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removing neck

L

Leftyjames

Jan 9, 2005
30
1
37
Brussels, Belgium
www.ratsofthecapital.com
#1
hi,
I just bought a second hand lefty '62 reissue Jazzbass MIJ but the action is far to high for me, I would like to lower it, i've already lowered the saddles but then the high frets buzz, so I should probably change the thing on my trussrod, but I can't get to it.. it's half- hidden in the body. Should I remove the neck completly... ? or how should I do it ?! Is there a safe way to do this, or just unscrew it and just screw it back on ??

thanks

Jamie
 
#4
BTW, it's not necessary to remove the strings. Loosen the strings and use a rubber band or something to secure them (so they won't flop around) at the nut. Unscrew the neck and tilt it up enough to tighten/loosen the truss rod, adjust the truss rod and screw it back together. Make note of how tight the neck screws are when you unscrew them so you can tighten them back the way they were.
 
#6
Bummer having to do all that just to adjust the truss. It's something that has to be done from time to time.

Keep in mind the info at the Gary Willis setup site. If you lower the saddles and get fret buzz at the high frets, you've got too much relief, and you'll need to tighten the truss rod a bit. Since you would be tightening, I would suggest trying about 1/4 turn.. If loosening the truss, I would suggest going with about 1/8 turn. Loosening shows more immediate results sometimes compared to tightening.

Since you'll probably be tightening and removing some relief, you'll have to come UP with all of your saddles. Probably have to do this just to tune up to pitch. Then start adjusting them back down to see if you like the action better.

Mag...
 
#9
Leftyjames said:
thanks alot, i've just tightned the trussrod bij turning 1/4 colckwise, right ? I suppose I'll have to wait a day or so to get some resluts. I'll keep you up to date

Jamie
Click to expand...

Jamie, you should have immediate results after tightening (or loosening) the truss. Yes, you tightened it by turning clockwise, which is what it sounds like it needed. Your only problem is knowing if you tightened it enough, and you won't know this until you get the neck bolted back on securely, bridge saddles raised, strings tuned to pitch..
r379 mentioned a pro setup, and a possible shim under the neck. The shim might be needed if you find the upper fret action seriously high when the lower frets are just right.

Just keep in mind that by adjusting the truss you are NOT setting your action. All you are doing is adjusting the amount of relief in the neck to let the strings ring true. The action might still not be right for you, even after adjusting the saddles, and this is sometimes cured by the neck-pocket shim.

Mag...
 

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