Geddy Lee jazz needs constant truss rod adjustments

[thunesBARROW]

Not to be a downer, but I’ve owned merely one Mexican instrument that wasn’t a wet noodle neck when it was made.

Making them to a price point means the wood isn’t dried properly always and the result is humidity sensitivity. I’ve had much worse Chinese acoustic guitars. MUCH worse in fact.
But just wait til that Mexican bass ages more than a few years and the make up comes off.
You get what you pay for. There’s a reason the touring artists with Mexican models play custom shop versions and you’ve begun to discover that they aren’t reliable (some are of course, like I said, I’ve bad one of maybe 7)

My advice is sell it and move on. The AmPer is a big step up in terms of the wood. Of G&L or Gibson. Laklnd. Hell even the world music Korea has gotten better than Mexico at the wood treatment.

and I don’t care what some YouTube guy says about squires or Mexican fenders. They aren’t professional grade. Paul Reed Smith is the only honest guy as he puts STUDENT EDITION On all the ones that won’t hack it.

If youre skilled enough to notice the problems with budget instruments it’s a sign that you can justify the price of a quality one Imo.

I gigged for years with a MIM Jazz, and the neck only moved once when it was about less than zero degrees outside and it was left in a thin gig bag. The neck on my MIA Jazz (which I like a lot better) will move if I leave it out of the case in almost any weather. I just let it live in it’s nice thick Mono gig bag now instead of on a stand, and always keep a wrench with me.

 

[Lesfunk]

I hate to sound like I’m dumping on Fender, but I’ve owned a lot of basses and had more neck issues with actual fender jazz basses than any other type.
USA ones as well as Mexico models seemed to be less stable than other basses

 

[Rat Blitz]

How cool is that? I would love to meet Dave in person!

Dave is my regular luthier and a great guy as well (and probably even more entertaining in person). He's adjusted my MIJ Geddy Lee several times and I know for a fact he's adjusted many other MIJ Geddy's. I've got a LOT of basses and keep them in uniform temperature and humidity with little variation but the Geddy neck needs more adjustment than any other bass in the collection (close to 100). It's a pain. I can tell you I've got instruments that don't need truss rod adjustments for many years but that Geddy needs it at least once a year.

 

[WarwickE36]

Hm, ok I stand corrected - could have swore I watched one with the USA neck - my bad.
He is like that in real life too - what ya see is what ya get. lol Great guy - I make all his DWOFS stickers..so I see him every month or so.

Watched the entire video just to listen to him talk. Love it. Reminds me of fixing cars and talking to myself.

 

[mike buzzetti]

are you sure the TR is not backing off ?? if so use a thread locker and see if that helps ?? just a thought .

 

[BrentSimons]

Hey guys, I got a MIM GL jazz bass 2 years ago, and I am constantly dealing with the neck and adjusting the truss rod to fix the relief (reducing the action or height of the strings). I assumed it was just a summer problem due to high humidity where I live, but now it's the middle of the winter and I still find myself having to tighten the truss rod about a quarter turn once or twice a week. I get it feeling good again, have a few nice days of practice, and then I wake up to find the strings are too high at the 12th and need to be lowered. I've had it setup by a pro, the action/intonation is great when the (maple) neck is freshly adjusted, but then it starts to lift again.

I have 3 other basses that don't have this problem, including a Stingray special (strong, roasted neck) and a cheapy MIM P-bass (maple neck), so my only theory is that it's related to how thin the neck on this J-bass is.

Has anyone else dealt with this issue on a similar model, or have any advice to share? I'm nervous one of these days I'm going to break the truss rod or something.

I feel you. Just don't do what I did...
SOLD - Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass Neck 1998-99 Crafted in Japan Broken Project?

 

[mike buzzetti]

I feel you. Just don't do what I did...
SOLD - Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass Neck 1998-99 Crafted in Japan Broken Project?

Oh man !!! Youtube is there for you LOL !

 

[micguy]

A lot of people go gaga for thin necks. The flip side of a thin neck is....this - stability issues. The thing that's worrisome, though, is that it seems the thing is getting tightened constantly - not alternating between tightening and loosening. a couple times a year is normal for a lot of necks, weekly adjustments are a completely different thing. When it's always tightening, that's not a good sign at all. I'm a fan of light gauge strings for other reasons, but on a neck like this, it's one thing you can do to help the situation some.

 

[MasterG]

My Japanese Geddy did the same thing. Tweak the truss rod...everything's fine.....couple days later it's either buzzing out or the actions to high. Sold it.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

Hey guys, I got a MIM GL jazz bass 2 years ago, and I am constantly dealing with the neck and adjusting the truss rod to fix the relief (reducing the action or height of the strings).

