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Trus rod question

bassgod76

bassgod76

Garbage bassist, but I love this goofy instrument
Mar 13, 2003
5,329
1,133
South Florida
#1
A buddy gave me an old MIJ Aria pro. It's in tough shape, and needs some TLC.

The neck seems to have a fair amount of relief.

I tried the trus rod adjust, and it turns okay.

After a few turns, tightening the trus rod to decrease the relief, the adjust started getting tight. I stopped, but it seems the relief doesn't seem much less.

My question:

Is this issue a thing where I should wait a few days to see where the action is, or is this neck toast?
 
#2
Back the string tension off some and wait a couple days, if you may be at max adjustment. The string tension is countering your adjustment.

If it doesn't come around to where you can tune to pitch w/o too much string height, it may be a truss rod thing. I don't off-hand know what type of truss rod is in that particular bass, and the options are dependent on truss rod type.
 
#4
You should never change a truss rod more than 1/4 turn per day. It takes quite some time for the wood to readjust and stabilize after a change in tension.
 
#6
Also - you shouldn't make the truss rod do all the work to change the relief. If it needs to move a lot, you should back the rod off from where it is, figure out a way to bend the neck in the way you need it to go (using your arm, using clamps, etc...) and then once you've helped the wood move where you want it, tighten the rod back up to that point.

The truss rod was never meant to be the sole means of adjustment - that's you you strip them or max them out.
.
 
#7
MarkoYYZ said:
Also - you shouldn't make the truss rod do all the work to change the relief. If it needs to move a lot, you should back the rod off from where it is, figure out a way to bend the neck in the way you need it to go (using your arm, using clamps, etc...) and then once you've helped the wood move where you want it, tighten the rod back up to that point.

The truss rod was never meant to be the sole means of adjustment - that's you you strip them or max them out.
.
Click to expand...

This is excellent advice. Limiting yourself to 1/4 turn a day and waiting a week for stabilization is not. I would:

*Remove the strings, manually flex the neck, and adjust the TR nut. If you meet an inordinate amount of resistance, stop and re-group.

*If the bass has a removable TR nut, this is a good time to add 1-2 washers.

Riis
 
#8
bholder said:
You should never change a truss rod more than 1/4 turn per day.
Click to expand...

While I get the thinking behind this, to me it's kinda like never crossing the street when the light is red. Nice safety precaution, but none of my basses would ever get their necks adjusted if I lived by that rule. And most people don't. IME anyway.

What I DO do is put pressure on the neck (in a very loving way) after tightening a truss rod. Bend it backwards gently by pushing at the top and bottom of the neck (or the opposite if I'm loosening). A guitar tech taught me to do that a long time ago, and it seems to help.

Yes, a day can at times make a big difference in a truss rod adjustment, but usually not unless making a full turn or more... and often times more than that quarter turn is needed.

To the OP, there is going to be some tension in tightening. The amount of that tension, though hard to accurately describe, dictates where to draw the line. Any significant effort, as in this effer ain't moving any more, or, "I'm going to have to put some elbow grease into this now," is NOT good. Pressure that an 8 yr. old girl would still be able to handle without taking a firm stance, I'd say good.
 
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#9
After letting it sit all noght, the action lowered. That's good. That means the rod does work.

What I will do is loosen the trus rod, remove the strings, brace the neck, then tighten the rod.
 
#11
bholder said:
You should never change a truss rod more than 1/4 turn per day. It takes quite some time for the wood to readjust and stabilize after a change in tension.
Click to expand...
When I first got my warwick second hand the relief was insanely high and the action was something like 12-13mm at the 12th fret. I thought, I can fix this. I did about 25 quarter turns in an hour, then decided to leave it for a couple of days and do the rest later. bass works great now. Not saying it was the best thing to do but I've never played a bass that feels as smooth as this one does right now. didn't seem to hurt it any. now my action is 2.2mm bass side and 1.7 treble with no buzz
 

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