fretless neck bowed

[dewolfe03]

I have a fretless jazz bass with a 2.5 mm front bow with no tension on the truss rod. The biggest gap is between the 7th and 8th fret area. I have read that this can be corrected by clamping the neck back flat. If I tighten the truss completely, I get a back bow without the neck ever going completely flat. Advice? I took it to a luthier who told me to just get used to a high action. I have had fretless basses before and they are generally able to have sickening low action with no buzz. Plus tighening the truss rod too far created the dreaded ski jump at the body joint.

I don't have a shop to use the heating methods I have read about.

The bass is less than a year old from Fender. Could I take it in for warranty repairs or should I clamp it?

 

[David Jayne]

Warranty claim seems to be the logical answer.

 

[dewolfe03]

Here are pics of the neck.

 

[JustForSport]

Going from 'no' truss rod tension all the way to "completely tightened" is pretty extreme.
From when the truss rod begins to take the forward bow out to when the neck is flat should only be a full turn +/-.
The truss rod does not affect the entire length of the neck- the thick section at the heel cannot bend, so that makes a 'ski-jump' if adjusted too far, or incorrectly adjusted for too long.

 

[sissy kathy]

You need the advice of a competent luthier. The neck of a fretless, as I understand it, should not be flat to start with; its a slight hourglass shape. Contact @Bruce Johnson he can give you some advice.

 

[LowNloud1]

Use your warranty. Best long term solution.

 

[dewolfe03]

I will contact Bruce. Thanks for giving me contact info. The problem is that now is with the truss rod maxed and NO string tension. Add string and it's almost an inch at the 8th fret marker.


QUOTE="sissy kathy, post: 18211950, member: 262084"]You need the advice of a competent luthier. The neck of a fretless, as I understand it, should not be flat to start with; its a slight hourglass shape. Contact @Bruce Johnson he can give you some advice.[/QUOTE]