I can't believe what I just did...

Are you absolutely sure it snapped?

 

You may want to send an e-mail to warwick about a possible warranty issue. If you were not adjusting it excessive amounts, they may cover it. Their own owners manual on their website outlines truss rod adjustments. So, I would think that, if you operated within those guidelines, it should be covered.

By the way, is it a neck thru or bolt on?

 

1st of all, if you don't have ALL the tension off the strings, take it all off IMMEDIATELY... 2nd, remove the truss rod nut completely - you *might* have stripped only it... Manufacturers many times will make the most expendable part of lighter construction than the others it interacts with - in other words, the threads on the nut *might* be more easily stripped than on the truss rod itself - and a quick and easy replacement of the nut could put you right back in the game... Good luck,


- georgestrings

 

I once did the same thing on an 89 thumbbass 5'er, and at the time I thought the bass was doomed, same loud snap, followed immediately by neck bow. The problem was that warwick had put an aluminum truss rod in the neck, which while cutting down on weight is not very durable. However, it ended up being about a hundred dollar job for a local luthier to replace the aluminum with a steel rod, so DON'T FRET my friend, your not completely sunk.

 

Aluminum?! What the hell were they thinking? I hope this didn't continue throughout 1992 (I recently picked up a 92 Streamer). Two reports of broken truss rods now...this thread makes me nervous. Well BassBastard, looks like we are in the same boat...as far as neck tension goes. I am restoring my bass and have no tension on the neck/truss. I guess when you get things figured out, just ease extremely slightly into the truss rod because after time (with no tension), the neck will return to its normal shape.

Before I put tension back on my neck, I am going to sprinkle some graphite in there to make sure everything is working smoothly inside the neck. Warwick or somebody shoved grease in there that seems to have become somewhat...well...viscous? Not like grease should be anyway. It's to the point where it inhibits truss rotation.

Is there grease in yours too?

 

"I took the tension off...but how can I remove the nut? "


Unthread it all the way, and you *should* be able to pull it right out - after all, it got in there, didn't it???



- georgestrings

 

Gentlemen, it's time to learn a thing or two about trussrods.

First and foremost - Single action trussrods don't rotate! Only the nut on the end of the active rod rotates. If your TR is a single action variety, that single rod is the only rod you've got. If your TR is a double action, then the rod you see is one of two - the other being inert.

Trussrods are anchored firmly on the opposite end of the nut. Think of it like a very long bolt passing through a thick wooden wall (your neck) and having the bolt head on one side (anchored end) and the nut end on the other side (adjustment end). What happens when you tighten the nut, assuming the other end doesn't turn? The space between the bolt head and the nut gets shorter, compressing the wood between them. That's the mechanism the TR uses to straighten necks. TR's are generally put in a curved channel that has an arc that bellies away from the middle of the fretboard. When the TR nut is tightened and the space between the anchored end and the TR nut gets shorter, it has the effect of straightening out the TR. Because the TR is curved down in the middle, the only way for it to straighten is for it's center to rise up and come into alignment with the two ends. When that's done in a neck against string tension that is bowing the neck, it counteracts the string tension keeping the neck straight.

BTW, once broken or stripped, there isn't any more damage that can be done to the bass by removing parts of the TR - visible or invisible. These parts are not particularly high precision and the TR slot in the neck is just that - a routed slot in the wood. If the nut is stripped or the TR is broken, it will likely lead to the same conclusion and that's a fretboard removal to replace the errant components. Nothing you can do to the neck would be quite as altering as that process.

 

Thanks Hambone, for setting them straight! As always, You Da Man!

 

Well if that's the case and you end up having to really service your bass, BassBastard, then while that fretboard is off, you could go ahead and have some LEDs installed.

 

That will ruin your week in a hurry. Sorry about your bad luck

The broken off part will probably come out if you use a pair of needle nose pliers and just pull straight out on it.

At least it's a bolt on. Maybe that a replacement neck might be cheaper than repairing the old one. At least you'll get it playing pretty quickly and you can recoup a lot of your loss by selling the replacement if you find someone to pull the fb and replace the broken one.

Warwick may surprise you with thier response. It's not in thier best interest to not back up thier "boutique" basses.

Good luck.

 

There are a few good Luthiers in Spain that could fix your neck.You don't need a new neck, what you need is to remove the fingerboard and replace the truss rod and install a new fingerboard with the same scale as the old one. So this way you won't loose the "Warwick" logo.
I did it before on a Warwick bass. That one had a 2 way truss rod.

MOD EDIT: NO COMMERCIAL POSTING PLEASE
I am not interested in commercial posting whatsoever. Just trying to help
Thank you "Basstruck"

Check this site for Luthiers close to your place
www.13thfret.com
good luck