Problems with neck stability and temperature changes

[pepito666]

Hello. I have a Fender Mex jazz bass that I really like, but it's giving me some problems. I like to set my action very low, and when the bass experiences temperature changes, the neck gets out of adjustment, bends, and the action increases, making it uncomfortable to play.
This happens every time I take the bass out of my house to rehearse, where it's warmer. I'm thinking about selling it because it's unreliable.
However, I have a Fender Am Pro, and it doesn't happen at all.
Is this the difference between a higher-end bass and a cheaper one?
The Am Pro has graphite reinforcement on the neck. Do all US Fenders have that type of reinforcement?
Maybe I'll sell my Fender Mex and buy another american one. Regards.

 

[Wasnex]

It doesn't necessarily relate to the quality level. It's possible you could get another MiM jazz and the neck would not move around so much.

My #1, a Yamaha TRB6P, has a similar problem. The neck is very responsive to seasonal humidity swings. ]The necks on all of my other basses hardly move.

 

[pepito666]

Ok, thanks. And what factors should I consider when choosing a bass? When you try it out in a store or buy it online, it's impossible to know whether it will be stable or not. If is not a question of quality or wood type, what is related to?

 

[Wasnex]

Ok, thanks. And what factors should I consider when choosing a bass? When you try it out in a store or buy it online, it's impossible to know whether it will be stable or not. If is not a question of quality or wood type, what is related to?

AFAIK the problem is usually more humidity dependent than temperature dependent. If the wood is finished/sealed AFAIK it's likely to be more stable in relation to humidity swings.

To some degree I think it's luck of the draw. If a neck moves around excessively it should probably be considered flawed, but good luck getting it covered by a warranty claim. You could try a bass multiple times over an extended time to see how much the neck moves around. Not necessarily realistic.

 

[spade2you]

Y'all need to read up on humidity control. Basses have a long fingerboard and it's susceptible to a lot of movement.

 

[-Stingray]

Ok, thanks. And what factors should I consider when choosing a bass? When you try it out in a store or buy it online, it's impossible to know whether it will be stable or not. If is not a question of quality or wood type, what is related to?

Going with a composite neck is the only way to guarantee you won't have this issue.

Then, the only issues you'll have are cost and weight.

 

[Wasnex]

Y'all need to read up on humidity control. Basses have a long fingerboard and it's susceptible to a lot of movement.

I own 8 or 9 basses. Excessive neck movement in regards to humidity variation is only a problem for one of them, the Yamaha TRB6P. The back of the neck is finished. I believe the fretboard is unfinished rosewood. I have tried applying bore oil to the fretboard and it doesn't seem to help. I played a TRB6P for many years in the military and the neck was super stable. Unfortunately my personal TRB6P appears to be a bit of a lemon. My solution is to keep my eye out for a good deal on another TRB6P.

To mitigate the problem with my bass, I installed a bypass humidifier and bought three Venta 45 Comfort Plus room humidifiers. I also bought a 50pt portable dehumidifier for my basement. The bass is much happier in my house.

If I took the bass out of the house I could use a case humidifier or humipak until it is pulled out to rehearse or play. Pretty sure the neck would move noticeably in an hour or two. But I am retire from performing, so not currently a problem.

 

[HelpImaRock]

Get a Boveda 49% humidipak and stick it in the case. It’ll even things out. When they go bad, you can recharge them.

 

[IronLung1986]

Yes, it is the bane of my existence. What I'll say is that the D'Addario Humidipaks help. I put them in the case, 2 at the body under the strings and 1 at the headstock. I've noticed the neck moving less and staying more consistent.

 

[MVE]

Have you tried just using lemon oil?

I know Wasnex said he used a similar bore oil and that didn’t help, but it is certainly worth trying.

I would recommend wiping it down for like three straight days to really let the wood absorb some oil.

The idea is, if humidity swings are causing the problem, the lemon oil will take up some of the space.

However sometimes its not humidity and the particular piece of wood is just susceptible to temperature changes. If thats the case, it just is what it is. Not too much you can do about it.

