Neck warpage
- Thread starter RG2820
- Start date
If it's not too badly warped, you can always lower the action.
Always start with the trussrod first.
As a general rule, I think it's better to remove all the strings to adjust the trussrod, otherwise you'll end up warping the neck like I did before.
If you like the action low, get it as straight as you can get, then string it back up and adjust the string height by tweaking the saddle heights.
Have fun with it, but if you're not too sure about it, it's best to bring it to somebody who knows.
Always start with the trussrod first.
As a general rule, I think it's better to remove all the strings to adjust the trussrod, otherwise you'll end up warping the neck like I did before.
If you like the action low, get it as straight as you can get, then string it back up and adjust the string height by tweaking the saddle heights.
Have fun with it, but if you're not too sure about it, it's best to bring it to somebody who knows.
yea i'm quite reluctant to touch the truss rod as its not exactly my bass.. hehe.. but i cant stand the warpage man.. plus the intonation is off. i would most definatly wanna get it all setup and stuff but i'm not too experienced in this area.. if its a elec guitar than its another story. i'll post a picture of the neck warpage tml..
exin
New member
RG2820 said:i am wonder if the neck of a bass guitar should be slightly warped? and i also find my bass's action a little high. does anyone knows of any remedies? thanks
if the neck is a little curved it's perfectly fine .. what i mean by a little curved meaning ... it's only a space of around 1.5mm there about of space at the 7th fret when you press down the 1st and 12th fret to measure ...
for my neck .. it's straight ... i keep it that way due to the nature of my neck ...
action can be determined by 3 factors ... nut height, usually set at default by manufacturer, neck curvature and saddle height .. once you get all these fixed your bass should be at the optimum already ..
It's true that most of the time, guitar necks are usually set up with a bit of curvature, so that there is at least some relief.
On the other hand, if the trussrod of the neck is functioning properly and the wood is not warped, the guitar neck should also be able to be set dead straight.
If the neck can't be set straight when you want it to, then it's a problem that may potentially be quite costly to solve.
On the other hand, if the trussrod of the neck is functioning properly and the wood is not warped, the guitar neck should also be able to be set dead straight.
If the neck can't be set straight when you want it to, then it's a problem that may potentially be quite costly to solve.
Angle of tilt of the neck does make a lot of difference too.
It requires a lot of patience and effort to bolt on the neck to give the correct angle, otherwise no matter how the truss rod is adjusted, the action will never be as low a ideal.
In addition. Normally the neck should have a slight relief at the 12th fret. Reason being the amplitude of vibration of the string is greatest at half the wavelength (for open string). As the string gets shorter (ie fret at 3rd or 5th fret etc), the highest amplitude of vibration will now be at 15th fret or 17th fret respectively.
However because the effective string length is now shorter, the max amplitude is also lower. That is why action at the 12th fret will always be highest, and action at the 1st fret and 24th fret is the lowest (If anyone understands what I mean)
Ok tat's my perspective of string action.
It requires a lot of patience and effort to bolt on the neck to give the correct angle, otherwise no matter how the truss rod is adjusted, the action will never be as low a ideal.
In addition. Normally the neck should have a slight relief at the 12th fret. Reason being the amplitude of vibration of the string is greatest at half the wavelength (for open string). As the string gets shorter (ie fret at 3rd or 5th fret etc), the highest amplitude of vibration will now be at 15th fret or 17th fret respectively.
However because the effective string length is now shorter, the max amplitude is also lower. That is why action at the 12th fret will always be highest, and action at the 1st fret and 24th fret is the lowest (If anyone understands what I mean)
Ok tat's my perspective of string action.
exin
New member
that's true in a sense lah .. basically .. here are some laymen pointers to consider ..
after adjusting your action .. (you can actually adjust as low as possible)
are you strings buzzing way too much .. a little string buzz is perfectly fine ... a sign that your bass neck is healthy .. =) ..
are you comfortable with it?
ensure that your neck isn't curving the other way .. meaning .. reverse curavture . that ... will be very bad ..
if not .. just take it to a luthier and ask him to fix it up for you lah ..
after adjusting your action .. (you can actually adjust as low as possible)
are you strings buzzing way too much .. a little string buzz is perfectly fine ... a sign that your bass neck is healthy .. =) ..
are you comfortable with it?
ensure that your neck isn't curving the other way .. meaning .. reverse curavture . that ... will be very bad ..
if not .. just take it to a luthier and ask him to fix it up for you lah ..
confused said:
I think it depends on how bad the warp is. One way I can think of is to release all the string tension, and rest the neck of the bass (in gig bag) against a wall bout 30 degrees(frets towards the wall). Leave it for a few days and then put back the strings.
This should cause the neck to backbow a little bit. once the strings are tensioned, repeat the above for another few days to 'set' the neck.
If the warp is more serious, then truss rod need to be adjusted as well. Tightening the truss rod will create a backbow (string tension need to be released before adjusting truss rod). So everytime truss rod is adjusted, the neck need to be 'set' for a few days as mention above.
This works for me personally. Hope it helps.
