spiderjazz

I'm not sure if I want to keep it at this stage, I only had it 2 weeks and I haven't been terribly happy with it from that start. I was having problems with a loose B string that resonated a bit strangely. Fender B's aren't supposed to be great at the best of times, but I'm sure the damaged truss rod didn't help either. However I'm reading up on necks now, and people are saying that Warmoth necks have steel reinforcement bars along with the truss rod, and the stiffer neck solves the problem with the B. I'd want to be sure though that the B string issue would be solved before I get a new neck though. Any other recommendations as to where I could pick up replacements necks in Ireland/EU?

[color=#282828][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]I bought a secondhand Mexican Fender Jazz 5 string about a month ago. While I was setting up the Jazz, I had noticed there was too much relief on the neck so I went to tighten up the truss rod, went to move it and there was no movement on it, as in I couldn't tighten it up at all. I said I'd take the truss rod nut off to make sure there was nothing catching on the threads on it, but it kept spinning on the direction to loosen it, as in it wouldn't loosen off at all. At this stage I decided it was beyond my level of knowledge so I brought it in to my local luthier to have a look at it about a week and a half ago. Turns out anyway basically that someone who had it before me tightened the nut way too much, and did 2 bits of damage. 1. He cracked the top of the truss rod nut, where the allen key goes in (I assume it happened years ago because there is rust running through the cracks in the nut) and 2. He threaded the actual truss rod itself, so it's impossible to just put a new truss rod nut on it, as it won't be able to grip properly. My situation is that to get it repaired, I've been told that I need to get a new truss rod put into it. To do that, I'd have to get the skunk strip taken out of the back of the neck, a new truss rod put in, and a new skunk strip made up to fit into the back of it, basically a huge job. I don't think it's worth it do that, not for the price that it's going to cost and for the resale value that it's going to have afterwards.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]My other options I think are 1. Order a replacement neck or 2. Separate the bass and sell her off in parts and make back what I can. What do you reckon is my best plan of action?[/size][/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color]

[font=arial, sans-serif][size=3] I bought a secondhand Mexican Fender Jazz 5 string about a month ago. While I was setting up the Jazz, I had noticed there was too much relief on the neck so I went to tighten up the truss rod, went to move it and there was no movement on it, as in I couldn't tighten it up at all. I said I'd take the truss rod nut off to make sure there was nothing catching on the threads on it, but it kept spinning on the direction to loosen it, as in it wouldn't loosen off at all. At this stage I decided it was beyond my level of knowledge so I brought it in to my local luthier to have a look at it about a week and a half ago. Turns out anyway basically that someone who had it before me tightened the nut way too much, and did 2 bits of damage. 1. He cracked the top of the truss rod nut, where the allen key goes in (I assume it happened years ago because there is rust running through the cracks in the nut) and 2. He threaded the actual truss rod itself, so it's impossible to just put a new truss rod nut on it, as it won't be able to grip properly. My situation is that to get it repaired, I've been told that I need to get a new truss rod put into it. To do that, I'd have to get the skunk strip taken out of the back of the neck, a new truss rod put in, and a new skunk strip made up to fit into the back of it, basically a huge job. I don't think it's worth it do that, not for the price that it's going to cost and for the resale value that it's going to have afterwards.[/size][/font] [font=arial, sans-serif][size=3] My other options I think are 1. Order a replacement neck or 2. Separate the bass and sell her off in parts and make back what I can. What do you reckon is my best plan of action?[/size][/font]

Right, got the .145 today, problem (mostly) solved. The lack of tension is totally gone , feels a lot better to play and the notes ring out a lot better. I really like the sound of the D'addario Prosteels, there's a nice low big low end to them with plenty of clarity on the top, I'll pick up a full set of them for my next re-stringing. It's a bit hard on my poor guitarists fingers, I'm gonna have to toughen up There is a slight problem with the string going through the bridge though, the last inch before the ball won't fit through, so I imagine that's not doing me any favours, so I'll go for a .135 when I'm restringing it again. Next on the cards is going to be new pickups and a new bridge, that should (hopefully) have my lust to upgrade quenched and let me spend more time actually playing it!

[quote name='margusalviste' timestamp='1328564290' post='1529295'] Try Elixirs! They have nice tension although they sound a bit different than other brands because of the coated finish. But they might please you. [/quote] I use elixirs on my guitars but didn't really think of them for bass, I must give a look into them!

