My Sonus 5/2 re finish illustration, getting it done in a few days
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It is a 1996 Sonus, this is how they were back then. And it is 35 inch scale,so... As far as I know,it is a 5/2
The Special has the "neck" pickup much closer to the bridge pickup. And they are multi-coil design pickups, one coil per string.
This is a Sonus 5/2 - they have a split P in the neck position and a double rail in the bridge. Both encased in a rectangular humbucker casing.
I took delivery of my Buffalo made Legacy Elite in Feb/'86 having ordered it in '85. This was all pre-internet and Zon was just beginning to "come out" as a serious boutique instrument.
At the time there was nowhere here in NYC to try one (the distribution deal with Manny's Music was being finalized). I spoke with Joe and he had a buddy that owned a business
in Staten Island called Earth Straps. Joe said he would ship one down for me to try, I just had to go there and bring an amp. Connections were made all around, and I went
over - I sat with the bass for a couple of hours and knew I had to get one.
I don't know about a lull in production, but I would expect there was a transition period for setting up.Again, this is pre-internet and Zon was just beginning to filter out into
the brick and mortar marketplace. Zons do show up from this period from time to time, but you have to hunt for them. There just weren't that many getting out there.
I had to order mine and await the build.
So here's my Zon Legacy Elite (only 4 stringers available at that time) with custom pickup placement. I asked for the neck pickup (originally located at the neck heel)
to be moved towards the bridge similar to a Ken Smith. Custom Bartolini's with Zon's proprietary preamp. I played this bass exclusively for about 9 years.
I will eventually send it back to them for the full restoration it needs.
Hey Zon Club,
I just got this Sonus online from an E*ay seller. Maybe you saw it online. It HAS a truss rod, serial #9410285 (1994?) It arrived with the neck off (I agreed to that at sellers suggestion for ease of shipping and better protection (no case)). I put new strings on it 40-95 gauge and immediately the neck bowed. I am not going near the truss rod myself (don't want to make it worse and don't have the correct tool).
It seems to me this neck is just plain *bad* and probably not fixable (without huge cost at Zon)... because why would anyone turn the truss rod at all, if it arrived from the company with neck relief as it should be? Logically, this smells like a larger problem than just a truss rod adjustment esp. since the strings are not heavy.
I would really appreciate any real advice or thoughts if you are experienced in this area.
My initial feeling is to return it, and not monkey around with a fix. I am talking to the seller who claims innocent ignorance. (I may have to count on e*ay buyer protection). The seller offered to cover the reasonable cost of local repairman's adjustment. I'll be talking to my local repair guy though I'm not going to travel far for it... and I am gathering a lot of information (you guys!). Thanks.
I just got this Sonus online from an E*ay seller. Maybe you saw it online. It HAS a truss rod, serial #9410285 (1994?) It arrived with the neck off (I agreed to that at sellers suggestion for ease of shipping and better protection (no case)). I put new strings on it 40-95 gauge and immediately the neck bowed. I am not going near the truss rod myself (don't want to make it worse and don't have the correct tool).
It seems to me this neck is just plain *bad* and probably not fixable (without huge cost at Zon)... because why would anyone turn the truss rod at all, if it arrived from the company with neck relief as it should be? Logically, this smells like a larger problem than just a truss rod adjustment esp. since the strings are not heavy.
I would really appreciate any real advice or thoughts if you are experienced in this area.
My initial feeling is to return it, and not monkey around with a fix. I am talking to the seller who claims innocent ignorance. (I may have to count on e*ay buyer protection). The seller offered to cover the reasonable cost of local repairman's adjustment. I'll be talking to my local repair guy though I'm not going to travel far for it... and I am gathering a lot of information (you guys!). Thanks.
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Before you decide the neck is a bust adjust the truss rod. Graphite necks are not infinitely stiff That's why the rod is in there, to make adjustments
for different gauge strings and playing preferences. Right now the truss may be completely loose. Did the seller loosen it for shipping?
