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Official Zon Club Part 4

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#561
Bryan R. Tyler said:
Here's a question that someone might know the answer to (probably Angus)- what inspired Zon to use that extended chunk of fingerboard on the TJ models? While they work great as a ramp, I assumed there was some other reason he decided to build them that way.

Oh, and I have a TJ5 now and a TJ5 fretless on the way, so I guess I'll be rejoining this club :)
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Congrats on your TJs :)
I opted to have my fb end at 24 frets because I wanted the space for popping. I also passed on the ramp and radiused pickups since I like to dig in for dynamics. So the cut away on the treble side is the only real TJ feature on mine.
 
#562
No room for popping "normally" on mine. I'd been popping with my fingernails about 75% of the time anyways- now I just have to do it at all times. I've actually been looking at getting a couple fake nails and trying them, as my fingernails are naturally very weak. I don't slap much anyways though- I currently slap on 0 songs my band does.

It's funny because I remember a poster asking here about popping with their fingernails here some years back and responding that I thought it was a bad idea. Jean Baudin mentioned that he did it all the time so I thought, "maybe I should try it before I dismiss it" and started using it more and more. Now it's all I do.
 
#564
I have had this injury for years in both my arms .Zon was the answer.Injuries never go away .My Grandpa told me once you injur a part of your body its never as good as it used to be -hes right .:crying:
 
#566
One of the things I wanted to do was mod my Zon to be able to adjust the truss rod without taking the neck off .Sucks taking the neck off to adjust your action.I figured before I started routering into my bass and turning it into franken bass maybe I should just get something else or it would take away the value .Really IMO you should be able to adjust the truss rod without taking the neck off .In harsh climates like ND you need to be able to adjust your neck on every bass even Zon and Modulus.
My left arm just fell off after playing the Roscoe for 45 minutes . Ibuprofen addict anonymous. Traders remorse.
 
#569
Yeah, I happen to live in ND and gig pretty much every weekend... Once I had the relief on my Zons adjusted to how I like it, I haven't had to touch it since, and it's been a few years now.

All of my other basses get readjusted twice a year... And the readjustment process takes a couple weeks of tweaking to get it how I like it.
 
#570
I adjusted it down from when I got it in January four times and it was new so I expect it to need some time to adjust from "being born".I finally got the action where I wanted it and needed to bring it back up a notch but hated taking the neck off so was just playing it with some slight buzz on the B and E to see what would happen come the dreaded ND winter .I always waited until it needed new strings to do the adjustment and did it in very small increments.It may very well be that it just needed to be raised a notch and settled in.In most cases they are probably fine .I can tell very small movements in upward action when the strings need to be lowered ,my arms tell me .They are very sensitive to that .Have also had a case of Burcitis wich doesn't help either.(shoulder injury)-all from repetitive lifting as a semi delivery driver .Tendonitis from the food service industry and burcitis from down lifting bakery products stacked to the semi ceiling .
Then I got a bad case of dumbass brilliance and traded it .I have come to the conclusion with my injuries its Zon or nothing.They play nicer than any neck out there that I have tried .I have not tried Sadowsky Jazz or many others.
I feel for you Addison ND is not a very fun place to live IMO.Have been here 47 years and have tried getting my wife to move to where it is nicer and where I can ski powder -like Park City UT or Durango,Telluride etc .Anyway dumbass move on my part to part ways with my Zon .Going to cost me.
 
#572
Quick question for Zon experts.
I own a Sonus 5/2 that's my main 5er.
I truly love the bass but without truss rod can't lower the action to my preference.

Is there any other alternative to do it?
 
#576
I have arranged for getting my Zon back and it shall never leave my hands again.Iam relieved like you cant imagine .Will see how the neck does come the cold weather .If it needs it I will plunge route a small spot at the base of the neck and attach a small wheel adjuster with holes on it (like others you have seen) and attach it to the truss rod at the base of the neck .Not a big deal to me but some may shriek at the thought .Hopefully it wont need it.Either way just glad to be a Zon player from here out. I have never played a nicer feeling ,comfortable fast neck ever .Don't know what you got till its gone .
 
#577
Addison said:
Zackly.

And if that doesn't work, it might be worth your while to send it off to be Plek'd.

It can work wonders.
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Plek would affect it in the wrong direction, unless you shim a bunch then cut the frets back to correct to make a pseudo-flat surface. Neck moves a bit and you are back to zero.

This is done sometimes with vintage necks that can't be replaced where the center set point has shifted so much that you need to correct to allow you to get truss adjustability in both directions to correct back to that point. With an unadjustable neck, you are shifting the surface profile, but as soon as it moves again you are back where you started.
 
#579
pickles said:
Doesn't help at all when there is too much relief. You'll just make it fret out up high and still have spongy feel mid-neck. Replaning the neck and/or getting a truss rod installed will fix it.
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To be fair, he was complaining about the action not going low enough, not that it had too much relief, so I assumed he was describing the issue correctly, but maybe not necessarily the proper solution. It's true that flattening out a neck will also overall lower action, so depending on your range of preference for relief, you can go that direction, but of course it's not its sole purpose. Action of course is a function of two things... relief and saddle height, and saddle height is of course limited by range and neck plane relationship, as governed by the neck shape/size and the neck pocket cut depth.

But, strictly speaking of relief, yeah, depending on how far he needed to go, a Plek can help resolve that. Otherwise, a fingerboard plane and a full refret would actually be necessary.

Also, I've checked, and you can't get a truss rod installed on a Zon neck. He has to make a new neck, because they're different designs. I've had it done. I know.
 
#580
golower said:
I have arranged for getting my Zon back and it shall never leave my hands again.Iam relieved like you cant imagine .Will see how the neck does come the cold weather .If it needs it I will plunge route a small spot at the base of the neck and attach a small wheel adjuster with holes on it (like others you have seen) and attach it to the truss rod at the base of the neck .Not a big deal to me but some may shriek at the thought .Hopefully it wont need it.Either way just glad to be a Zon player from here out. I have never played a nicer feeling ,comfortable fast neck ever .Don't know what you got till its gone .
Click to expand...

You lucked up my man. Hug that ZON when you get it back, and don't let it go again.
 
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