EDA900 neck/action woes

[Rogmatic]

I've got an Ibanez Ergodyne EDA900. I love it. It looks nice (once you get past the bizarre polyp-shaped body), it sounds great, and it's fun to play.

Fun, but not easy.

I've had this bass for 6 years or so. When I first got it, I had it set up, and for many years just played away, without giving a thought to action or neck relief or intonation. I experimented with different gauges of strings.

I don't remember what the original strings were, but I suspect they were medium gauge (45, 65, 85, 105). A year or two ago, I threw on a pretty heavy set. I don't remember for sure, but I believe they were 50, 75, 95, and 115. Not knowing any better, I didn't make any adjustments at all, to intonation/truss rod/saddle height.

I started really playing again a few weeks ago, after a year or two of not touching it much. It didn't take me long to notice that the strings seemed really, really high. I lowered the saddles as low as they could go, with little improvement. The other day, I had a thought: maybe the neck had become bowed too much, because of the heavier strings being on it, pulling harder, with no increased compensation from the truss rod.

So I bought a set of lighter strings (although not as light as I really wanted, and the G string is the same): 50, 70, 85, 105. Today, I unstrung my bass, took it apart, cleaned it all, put it back together with the new strings (and broke a tuner post in the process), and I'm waiting to see if the neck will relax a bit, before I make any final adjustments. After about an hour or so, it seemed exactly the same as before. Now, 2 hours later, it seems like it might be a little better, but I really can't tell.

I'd like to ask if you guys have ever had similar experiences, or maybe have a better idea of what's going on, and how I can fix it.

(I've read through this thread, and it seems pretty helpful, so I'll put some of that info to use.)

Thanks, and sorry for rambling a bit.

 

[ubnomnar]

I've owned three EDA series basses and each one required a neck shim and some time spent adjusting the truss rod to get the super low action I prefer. That being said, you can get an awesome setup if you take the time to dial it in.

IMHO...the necks are very sensitive to truss rod adjustments and a little bit goes a long way. If your neck does not settle in over the next few days (and flatten out a bit) you'll probably need to tighten the truss rod a bit to remove some relief (excess bow towards the strings).

You could also try loosening the strings and leave it over night to see if that helps.

 

[Rogmatic]

Alright, thanks. That was essentially my plan; to leave it for a few days, and see what happens before doing anything.

That's interesting about the neck shims. I'd considered doing that, if all else failed. In fact, it looks an awful lot like someone already did at some point.

Would you mind if I PMed you at some point, if I've got any more specific questions, since you have lots of experience with basses like mine? I'm totally willing to dial-in that awesome setup.

 

[ubnomnar]

Alright, thanks. That was essentially my plan; to leave it for a few days, and see what happens before doing anything.

That's interesting about the neck shims. I'd considered doing that, if all else failed. In fact, it looks an awful lot like someone already did at some point.

Would you mind if I PMed you at some point, if I've got any more specific questions, since you have lots of experience with basses like mine? I'm totally willing to dial-in that awesome setup.

PM's are fine. I also PM'd you my cell phone number. I have a soft spot for EDA's and will undoubtedly own another. It's the least expensive way to get into a super light and very unique bass with piezo pickups.