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Low Tension Strings for Bass with Neck Issues

#21
RBS_Johnson said:
Hello all,
The action is high with standard round wounds.
Click to expand...

TI Rounds are some of the lightest rounds you can get. But expensive.

Slightly higher tension but reasonable are Rotosound RB35s which are .35-.95 so a shade lighter than the other nickel plated ones you are using.

The sound of the TI and Rotosound is somewhat different. The Rotosounds sound more like a traditional nickel string whereas the TIs are more mid-focused.

There are Rotosound .30 to .90 steel sets, but steel might not be your thing.
 
#23
RBS_Johnson said:
This one plays pretty nice as well. I actually have been thinking more about having the neck pocket routed out to standard fender dimensions and using a Jazz or Precision neck on this body. The strings would be in from the edges of the board just a hair more than average, but I think it would be OK. I want to try some strings as a stop-gap measure though(funds being limited by my upcoming wedding). Who knows, maybe I will find a set I really like ;)
Click to expand...

If you wanted to do a neck swap you should keep the body stock, and buy a cheap by decent Fender neck and shave the sides of the heal instead of cutting into the body. I don't know if the screw pattern is the same so you will have to modify it. I think you may end up regretting this modification though.

Keep in mind that putting a Fender neck on is going to change the tone and overall feel. All things being equal (pickups, strings, bridge, etc) the neck has more affect on your tone and overall playing experience than the body.
 
#25
Again-
Lower tension= lower lbs total pull for a string set. A set with lower total tension may allow the neck to straighten back out some, lowering the action.
Higher total lbs of pull for a set will try to add more bow to the neck.
Check with the manufacturers tension charts for total lbs pull.
Flexibility (sometimes referred to as 'tension' here) has little or no relevance to the stress on the neck that is causing the bow/relief.
Also, saddles set to create overly high action can add to the stress causing the bow/relief- the more straight, lower, parallel the strings are to the fingerboard, the less leverage to the nut end-
extreme: strings flat on/along the fingerboard have less leverage to pull up at the nut.
 
#26
Timely thread: I may wind up having to go to lighter-gauge/lower-tension strings on a short-scale, jazz-style, 4-string SX with a problematic neck (excessive relief):

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f18/essex-sx-truss-rod-1052981/

so I'm interested in hearing opinions on various gauges/brands of flats. I'm particularly curious about anything lighter than 45-100 D'Addario Chromes. I'm pretty happy with the tone of those, but the tension is just too much for this particular neck. On my 3 other basses, they're "no problemo".
 
#27
Well, I lowered the bridge some, and played around with lower tunings. Both of which seemed to help some. I can't get into the lower tunings though...

I am looking at some light gauge flats vs. tapes at this point, and I plan on calling Jason at bassatringsonline either tomorrow or tuesday and seeing what he thinks.

Mustang, it suprises me that you had trouble with such light strings on a short scale. From the sounds of it, you had much lighter string than me and were worse off to start. This discussion may help you as well though.
 
#28
RBS_Johnson said:
Well, I lowered the bridge some, and played around with lower tunings. Both of which seemed to help some. I can't get into the lower tunings though...

I am looking at some light gauge flats vs. tapes at this point, and I plan on calling Jason at bassatringsonline either tomorrow or tuesday and seeing what he thinks.

Mustang, it suprises me that you had trouble with such light strings on a short scale. From the sounds of it, you had much lighter string than me and were worse off to start. This discussion may help you as well though.
Click to expand...

Did you take off 2 of your strings to see if the relief in your neck was reduced? If it didn't, lower tension may not help. Try that experiment first. Takes about 30 seconds and is free.
 
#30
I have been playing two-string bass for like an hour with the A and D strings at pitch(which if you have never done something like this, it is super fun :rolleyes:). The neck is almost straight again(it is pretty flat with the strings loosened all the way).

I think I may try and repair the truss rod in it, I have been thinking about the way I would do it…

Jason seems to think very light gauge flats are my best bet on the lower tension front.

So many decisions to make :hiding:
 
#31
Having it strung up as a two string was just about perfect for me, and it sat nicely when I picked it up after work today.

I have decided to(attempt to) repair the truss rod, in a method similar to this:
http://www.guitarrepairshop.com/repairtrussrod.html

I am thinking of doing it a little different though, as my truss anchor should be about in the middle of my second fret. I was thinking of using a hole saw to make a round hole big enough to install the new anchor, then inlaying something when I`m done so it does`t look terrible. Maybe like a silver quarter from the 60`s or something.

And after that it will get a set of light flats and some fret work. Maybe not in that order :confused:
 
#32
That may be your best bet, considering...
Would a strong magnet help determine the exact location of the anchor (with the rod first removed)?
Or maybe drill a small hole or two to better locate it before cutting out a larger area?
BTW- any indication that the trussrod broke at the anchor, or maybe just fully unscrewed?
 
#33
I have determined the anchor is currently in about the center between fret wire #1 and #2. I used a pickup like he did in the article to verify. I am going to use a hole saw so I have a nice round hole, and put in a silver '64 quarter as an inlay. Hopefully all goes to plan...
 
#34
Well, I'm past the point of no return. Way past...

I went and got a new vintage style rod and spoked adjuster wheel from StewMac. A couple new drill bits from Lowes and I was in bussiness. Got the new rod in(which is stainless steel, and noticeably thicker than the old one). The quarter is in the fretboard now. I can't do anything perfect of course though. The quarter is a bit below the fretboad surface, and I went through the back of the neck with a small drill bit. I will fill that hole in tonight after work. For now everything is drying, and I am content with the job.

JustForSport, I could pull the whole rod out with the neck off the bass. The anchor end definitely sheared right at the start of the threads. That is the only reason I was pretty sure of where the anchor was, And that I could use this method for minimally invasive surgery.
 
#35
Good to hear you'll be playing it soon.
Just a note- stainless steel is known to 'gall' (like cold weld) to similar grades of s/s, so use a different mat'l for anything it screws into or that screws onto it.
If you're past that, use a good thread lube like 'never-seize' to help prevent it from ever galling.
That was a great 'minimally invasive' surgery.
 
#36
I got caught up in the work and didn't take any pictures of this job in progress, but I have some I will post of the finish product later.

The adjuster nut I got is not stainless, it is a mild steel. And it shouldn't ever have to come out of the anchor side, lol.

I strung it up last night. Put a little tension on the rod and brought it up to pitch. It was much better, just with the thicker stainless rod in it. A bit of fiddling with the truss rod and it is great. Nice low action now.

I have to head to work, and was given some hockey tickets for tonight. After that though, I will try and figure out how to post pictures from this thing.

-Jake
 
#37
image-2.jpg


I think that should work.... Stupid touch screen I thing....
 

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