 

[BOOG]

I live in a four season climate and every six months the three Fenders need about a quarter turn on the truss rod. The rest of the herd, never needs adjustments.

 

[Discount Bassy]

Graphite impregnated Kevlar neck with phenolic fingerboard was my fix for neck instability that appeared in wooden basses I had owned. Granted, I was dealing with radical swings in temperature and humidity on a daily basis. G.Gould for the win.

 

[J Wilson]

Wood is by turns magical and frustrating as it's not 100% consistent as metal, plastic, or composite could be made.

Some necks are just going to be this way, and IF you bought this brand new, the neck can still be a little 'green': That is, it takes some necks longer than others to adapt to the world you live in, and sometimes a new instrument can take time to finish normalizing its internal moisture content with your environment. Over time this will fade with some of them, and some are simply always going to be flexible, and this can happen with the cheapest all the way to the most expensive instruments you can think of.

I've had a bass or two that I was always chasing like this. My only solution was to stay on the setup adjustments, and also IF this has a dark wood fingerboard (rosewood, laurel, pau ferro, etc.), if that fingerboard is dry it can aggravate this.

I have a Squier Jazz where I used to chase the setup like mad, it would not settle in. I was changing strings one day, thought the fingerboard looked dry . . . and it was. I applied one coat of F1 fingerboard oil which it immediately absorbed. Second coat, same thing. Third coat it finally began to bead up, it wouldn't take any more. Wiped it down to shiny/dry, restrung it, and haven't touched it since. Who knew ?

Only you can decide if you want to keep working on this one, or trade it for something less labor-intensive. This is fairly rare, and yes, on more expensive instruments, it tends to occur less frequently, but a few from every builder you can think of will do this, regardless of price.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

When I was playing live two to three times a month, I never noticed neck changes. But when I stopped gigging, everytime I took a bass out it seemed to need some adjustment. I think I just didn’t notice the slight changes from each week.

This is just the beautiful and annoying reality of wood.

 

[SpiderBass1965]

Climate changes can effect most basses. Usually takes a little trussrod adjustment and your good. Spring and Fall seem to be the worst with the sudden humidity changes.

 

[Hoochie Coochie Man]

I have a Fender American Deluxe P and an American Deluxe J. Both have maple fretboards with a thick poly finish (on the fretboards), (carbon fiber rods as well) and those two basses are very stable in regards to changes in humidity compared to my other instruments.

I attribute the stability to how completely sealed the necks are with the thick poly coating.

 

[FearNoEvil65]

Interesting, out of my 7 basses, my MIM Fender Precision is the one where the neck does the same thing. It has a Rosewood board, I think sealed Maple is more humidity/temp resistant. It shifts much more than any of my other basses whose necks are quite stable.
I just keep on it as the truss adjusts very easily. I'm picky about temps and humidity where my basses are stored also, it's that particular bass.

 

[Ostie]

I have a 2001 MIM Jazz and I’ve adjusted the neck once in 24 years. But I keep the humidity about 40% with a power humidifier in the winter and about 50% with a de-humidifier in the summer.

 

[Ritter667]

My two dirt cheap budget Ibanez Mikro basses have really stable necks, and as good as never require truss rod adjustments, so definitely not a matter of quality.

One of them features a Rosewood fretboard, which is ever so slightly less stiff on an average than Maple, and the other a Jatoba board, which is an extremely stiff wood, stiffer than even Ebony.

Both got a regular Hard Maple neck.

Wood is an organic material, and it is very hard to predict how it is going to react over time, so you will have some budget basses with extremely stable necks, and likewise some high end basses with rubber necks.

Just how it is.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Problem is we, all-too-frequently, have 2 wood species bound together and both react to different degrees and at different rates when exposed to ambient fluctuations. This is a akin to the basic design of a bi-metallic "coil" thermostat. Best example would be a heavily-sealed / finished maple neck with an unfinished rosewood fingerboard. As soon as the RH drops, the rosewood shrinks more rapidly than the maple underlayment...hello forward bow, hello fret sprout.

I'm wondering if the effect would be diminished (...same bass) if the maple neck wore only an oil / wax finish.

Riis