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Possible neck warp?

jakejazzbass

jakejazzbass

Jan 21, 2018
35
15
Indianapolis, IN
#1
Hello all,

I’m currently suffering a bit of a predicament that I’m not sure how to diagnose. I’ve noticed today on my fender MIM jazz bass that I’m not able to slide from the first fret and onwards without the sound immediately choking once I hit that second fret. I’ve always had a bit of a fret buzz on this bass that I assume is due to my usage of green pack Ernie Ball slinkies that I had put on the bass when it was setup a few months ago. I can’t really tell if the bridge is warped as I don’t trust myself to see things very straight especially when it comes to instruments. Any help is appreciated!

Edit: I can actually do the slide on my E string but on the other strings it chokes all the same.

Edit 2: Here’s a pic
upload_2018-9-13_10-27-19.jpeg
 
Last edited:
#2
How was the bass before the string change and setup? Perhaps the neck has to be adjusted now that the strings have had a chance to settle in and stretch a little. I'm thinking there's now too much tension as it would raise the middle of the neck upwards and frets will be a little higher in that area of the neck causing the "choking" when you fret the lower notes - sight the neck ie. see if it's straight or bowed one way or another.
 
#3
Maxdusty said:
How was the bass before the string change and setup? Perhaps the neck has to be adjusted now that the strings have had a chance to settle in and stretch a little. I'm thinking there's now too much tension as it would raise the middle of the neck upwards and frets will be a little higher in that area of the neck causing the "choking" when you fret the lower notes - sight the neck ie. see if it's straight or bowed one way or another.
Click to expand...

To me it doesn’t seem straight and if I had to guess it’s probably bowed backwards as it feels tight playing around the first three frets and looser playing around the middle frets (5-7 area).
 
#4
It's hard to tell from your description but buzz on the 1st few frets can indicate that the truss rod needs to be loosened a little letting the neck bow forward very slightly and adding relief. Can you post some pics?
 

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