Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Fretless Neck Adjustments - Truss rod


lukeward2004
 Share

Recommended Posts

HI Guys,

I need some help with adjusting the neck on my nice new Fretless Gary Willis Bass - I suspect the truss rod is in dire need of adjustment, as the action is nice and low but I am getting nothing but a horrible buzz and a muted note from the 8th fret down to the end of the neck (towards the headstock).

I have sighted the neck and its not warped, but there is a lot of bow going away from the strings - so at the headstock end of the bass, the strings are toching the neck.

Its so bad that I am thinking of taking it to a luthier as im too chicken to make any major adjustments to the neck myself, but I thought I would ask your advice first. I know its Righty-tighty, Lefty-loosy, but ive made some minor adjustments to loosen the neck but it has made no difference, and im not keen on making heavy adjustments for fear of breaking something!

The action is just right at the moment, but ive even tried raising the strings to some ridiculous height to get it to sound notes below the 8th fret, but It just isnt playable that way. Kind of eliminates the point of having a ramp on the bass!


HELP!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like an over-tight rod to me. Slacken it off by half a turn or so (that's anti clockwise BTW :) ), and return the strings to pitch (assuming you had to loosen them to get at the rod). It'll settle down over the next day or so. If it still needs more, loosen by a quarter-turn at a time, retuning afterwards, and give it a few hours to settle before adjusting again.

Don't worry about breaking anything - you've got to be a real spanner to bugger up a neck (like putting half a dozen turns onto the rod in one go).

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Alien' post='40265' date='Aug 2 2007, 12:36 AM']Don't worry about breaking anything - you've got to be a real spanner to bugger up a neck (like putting half a dozen turns onto the rod in one go).[/quote]

Agreed, I've never understood why people seem so reluctant to mess with the truss rod (although blokes who work in bass shops tend to act as if an amateur even thinking about doing so will likely result in at least £500 worth of damage).. I know guys who will adjust theirs for every gig, I certainly adjust mine for every new set of strings (unless they're identical to the previous set) and sometimes depending on what I'm playing (if I'm playing Motown I tend to slacken it off a bit to get a much cleaner and better defined note, albeit at the cost of having to work harder, whereas if I'm playing slap stuff I might tighten it a little). As long as you do things gradually and use the appropriate tool there should be no problem.
The advice in the post above is spot on
Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought a second hand fretless with similar symptoms although on mine it was the lower notes that were choking. Hold the string flat against the neck to try and work out where the apex of the bow is and after making each truss-rod adjustment apply gentle but firm pressure to the neck at the point where the bow is in the direction you want the neck to move. Take it easy and adjust a small amount each day. I did about 1/6 turn each time (the amount you could turn the allen key without repositioning it) and tuned the strings up between a semi-tone and a tone in between adjustments. It took about two weeks but now the neck is super straight with just a hint of relief to give me a nice low clean fretless action.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='lukeward2004' post='40778' date='Aug 3 2007, 09:25 AM']THanks for the advice guys - I have made some slight adjustments to the truss rod last night, loosened it off by about a half turn, left it to settle overnight and gave it a little go this morning and it is just right - loving it![/quote]

Luke have you checked out www.garywillis.com. Theres a whole section on set up from the man himself.

Sounds like you have it right now. Unlike the Beedster I prefer not to mess with it too much, and usually check it and adjust about every 6 months (covers changes of temperature between summer and winter) and always on a string change even if I dont change the gauge.

Interestingly I have found that my fretless (Sandberg) is more sensitive to neck relief than my fretted basses (Fender J and Warwick Corvette $$). I guess you need the strings to rattle a bit which is what gives you the characteristic fretless buzz, but not so much the sound is choked off and the difference between one and the other is quite small.

I'm pleased you like the GWB35, I couldnt really get along with the one I tried in the Gallery. I also prefer the natural finish. As you may know, I'm gassing for a GWB1005, but what a price. I mailed Willis about this and got a very nice reply, basically he says the 1005 is handmade and they have no plans to introduce a Far Eastern replica, the 35 is the closest you can get on a budget to the one that the man himself plays.

I'll post Willis' reply when I get home - I cant get at the private mail from work.

Cheers, John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='wildman' post='40978' date='Aug 3 2007, 04:28 PM']Luke have you checked out www.garywillis.com. Theres a whole section on set up from the man himself.[/quote]

Thanks for the heads up wildman. The set-up regime on the garywillis site is staggeringly well explained. You just can't go wrong following the procedure there. Excellent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='lukeward2004' post='42479' date='Aug 7 2007, 02:32 PM']Cheers guys - i was brave enough to do the whole thing myself for the first time and its just perfect![/quote]

Nice one, doing it yourself allows you to tweak it to your exact requirements, which is something only the very best techs can do. It also means you can set it up for the exact temperature and humidity where your bass lives, not to that in the tech's workshop. I spend months getting the relief/saddle height sorted on every bass I have. Other players may not like the end result (most say "too low") but it works for me, and everythime I've had a pro service, I've ended up changing things back anyway :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...