Stupid question
Trujeeper
Posts: 58
OK. Don't rip on me...I just wondered if anyone knew how to take the bow out of the neck of my bass....PM me. So what if it is some easy simple thing...or not possible at all....just thought someone here would know.
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What kind of bass do you have?
If the neck is bowed forward and the strings are far from the fretboard, then it most likely needs a truss rod adjustment, if it has one.
Bass necks tend to bow out fairly easily because they're longer than guitar necks. The pull of the strings slowly pulls the headstock forward. The truss rod is a metal rod that runs down the center of the neck, from the headstock to the body end.
It's curved inside the neck, so that when you tighten the nut, the rod pushes the center of the neck forward to straighten it.
Try loosening up the strings and letting it sit with no tension and see if the neck straightens some. If it does easily, then hopefully, tightening the truss rod nut will straighten the neck. The nut is probably under a little plastic piece on the front of the headstock
If you aren't technically adept, don't try it yourself and take it to a guitar tech.
If you are, then you can give it a shot. Just make sure the nut moves and isn't rusted on the rod. Turn it only a 1/4 turn to start and see what happens.
If it's really bowed out far, then sometimes you can take the strings off and put a little pressure to bend it back, but over time. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
First questions, though,,,,, what kind of bass, and how bad is the bow?
We'll fix this sucker!
Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
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http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html
Also this forum is great for anything bass related.
http://www.talkbass.com
I am currently working on my old Sears accoustic, very old (1950's or so) and in need of TLC. It is costing me a lot of $$$$ to bring it back to vintage looks and quality sound...but I don't want my bass to get worse in the mean time. I loosen the strings when it is not being played and tune it up when I am ready to play...but I can only do this for so long. I lean it soundboard in when I set it down...have yet to check any adjustment. Will ask my guy at the shop to check it for me. Don't want to destroy a good sounding instrument with my lack of knowledge. Any other tips will be welcomed. Thanks. Trujeeper
Does it look like a Fender Precision bass? Sebring was a Korean clone. I saw a clone es-355 once that was actually fairly nice.
I guess this depends on how much you love this bass.
To get a read on things, get a straightedge, like a 24" Rafter square, or something like that. Hold the guitar in playing position and lay the straightedge on the neck from the first fret down,,, not on the nut.
See how much space there is between the square and the fret at about the 12th fret. That's one way to get an idea of how far it's out. You can measure that gap with feeler gauges.
Is the neck kind of soft? How much does it give when you play it and push gently on the neck to bow it. Some necks are just too soft to work with.
1) If it's WAY out of straight,,, the truss rod might not adjust it. Like I said up there somewhere, you can try to adjust it if you want. You would put back pressure on the neck to make it easier to turn the nut,sort of "prebending" it back and be very careful. If the nut doesn't turn, put a little oil or WD-40 on it with a Q-tip and wait. If it still doesn't turn,,,, don't force it. Sometimes loosening the nut frees it up, too.
That's the hopeful nice warm and fuzzy scenario that it will adjust back into line!
2) If that doesn't do it,,,, then refretting with frets that have a larger "tang" on them can put the neck back in line. The tang is the part that fits and holds it into the slot in the fretboard. That may be more than you want to put into this, though.
3) It's sometimes possible to heat the neck and put pressure on it to bend it back, but that might not be permanent, and is a trick that can do lots of unexpected things, like mess up the finish and melt the inlays and warp the neck the wrong way. It IS a cool last resort thing to try though!
4) After the heat treatment totally messes it up, you can buy a new neck.
If it's close to a Fender Bass size, then you can get a neck from Warmouth or Allparts for probably $160 to $200 which can very well be the price you can find another decent off brand bass.
A new neck without the holes drilled where it meets the body, then you have to carve it to fit and drill holes. Not really that hard if you are handy. I've done it many times.
Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
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Your signature has a quote from my favorite Goo Goo Dolls song!
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
Yeah!!! Funny side note...I couldn't remember where I got that from...and for the longest time I could hear the tune in my head but couldn't place it...the other day, on some random local station (while I was surfing for music as apposed to commercials) it was there...and I remembered....
The nut is hard to turn, and I am currently without WD-40...so payday, I will try again. My tech guy suggested putting it in a warm room (difficult here in the pacific northwest) and hang about eight pounds from it...carefully. If it is too much...if none of these fix it...I may just leave well enough alone. I mean, it sounds good now.
I don't know that I will try to heat it. Sounds dangerous. I really can't afford to buy another bass right now to replace this one and I can't stand to be without one. My husband has had no peace for six years...until I got this one. I will try what seems safe and if it helps great. If not...it will just have to do until I can get a better paying job.
Thanks for the help. I'll let ya know how it comes out.
Peace