Truss Rod.....I don't get this.....

[Matty Koff]

Crack the neck? It is half a baseball bat of hard maple, more or less. Try cracking it with a two pound sledge. You'll have better luck.

Seriously, the bigger risk is twisting the end off the truss rod. Which is pretty tough to do if you are a regular tool user and understand the difference between snug, really tight, and leave it alone. If it squeaks, leave it alone.

lol that's reassuring. In all my years of using stringed instruments the perils of too much trust rod adjustment has kept me from it..but thank all of you guys for pointing me in the right direction on that. Knowing what to look for if I ever need to make said adjustment makes it less scary to me. Sorry to the OP for unintentionally hi-jacking the thread.

I only posted because the OP seemed worried about string height.. and afaik that's an issue which requires adjustment of the bridge/saddle height. I personally haven't had to adjust anything since my initial setup, but I do check my intonation with every new set of strings just in case a saddle slipped slightly.

 

[bassnyc1]

Sorry to the OP for unintentionally hi-jacking the thread.

Not a problem! I learn more by having related discussion than anything else.
I've basically been doing my own setups for almost 2 years now; after playing for almost 30 and always wondering about set ups but being too afraid to try. I watched the 4 part Cruz tools videos on YouTube over and over and got myself a tool set and started tinkering. The only problem is that all my basses are expensive and I don't want to screw anything up but I've been lucky so far. My nephew's neglected SX made some free time on a long weekend productive and reaching out here helps a lot so I welcome any and all comments and advice!

 

[twoByFour]

Crack the neck? It is half a baseball bat of hard maple, more or less. Try cracking it with a two pound sledge. You'll have better luck.

Seriously, the bigger risk is twisting the end off the truss rod. Which is pretty tough to do if you are a regular tool user and understand the difference between snug, really tight, and leave it alone. If it squeaks, leave it alone.

I have cracked the neck on a cheap acoustic guitar just by over tightening the truss rod. Granted, it was a REALLY cheap guitar, but the OP is talking about a pretty cheap bass.

 

[96tbird]

I stand corrected. Thanks

Well a neglected instrument should always have the neck relief checked and set first. Then action.

Yesterday I grabbed a bass I haven't played since summer. Relief was outta whack and therefore action seemed high. I knew my bass action was good last time I played it in August.So I set the relief to my liking (added truss tension) and the action returned to normal. So yes relief affects action, but you don't set action with relief, but you can't get action optimized without proper relief, so begin with relief. Ha. Clear as mud. Just mull it over and you'll get the idea.

 

[96tbird]

Crack the neck? It is half a baseball bat of hard maple, more or less. Try cracking it with a two pound sledge. You'll have better luck.
.

Baseball bat. Point out the strongest part on this bass. Baseball bat; precisely.