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What causes a neck to warp or twist.

#2
A case is not anymore airtight than a gig back, neither does it prevent temperature flucturation.

A case does offer more physical protection, but really wouldn't protect the bass from going through moister and temperature changes.

Air conditioning might prevent these factors to a large degree depending on the specific type, but seems like a bit of a drastic solution.
 
#3
Do I need a case or is a good gig bag and air conditioning OK.
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Either one is fine. The REAL reason for a case or bag is to keep all the splinters in one place when you drop it.

The container you store it in has nothing to do with warped or twisted necks. That has to do with the amount of moisture in the wood.
 
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#4
If the wood isn't properly selected (i.e., has straight grain) or is not properly dried before use it can warp or twist. Subject to drastic enough changes in temperatore and/or humidity any neck can but normaly it is the fault of the wood used.
 
#5
As stated above, extreme humidity and temperature changes can cause necks to warp. Also, some woods like highly figured flamed or birds eye maple are more prone to warping, due to the knots in the wood. As with most woods, they all have a character of their own. And they all respond to the elements different. As for protection against warping, climate control can help. But in the real world full on climate control is not realistic. And gig bags can do as good a job of protection depending on the quality and padding, as well as the way it's handled.
 
#6
Short of getting soaked, stored in a baking hot car, soggy basement, or other extreme conditions, a neck shouldn't warp if it was well made. One piece necks seem more prone to twist, or at least I've never seen a multi-piece laminate neck with a significant twist. Layers of opposing grain and glue will, in theory , be more stable.
 
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#7
Gilmourisgod said:
Short of getting soaked, stored in a baking hot car, soggy basement, or other extreme conditions, a neck shouldn't warp if it was well made. One piece necks seem more prone to twist, or at least I've never seen a multi-piece laminate neck with a significant twist. Layers of opposing grain and glue will, in theory , be more stable.
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Layers of opposing grain - i.e. flat sawn and quarter sawn lead to another set of problems as was discovered in the aircraft industry in the 1930's. You actually risk structural integrity in such a configuration. Many fine instrument makers prefer close-grained flat sawn one piece necks. But if you can't afford that (really good close-grained maple is expensive), you can make them from lesser-grade glued-up material.
 
#8
Two-Spirit said:
Do I need a case or is a good gig bag and air conditioning OK.
Click to expand...

a real gp kind of question but;

-gig bag or case is fine. where you put it is more important. buy a hygrometer and try to maintain a reasonable RH of about 45% to 60%. keep in mind of where the guitar was built though. for example something built in SE Asia during monsoon season in a non-controlled build room is gonna move a bunch when kept in suburban Wisconsin.

-ac is fine. but coming from the acoustic guitar build world, we're real picky about temp deviations. like going from the super hot car to your chill crib. drastic temp swings can cause finish checks with fine finishes like lacquer or shellac/varnish. electric instruments are more robust structurally though.

-ime, warpage is generally caused by poor wood selection/condition at the the time of build and construction methods. by wood selection i mean grain geometry, grain orientation, seasoning, and defects. by condition i mean moisture content at the time of build. generally a MC of 4.5% to 7% is ideal. by construction methods i mean how the neck was made -one piece (better have the best of all possible conditions), laminate, and the type of re-enforcement (cf rods, titanium, etc..) of either style of construction if applicable. once again coming from the acoustic guitar world, we don't use water based AR glues in neck and fretboard glue-up's due to inducing back bow from the water content in the glue.

quality neckwork is crucial to the ability of an instrument to play well, and sustain a good set-up over time. fwiw i usually see neck problems with more economical instruments. then again i did a fret leveling and crowning on a 7 string Schecter electric guitar. Once the strings were off, the neck twisted up like a pretzel and i had to really scheme to get this thing level enough to do the job. After I was done and the strings were back on, the guitar was great with a low action and near perfect geometry. Big fat jumbo Dunlop frets really helped though!
 
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#9
I've read that gig bags in particular, since they are soft/porous/sponge-like, can absorb humidity and the humidity inside can be much greater than the room air, especially if gig bag is sitting on floor, which they usually are.

I hang my basses on wall. Open ai, plus humid air sinks so the elevation helps a bit.
 

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