Do we get impacted that much even with the quartersawn necks? My BEM 44-60 has a super tight quartersawn grain and so far seems pretty stable with the temp and humidity changes in Chicagoland.
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Do we get impacted that much even with the quartersawn necks? My BEM 44-60 has a super tight quartersawn grain and so far seems pretty stable with the temp and humidity changes in Chicagoland.
Mine is quartersawn as well but this particular one reacts violently to quick changes in temps/humidity unlike every other one of my Laklands; Skyline or US.
I’m definitely going to keep a close eye on mine. I’ve only had it about 6 months so far and haven’t had to adjust the relief at all after my initial adjustment. I normally go by feel after taking my initial measurements, but I’m going to try to be more precise and measure with my feeler gauges.
Mine moves a bit too, and they're of a similar vintage. Some on here have suggested the older ones had a thinner/less coat(s) of finish, and/or the fingerboard isn’t finished. Makes me appreciate the heel joint truss rod access that much more
Mine moves a bit too, and they're of a similar vintage. Some on here have suggested the older ones had a thinner/less coat(s) of finish, and/or the fingerboard isn’t finished. Makes me appreciate the heel joint truss rod access that much more
View attachment 5182393
Beauty!!!
First thing that I would do with a US Lakland neck that moves a lot, when seasons change, would be to clean it and add several (more like 20 thin layers) of tru oil to the neck and BEM fretboard. Allow each coat to dry, very lightly sand each coat, and repeat for as many layers as you feel are needed.
If a neck is moving a large amount due to humidity changes, reseal the neck so that the humidity won't affect it, and immediately start controlling of your home humidity. I run a dehumidifier in my damp garage all summer, and a humidifier all winter in our living space. Dried out necks during winter time will cause frets to lift, fretboards (especially ebony) can crack. I have at least one vintage bass refret to do from where I let an ebony fretboard get and stay dry for too long. That's a mistake that I won't make again... I HOPE lol.
If a neck is moving a large amount due to humidity changes, reseal the neck so that the humidity won't affect it, and immediately start controlling of your home humidity. I run a dehumidifier in my damp garage all summer, and a humidifier all winter in our living space. Dried out necks during winter time will cause frets to lift, fretboards (especially ebony) can crack. I have at least one vintage bass refret to do from where I let an ebony fretboard get and stay dry for too long. That's a mistake that I won't make again... I HOPE lol.
I am very fortunate. My 44-01 neck moves very little. If any neck adjustments are needed, it is usually a 1/4 turn or less, but then again our humidity level is pretty constant in the house, maybe a little dry during winter months.
Hopefully my newest, 44-02 will be as stable as well.
Hopefully my newest, 44-02 will be as stable as well.
Sounds like something I would like to do on my new 44-02, especially to get the back of the neck ultra smooth!
You’d need me to strip the satin poly off first. Come over sometime and compare the feel of the 44-02 compared to necks that I’ve tru oiled.
Tru oil the fretboard as well? I’d never heard that before. But if it helps calm this sucker down, I’m all in.
My long gone #19 4-94 was very stable even though it had BEM board.
I haven`t had US Lakland for ages - spent most of the time with Sadowskys and even Fenders. But now I had luck to find a beautiful 44-51M, which is model I always liked. Having extremely comfortable J neck, weighting 8,4lb and build from beautiful pieces of ash and maple, this can become my no1 now. Sound is very tight, but still vintage (I put Fralin pickup in), playability is exceptional. Only flaw is, that fretboard probably shrunk a bit in dry conditions and this makes fret edges bit sharp, but this might go back to normal in central european conditions. Anyway I smoothen it a bit with some luthier tools, all good.
Trans white finish is surprisingly thin, its possible to feel surface of the wood, if you know what I mean.
Last but not least - very good example of newer Lakland (2018) - I always prefered the older ones, but this one has all what I would expect from 100% US Lakland.
Oh, did I forget to mention, its beautiful..?
Trans white finish is surprisingly thin, its possible to feel surface of the wood, if you know what I mean.
Last but not least - very good example of newer Lakland (2018) - I always prefered the older ones, but this one has all what I would expect from 100% US Lakland.
Oh, did I forget to mention, its beautiful..?
My DJ-4 neck with maple fretboard is very stable. I don't think i've ever had to adjust the truss rod in 3 years. My 44-02 with Laurel fretboard is much more sensitive. It's been hot and humid here on Long Island and the neck definitely reacted and I had to tweak the truss rod.
Lotta high heat and high humidity this summer. Some really stinky outdoor gigs! This guy (2005 USA 44-60) has not moved at all.
