Chef
In Memoriam
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
- Status
Yeah this is exactly what happened to my neck:
I'm not sure if Jimmy is going to give up doing the bullet truss design on EVERY future LM but I know this isn't the first one he's had to repair like this and if he's more comfortable building with the heel-access truss he should just do it. I certainly don't care about "period correctness", I just want my Alleva to be indestructible. He already abandoned the awful 3 bolt neck joint thing so who cares?
3 friggin bolts...now that was a bright idea
Chef
In Memoriam
fwiw; I've owned many Fender, G&L and MM products with three bolt necks that were a complete non-issue.
i dont really mind the 3 bolt+neck tilt. i have a 74 jazz and a 1980(78serial) jazz, both with bad ass bridges, thus, both needing significant neck angle changes. the 74 has some thin strips of pickguard material in there and the 80 was just a matter of using the neck tilt feature. neither neck shifts. no complaints here.
- Jan 7, 2008
- 2,196
- 224
- 39
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Olinto, La Bella, JuleAmps, Epifani
obviously the 3 bolt design could be done since it was....but the whole tilting thing was just weird to me. Never saw the reason for leaving the 4 bolt design which we know is super solid. And no, that's a pic of some Fender guitar but it's EXACTLY how my LM5 neck cracked.
The idea was to make it easier to do something that would be essentially the same as shimming the neck for lower action. You didn't have to remove the neck and cut a card, and you only had to loosen three bolts instead of completely removing 4. It actually did work pretty well, and shimming is not really "weird" at all. Lots of valid cases for it.
FWIW.
- Jan 7, 2008
- 2,196
- 224
- 39
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Olinto, La Bella, JuleAmps, Epifani
it depends on the thickness of the base plate of your bridge and how low you like your action as well as other issues.
a badass is way thicker than a stock fender bridge, so you end up slamming the saddles and still have action thats too high. you shim the neck to get more adjustment out of the bridge.
its also necessary at times with the stock bridge if you like to slam your action. having your saddles bottomed out to achieve the action you like can introduce rattles or side to side play because of the reduced break angle. shimming lets you raise the saddles to get the action you like and increase the break angle to make the saddles more stable.
- Jan 7, 2008
- 2,196
- 224
- 39
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Olinto, La Bella, JuleAmps, Epifani
Wow that sounds crazy. I've never had to do that on a single one of my instruments let alone any of my vintage fenders and I like my action VERY low!
Yeah, it's not like it has to be done all the time... my main point was, it's not strange or weird (or crazy).
Here's the funny part... I've taken fenders apart that had shims already in them and had no idea... sometimes a piece of sandpaper. Not sure if I can say any shipped from the factory that way, but maybe. It's often barely even visible. It doesn't take much to effect a pretty nice change.
On my 62ri jazz in front of me ive got little to no relief and 2/64" on the g string at the 12th fret with the first fret held down increasing to 4/64" on the e string. The saddles are nearing the edge of bottoming out. I'd have to shim with a badass.
Yeah this is exactly what happened to my neck:
I'm not sure if Jimmy is going to give up doing the bullet truss design on EVERY future LM but I know this isn't the first one he's had to repair like this and if he's more comfortable building with the heel-access truss he should just do it. I certainly don't care about "period correctness", I just want my Alleva to be indestructible. He already abandoned the awful 3 bolt neck joint thing so who cares?
This is exactly what happened to mine. The crack past the nut and the bulge at the block.
Definitely not a Jimmy issue -- It happens a lot w/ bullets.
They've been true one piece necks (no separate fretboard) for at least a few years now. The way you can tell is the skunk stripe at the back of the neck where the truss is put in as opposed to the truss being fitted into the neck from the top before the fretboard is glued on. RAs are the same.
FWIW I've no problems with any bullet truss in my Fenders, and/or 3 bolts...guess I've been lucky too. However I AM glad Jimmy's 5 strings are 4 bolt.
Just a note- Jimmy is aware and on top of any issues with the bullet and is looking at the whole thing as we write here. He's quite creative and dedicated to doing everything "period correct" so if there's a better way of doing it good chance he'll figure it out
- Jan 7, 2008
- 2,196
- 224
- 39
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Olinto, La Bella, JuleAmps, Epifani
that's for sure! "Period correctness" aside, the bullet truss just doesn't seem like as solid of a design compared to the heel joint ones. Especially after looking at those x-ray and "cut in half" pics....do we as Alleva users really need that later 70s detail for any reason other than period correct aesthetics? One could say the truss is easier to access but Jimmy can cut out a chunk in the pickguard and body for easy access, too so I don't really see the point if it has a higher chance of messing up the neck. Obviously IMHO.
Ya Mitch I agree if there's problems with the design then it should be changed no matter "period correct" or not. However I just left from there a few weeks ago and I know he is presently looking into ways of improving the design (something that *possibly* has not been done since that period?) and he has some ideas already. I think that if they dont work well enough he will go back to the standard heel truss for the LMs too.
Bottom line he's not letting the issue slide.
Bottom line he's not letting the issue slide
. - Status