Don't assume it's bad. If you don't have the means, let your tech do it.
If he cannot make it work then you have other recourse. Give it a chance to be corrected first.
for different gauge strings and playing preferences. Right now the truss may be completely loose. Did the seller loosen it for shipping?
Don't assume it's bad. If you don't have the means, let your tech do it.
If he cannot make it work then you have other recourse. Give it a chance to be corrected first.
Thanks bassclef112. Seller says he didn't know it had a truss rod. (The action is 1/4" at 12th fret! So, there is no excuse for not mentioning that). Seller seems to be a regular guy and likely didn't have piccolo strings on it.... What I can't get over is: if the issue is simply a too-loose truss rod... why so loose? (We know when it left Zon factory, the relief was perfect. If someone put really, really light strings on it, then neck would not pull so far the other way as to make it unplayable, right?) So, why would someone go through the trouble of taking off the neck to mess with none-too accessible truss rod when the action was probably fine?
I think you're making too many assumptions. Maybe it's been that way for a some time and he wasn't using it.
None of that matters. It can either be corrected or not. You can just send it back the way it is for a refund
or have it checked out. You need to know whether it's able to be corrected, in which case all is well and you have
a working instrument or the neck is toast and you get your money back.
If the seller didn't even know there was a truss rod then it was never adjusted - since 1994(?).
That's a lot of time between when it left the factory all set up and now.
You have nothing to lose either way.
None of that matters. It can either be corrected or not. You can just send it back the way it is for a refund
or have it checked out. You need to know whether it's able to be corrected, in which case all is well and you have
a working instrument or the neck is toast and you get your money back.
If the seller didn't even know there was a truss rod then it was never adjusted - since 1994(?).
That's a lot of time between when it left the factory all set up and now.
You have nothing to lose either way.
And good luck with Ebay. I had a bass get to me once with damage and they wouldn't "protect" me based on the argument that it wasn't like that when it shipped. And clearly it was. So basically they sided on the side that made them money. I'm sorry but Ebay seriously sucks. Hope your experience is better. But I've never had a problem with a Zon neck
I don't think Joe was using truss rods back in 1994. The three I had (1997, 1998, 1999) had no truss rods and IIRC, I never read about Zons with truss rods until sometime in the early '00?
A seller insisting to ship with the neck removed is a red flag in my book.
I agree totally, SERIOUS RED FLAG, I'm sorry to say but I think the seller screwed you bad, unless the seller will take it back and give your money back, you could have a qualified tech take a look at the neck and see what they can do, I would check with the Zon factory and ask about the truss rod situation, have them check the serial # if there is one on the neck, I'm guessing the phenolic fingerboard has shrunken causing the bow.
Good luck, I feel bad for you going thru this, I've had this happen numerous times but with a different graphite neck company not Zon though my Legacy Elite is still staying strong......KNOCK ON WOOD (GRAPHITE).
There's definitely something going on with that neck. I have a truss rod Zon and have it completely loose and it still has barely enough relief. That looks like someone used it for archery.
My sonus was made in 2005, and has a trussrod. I had it adjusted in person a few months back.
The primary function of the truss rod in a composite neck is to add or subtract from the default neck relief. There's no such thing as 'perfect' amount of neck relief: some players prefer nearly flat (John Entwistle, as I recall), others prefer more curvature.
A secondary function would be to correct for excessive bow (one way or the other). A problem with some composite necks is when the fingerboard expands/shrinks at a different rate than the rest, especially when neck and board are made of different materials. I owned a Music Man Cutlass for two decades -- it was a Stingray with Modulus CF neck, and the fingerboard was phenolic -- no truss rod. Over time, neck relief became more curved. The bass never became unplayable (fortunately) but I had to settle for action that was higher than I would have preferred.
I'm wondering if the only answer would be to solve the problem of a phenolic fingerboard shrinking is using WD-40 on it to keep it moisturize in some way (not really the word I was looking for but you got the idea).