I haven't seen this so far in the thread...

Please tell us you're not moving the truss rod to set string action. The correct way to set the truss rod is to fret or capo the first fret, fret where the neck meets the body (usually around the 15-17th fret), and measure the string height at the 8th fret. Most Fenders will have about .012" of space at the 8th fret with proper neck relief.

Once that's done, you set the string height with the string saddles and at the beginning, nut depth. Then, set the pickup height, and finally intonate the instrument.

If you're setting string height with the rod, STOP. Don't work out of sequence.

 

[ModuMan]

Yes, I had a CIJ and I had to adjust the neck quite frequently. Seemed like every couple of weeks, once a month for sure. I live in the Northeast and while I deal with climate-related adjustments on most of my basses that was far beyond normal.

You can deal with it, but I found it pretty annoying. When the USA came out I sold the CIJ and don't miss it.

 

[Geogio]

Has anyone else dealt with this issue on a similar model, or have any advice to share? I'm nervous one of these days I'm going to break the truss rod or something.

How low is the action? Factory or lower?
Depending on humidity bass necks will flex quite a bit and the lower your action is the more action is affected. If you keep it low prepare for wrench time. The only workaround is necks other that wood or a climate controlled room.

 

[Doug Parent]

Hey guys, I got a MIM GL jazz bass 2 years ago, and I am constantly dealing with the neck and adjusting the truss rod to fix the relief (reducing the action or height of the strings). I assumed it was just a summer problem due to high humidity where I live, but now it's the middle of the winter and I still find myself having to tighten the truss rod about a quarter turn once or twice a week. I get it feeling good again, have a few nice days of practice, and then I wake up to find the strings are too high at the 12th and need to be lowered. I've had it setup by a pro, the action/intonation is great when the (maple) neck is freshly adjusted, but then it starts to lift again.

I have 3 other basses that don't have this problem, including a Stingray special (strong, roasted neck) and a cheapy MIM P-bass (maple neck), so my only theory is that it's related to how thin the neck on this J-bass is.

Has anyone else dealt with this issue on a similar model, or have any advice to share? I'm nervous one of these days I'm going to break the truss rod or something.

When I lived in Minnesota I went through that as well. I tend to avoid MIM Fenders for this very reason. Even with a 4 string bass I'd only consider an instrument that had stiffening rods in the neck to add stability. Sorry for your troubles. Agree with others, I'd sell that instrument if at all possible.

 

[coy garcia]

Most of my basses need a adjustment twice a year. there are exceptions though with my thicker necks and laminated ones. The only real fix would probably cost more than it's worth. Yours does seem excessive though as if there is a built in stress that you will always be fighting.

 

[Fender_Bender]

See post #50. Also it helps to keep a consistent humidity where it is stored. Also, keep it in a case or bag. Try lighter gauge strings. As a last resort you could try tuning down a half step when not in use. Just enough to take some of the work load off of the rod.

 

[Black Out Jazz]

Dave is my regular luthier and a great guy as well (and probably even more entertaining in person). He's adjusted my MIJ Geddy Lee several times and I know for a fact he's adjusted many other MIJ Geddy's. I've got a LOT of basses and keep them in uniform temperature and humidity with little variation but the Geddy neck needs more adjustment than any other bass in the collection (close to 100). It's a pain. I can tell you I've got instruments that don't need truss rod adjustments for many years but that Geddy needs it at least once a year.

HAHA, I watch Dave work on 6 string guitars that I don't give a crap about for the entertainment factor. I have watched A LOT of his vids.

 

[andare]

Hm, ok I stand corrected - could have swore I watched one with the USA neck - my bad.
He is like that in real life too - what ya see is what ya get. lol Great guy - I make all his DWOFS stickers..so I see him every month or so.

Dave is my favorite curmudgeon

 

[sawzalot]

I have a 1994 Stingray that needs adjustment relatively frequently, every couple of weeks or so the neck will move in response to temperature/humidity changes, etc. It's easy to do and I don't even think about it--in fact I've tweaked the truss rod of that bass on stage between songs.

But the key is that on mine the truss rod needs to be loosened about as often as it needs to be tightened. If you're always tightening it, and the truss rod nut isn't unwinding itself somehow, it will end badly sooner or later.

 

[Black Out Jazz]

I wonder if those basses had stiffening rods in the neck.

'

None of the Geddys have rods in the neck.

 

[Dave Leighton]

I have a few basses that require more tweaking than others. I just deal with it. A truss rod tweak is something I believe you should know how to do. Just my opinion.