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Fender Neck Relief

stingrayK

stingrayK

Mar 4, 2015
53
16
Houston
#1
I am relatively new to setup and repair of my own stuff. However, I have been trying hand. First I bought the necessary and basic tools. Feeler gauges, notched neck straight edge, string action gauge, truss rod adjustment tools and radius gauges. I read the setup threads here. I watched the Carruthers videos and even suffered through Dave's World of Fun Stuff videos. (Sorry Dave, great info but I just can't relate to the humor?)

So I am pretty comfortable doing the basic stuff. Before one of the thread ninjas yells at me for rehashing an old thread, I read through as many threads as my eyes could stand. I didn't really find the specific answer.

So here's my question. After setup, the neck is not perfectly straight. There is just a tiny amount of relief under the notched straight edge around the middle of the neck. Just enough to see light. I might be able to slide a piece of notebook paper under there, but definitely not a business card. (None of the feeler gauges for sure) Is this acceptable? What amount of relief is within usable specs without damaging the neck?

The setup is the lowest I could get the action without fret buzz anywhere on the neck. Thanks for your help!
 
#3
.. with all due respect, a set-up does not need to meet anyone elses specs, although it can be helpful to follow others practices to learn what you like ... but, that is the beauty (and importance) of learning to do your own ... there is only one person that needs to be happy with your results ...

.. I have gotten away from any measurement devices, as every bass is different, string gauges are different, etc ... I like my end result, and maybe more importantly, I am not afraid to make adjustments to what somebody else says I should use ...

.. to answer the specific question ... it depends on a lot of things, but optimum relief for me is what works on that specific bass/strings/climate/etc ...

... maybe not a popular way to set up, certainly not a professional approach I would imagine, but then nobody else has my basses, strings, fingers, etc ... ;)

JMHO .. as always
 
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#5
tjh said:
.. with all due respect, a set-up does not need to meet anyone elses specs, although it can be helpful to follow others practices to learn what you like ... but, that is the beauty (and importance) of learning to do your own ... there is only one person that needs to be happy with your results ...

.. I have gotten away from any measurement devices, as every bass is different, string gauges are different, etc ... I like my end result, and maybe more importantly, I am not afraid to make adjustments to what somebody else says I should use ...

.. to answer the specific question ... it depends on a lot of things, but optimum relief for me is what works on that specific bass/strings/climate/etc ...

... maybe not a popular way to set up, certainly not a professional approach I would imagine, but then nobody else has my basses, strings, fingers, etc ... ;)

JMHO .. as always
Click to expand...
This all the way.
Use guides to help know how, but desired results are what you like.
Not in the numbers.
 
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#8
shawshank72 said:
This all the way.
Use guides to help know how, but desired results are what you like.
Not in the numbers.
Click to expand...

Yes, and when you work on junkers from time-to-time like I do, you have to throw any sort of proper specs out the window because that neck is just gonna be bowed no matter how much the truss rod is tightened, or the neck is pushed on or clamped, etc. Sigh!:rolleyes:
 
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#9
holdfast said:
Yes, and when you work on junkers from time-to-time like I do, you have to throw any sort of proper specs out the window because that neck is just gonna be bowed no matter how much the truss rod is tightened, or the neck is pushed on or clamped, etc. Sigh!:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I had one neck on an old Mexican Precision that would not get straight. I loosened the truss rod quite a bit and hung the neck over the end of my bench then leaned down on it putting my body weight on the headstock. That did the trick on that one.
 
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#12
Are you using the notched straight edge to measure how level the fretboard is or the relief between the top of the frets and the strings? They are not usually the same. The good news is that you are doing your own setups and you got it to play the way you like it!
 
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#13
gregmari said:
Are you using the notched straight edge to measure how level the fretboard is or the relief between the top of the frets and the strings? They are not usually the same. The good news is that you are doing your own setups and you got it to play the way you like it!
Click to expand...
I use the notched straight edge to see how level the fretboard is. I use the string action gauge for the fret to string measurement. I was just worried, however so slight, that leaving a smidge of relief on the neck might damage it.
 
#14
Move the notched straight edge from touching the fretboard and on to the tops of the frets and measure the relief. In my experience Fenders need a little bit of relief to keep from buzzing but every bass is different. As long as you are not over torquing the truss rod, you will not damage the neck.
 
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