Would you keep it or return? Completely loose truss rod and no relief.

[Chaser1]

I bought a brand new Yamaha BB735 two days ago that I love the sound and feel of, but I was doing a truss adjustment to add a little concave to the fretboard as it is dead flat and I need a little relief to get the action to the right spot. I adjusted the truss to loosen it to get a bit of concave and the truss rod is fully loose.

What would you do in this situation? Is this a no brainer return?

 

[L-1329]

Return it. No reason to deal with a problem like that.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

Return it. No reason to deal with a problem like that.

I agree with this 4 sure.

 

[Vinny_G]

Return it. No reason to deal with a problem like that.

+1

 

[bobyoung53]

You could always throw some heavy strings on it for a few days and see if that will give it some relief, I've done that before and it worked.

 

[SJan3]

I bought a brand new Yamaha BB735 two days ago that I love the sound and feel of, but I was doing a truss adjustment to add a little concave to the fretboard as it is dead flat and I need a little relief to get the action to the right spot. I adjusted the truss to loosen it to get a bit of concave and the truss rod is fully loose.

What would you do in this situation? Is this a no brainer return?

I had the same problem with a BB434. I returned it and got a Precision Bass. I'm much happier!

 

[BB Brian]

Brand new? I wouldn't find that acceptable, especially if you need to adjust the neck right away to get it set up correctly. It sucks, but that's how it goes sometimes.

 

[BB Brian]

I had the same problem with a BB434. I returned it and got a Precision Bass. I'm much happier!

Which Precision Bass, and how would the tones compare, would you say?

 

[pcake]

i would either return or exchange it, depending on how i felt about the bass otherwise.

 

[Greenstreet]

I agree.

 

[Chaser1]

Thanks for the responses, I am going to return it. I would love to get another BB, but they don’t have any so would likely have to order one. It’s my second experience with a 5 string, first didn’t take, but I really started to love it. So now I am back at square one to find another 5 for a similar budget. The Yamaha just feels like so much bang for your buck.

 

[BB Brian]

You know, I'd just ask them to order it for you. No sense not getting the bass you want just because you had an issue with a previous one. Speaking from experience, you are not going to play an instrument you do not like. If you're in love? Go ahead and make that little extra effort.

 

[elgranluis]

A dead straight neck is a fantasy for a lot players. Maybe the neck needs to settle down a bit ?

What would do is : reverse-shim the neck, let the bridge saddles take care of the action.

 

[HalfManHalfBass]

RETURN.

Bass necks move over time so if you already have no room for adjustment, you'll be totally screwed further down the line if the neck develops a back bow.

 

[BobKos]

I bought a bass with a similar problem. It was actually backbowed with completely loose rod. As long as you are properly adjusting it, it isn't right. Just FYI - it is best practice to work the neck by hand along with working the truss rod. The rod is only designed to hold the adjustment - not actually move the neck. I would agree with BB Brian that if you like the bass otherwise you should have the retailer get you another one. Chances of two having the same problem are pretty close to nil.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

a no brainer return

This.

Great basses when they work though. I rarely see stuff like this with Yamaha, they're usually very good with QC. Just bad luck I guess.

I would definitely wait for another one. I can't think of any similar bass I would recommend over this one without adding considerably to your budget. Did you get a chance to test the bass to see if you like the sound? They're a bit brighter/tighter/deeper than a classic Fender P, even in passive mode. More "modern" I guess... Whether you like this better is purely down to personal taste.

Looking only at objective build quality you won't find a Fender as good as this BB anywhere near this price range IMO but on the other hand the Yamaha won't be quite as fat/smooth sounding for stuff like old school Motown. I feel like I need to think backwards with the (passive) tone control on the Yamaha BBs. On a Fender I would bring it up all the way and then roll off about 1/3 for the "sweetspot". On the BBs I bring it all the way down and then just a tiny bit back up.

In active mode it's a different story of course. No Motown to be found there (but lots of other cool tones!).

In short: I personally think every single one of the current BBs are WAY better basses than similarly priced Fenders... but I still often prefer Fenders. It depends what kind of sound I need.

 

[Ampeg SVT]

Do the BB734/735 not have Dual Acting truss rods? The BBP's do, you can induce relief in them if you keep going anti-clockwise on the truss rod nut.

 

[lfmn16]

Why would you keep something that's broken. Even if you don't care, try selling a bass with a non-functioning truss rod.

 

[fretno]

I’m with returning it but if it has a dual acting rod as mentioned above then you need to keep turning it to give it the relief you want. Im also with the above comment on working the neck by hand especially if it’s a single acting rod. You can help the relief settle in if you massage it a little from both sides. Lastly it’s pretty common for rods to be stuck in or even glued into place during manufacturing so massaging it can break it free from hanging up. I also give it a couple days to settle in after all the adjustments. So first thing make sure of what type rod is in there before giving up.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Yeah, if its a DA rod, this could mean it's just at its "neutral" position. Have you tried turning it both ways? A DA rod can bow a neck or even push it into backbow. Easy to check, if you keep turning it counter clockwise, it will start to tighten again and backbow the neck. If the nut just comes off, it's a single action rod. You could get some relief by going with higher tension strings, but you shouldn't have to on a new bass.