much tinkering with why Gretsch Baritone. I got it about three months ago, mainly because I'm a guitarist turned bassist who wanted a baritone guitar to muck around with, so I got the cheapest and most available one I could find - The Gretsch G5265, made in China. It was also one of the first bolt-on necks I've had in a while.
Out of all my guitars and basses, this one is the only one I've tinkered with so much just to try and get the setup right for me. But I can't seem to get it to feel right and I'm not sure if it's because it's a botched instrument.
I've only just been getting into this side of basses so I'm not sure if this neck bow is excessive. Apologies in advance for lazy camerawork (if you want better pictures, I can take more in daylight).
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On my Ltd neck-thru, the action starts high at the nut and remains high all the way through (the way I like it). And only my Sterling, the action starts low and stays moderately low all the way down. Same with my guitars.
This is the only instrument I've got that starts with a low action and then jumps so damn high. I read before I bought the Gretsch that it had a high action, but because the neck bows like that, it's really offsetting and some of the lower notes aren't on key (noticeable enough for a tone-deaf moron like me to notice). The rod is tightened fairly tight, where I have to apply a fair amount of strength to get it to tighten a quarter turn. Which leads me to my next question, Gretsch recommends adjusting the truss rod with the strings in standard tune, but are you supposed to do it without the strings/loosened?
Some other things I've been curious about are the fact that the neck heel (or tongue, which was it?) doesn't sit flat on the body; it kind of goes up a little bit. Also, the neck seems to have been made from two pieces of wood - peculiarly, that's where the neck starts to bow upwards. I have a strange feeling that that's a terrible sign of workmanship. Final question, is my bridge supposed to be leaning forwards like that?
If all this is botched, then we might have a decent review for this guitar, coz I noticed some others were questioning this guitar elsewhere in the forums. Cheers in advance.
