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Help about truss rod on Yamaha

bass nitro

bass nitro

Feb 21, 2011
477
252
BG,SZ
#1
Hi there,last night i took my bass and i did heard some "knocking" sound inside upper site of the neck - obviously is a loosed truss rod ( i hope so ).I did try tightness on it and everything was ok - tight enough,neck is straight but when shake it up this morning this knock is still there.I presume that my truss rod itself might be divided in two halves ( i do not know if Yamaha do their basses this way ) and some how upper part was loosen or something bad was happening somehow ? I have not adjusted truss rod since year may be and that is the strange part.I will appreciate any advise from Yamaha owners and everyone who might help me.Thank you
 
#2
There is a Limited Lifetime Warranty for US residents
http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/Documents/Guitars/guitarwarranty.pdf
and a 2 year guarantee for most of Europe
Invalid Link Removed.
Depending on where you are you may have one of these, or some other options.

If any kind of guarantee covers you, use it. Otherwise, if its an expensive bass, visit a luthier, if not start searching for a new one...

Also make sure the sound is coming from the neck and not from the pot cavity or some lose/faulty tuner (but if you are covered by a guarantee don't do any disassembling to locate the knocking sound).

To answer more directly, Yamaha or otherwise, a knocking sound is (very) bad news.
 
#3
bass nitro said:
Hi there,last night i took my bass and i did heard some "knocking" sound inside upper site of the neck - obviously is a loosed truss rod ( i hope so ).I did try tightness on it and everything was ok - tight enough,neck is straight but when shake it up this morning this knock is still there.I presume that my truss rod itself might be divided in two halves ( i do not know if Yamaha do their basses this way ) and some how upper part was loosen or something bad was happening somehow ? I have not adjusted truss rod since year may be and that is the strange part.I will appreciate any advise from Yamaha owners and everyone who might help me.Thank you
Click to expand...

So if it were my bass:

I'd take the strings off and then take the truss nut off completely. Then I'd grip the end of the rod (with needle nose pliers, or something) and see if it can wiggle or shake around. Also, as was suggested, I'd check all the tuner hardware. I might even take the neck off and shake the heck out of it to see if I can get the rattling that way.

Ultimately if it's the truss, you might be hosed -- depending on the model, echoing what iovar said, unless it's high end, a repair wouldn't be worth it.

But if you can tighten the truss, and it lets you set the neck in a good position, it would seem really really strange to me for there to be something wrong with the truss.

What's the model? You should be able to get a quick answer from Yamaha on what type of truss rod is in the neck.

Post back what you find. Good luck!
ltt
 
#4
Hi,there.I did use scotch tape and have sticked all tuners and tightened truss rod as well but only a little.Good news is that knock is gone now .That was an good idea about take it out for some inspection but i only managed to unscrewed some nut and i did find out that there was an washer covered threaded part of the truss rod .. i stuck.So if need next time to take it out i have to find some way to move this little bastard.I should give the bass to luthier next time if this occurred again.My bass is BB-shape very old one i think it was made about 81-82 maybe earlier ... do not know for sure but i love it too much.:)
Thanks to everyone for advises.
 
#5
Woops, looks like you beat my post OP... :)

lethargytartare said:
I might even take the neck off and shake the heck out of it to see if I can get the rattling that way.
Click to expand...

+1. Knock on it with your knuckles too. Also, keep track of how many turns it takes to remove the adjustment nut (assuming it's removable) and mark where the nut was, that way you can restore it to its original position without having to play with the setup.

With any luck it isn't a loose truss rod.

Also, when gripping the rod with pliers like lethargy recommended, be very careful not to damage the rod's threads. Make sure you try to push the rod away from you (toward the neck heel) and pull it towards you (toward the headstock), it's possible that the anchor nut at the other end has compressed the wood enough to allow the rod some movement in that direction. If this is the case, it can be a slightly easier fix, possibly one you could do yourself.

Do you hear the rattling through the amp when you play the bass? Does is create dead notes or other undesirable effects?
 
#7
bass nitro said:
No I never heard something like this through my amps,it got one or two dead "spots" due to "best" fretworks done on it last time.Thank you
Click to expand...

Ouch, sorry to hear about the fretwork...

Even though you eliminated the knocking, you still might want to take the bass to a good tech or luthier, just in case the rattling problem is something that can get worse over time.
 
#8
You are right - I will.Thank you.Little off-topic,sorry about but Would you be so kind to share any sound samples or better some videos so that i would hear and see these Xylem basses?It is weird i know :) but these boutique-guitars are very uncommon in my country.Thank you
 

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