[quote name='Soliloquy' timestamp='1328378747' post='1526253'] A 145 B string, wow ! You could maybe use it as a tow rope if you don't like the sound of it I guess . I had a US Fender Jazz 5 a couple of years ago. It was a really nice bass, no problems with the B string tension. I used to use DR Low riders on it. They have a hex core though, as others have pointed out. [/quote] I hope that the .145 isn't too big alright, as someone coming from a guitar background I may have bitten off more than I can chew I'll try out a set of hexcore's after this set die, they seem to be a good option. [quote name='Gwilym' timestamp='1328381342' post='1526296'] IMO/IME - a heavier gauge string does not necessarily give a great tone, though it may cure the "floppy" string problem. The bigger gauge can makes matters worse in the sense that (unless the string is tapered at both ends) getting a decent break over the nut and the bridge saddle becomes more difficult, which means string isn't vibrating as it should. A stiffer string with lower gauge (eg. a 125 lo-rider which I've been using) seems to solve both the "floppyness" without causing a "choke" at the bridge/nut, and therefore gives a consistently good B string tone. FWIW - I was talking with Martin Petersen at the Gallery a few months back, and he was of the same opinion, which might lend more weight to my argument [/quote] Thanks for the info. Are the Lo-riders tapered at the bridge? A friend of mine is a big fan of DR Hi beams so I think the lo riders will be on the cards.

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1328358288' post='1525904'] I'd definitely have a look at [url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]Wizard pickups[/url], it's a company in Wales making custom pickups for very competitive prices, the service is great and if you phone up and speak to Andy, he'll pretty much do whatever kind of pickup you want within the limits of a J shape and the laws of physics. Support is fantastic and it helps keep these small niche businesses going. [/quote] I actually emailed him already during the week after seeing all the positive feedback he'd received on the forum. Unfortunately he doesn't do 5 string jazz pickups.

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1328314691' post='1525582'] Gotoh ones here much cheaper than £50: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gotoh-201-5-String-Bass-Guitar-Bridge-Black-/130589433225?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item1e67bc9d89#ht_1105wt_907"]Black[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gotoh-201-5-String-Bass-Guitar-Bridge-Chrome-/160667287662?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item256884406e#ht_1105wt_907"]Chrome[/url] Or get one the same as I did for less [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-STRING-BASS-GUITAR-BRIDGE-STRINGS-THROUGH-REAR-BRIDGE-3-COLOURS-CH-BK-GD-/190584091576?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2c5fb273b8#ht_3764wt_1398"]Same as on my Yam [/url] [/quote] Thanks for the links. It was the first one that I am planning to get, which when converted to euros works out at around 48 euro. That second one would be great, only I'd have to drill holes into the bass, unlike the Gotoh which would be a direct replacement. My .145 hasn't arrived yet, so I'm going to wait until that comes to make sure that that solves most of the problem, at least acoustically. I'm then planning to order the replacement bridge, and I'm thinking of ordering a set of SD Quarter Pounder Jazz 5 set as well. They seem to have a pretty good balance of improvement over stock pickups and price.

[quote name='73Jazz' timestamp='1328131928' post='1522522'] I really do not know the english word for it, but you may try a cable binder and test if more pressure on the lowend strings and nut will bring you success [/quote] I assume you're talking about a cable tie [url="http://www.manufacturer.com/cimages/product/www.alibaba.com/0320/u/11321041_Cable_Tie.jpg"]http://www.manufacturer.com/cimages/product/www.alibaba.com/0320/u/11321041_Cable_Tie.jpg[/url] I should have the retainer by next week and I'll let people know how it goes!

[quote name='73Jazz' timestamp='1328131481' post='1522508'] Try a marcus miller 5 string string retainer, or like those on the roscoe beck V. This will help the sound a lot [/quote] I ordered a 5 string retainer tonight for the bass, it will go across the 5 strings, but there is already a retainer there for A, D and G so it will be used for the B and E strings, hopefully it will help along with the bigger string!

[quote name='Acebassmusic' timestamp='1328046301' post='1521007'] I'm using Ken Smith TCRML-5's ([color=#000000]Taper Core-Medium Light[/color] [color=#000000].044 .063 .080T .102T .125T[/color]). Also hex core strings tend to feel tighter / stiffer I find. [/quote] Yeah I was reading about Hexcore strings last night, the DR DDT's look pretty good and seem to stay in tune well. I ended up ordering a .145 d'addario pro steel so I'll see how that goes first. [quote name='Sean' timestamp='1328083406' post='1521391'] What kind of bridge is on it? You could replace the bridge with something like a Gotoh, which will effectively give you a bit more tension as the anchor points are a few millimeters further back. You could also fit some Hipshot string trees, these too will make a difference. I did both these mods to my Yamaha BB415 and it changed the instrument completely and for the better. I got the idea about the string trees from reading something that Hugh MacDonald said about why he insists on these Hipshot retainers for all his Sadowsky basses. You can see the bridge change in this thread [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/78057-yamaha-bb415/page__p__934898__hl__yamaha%20bb415__fromsearch__1#entry934898"]here[/url] and the string trees are [url="http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=26"]here[/url] and available from eBay and other online places. You will have a much more robust and less temperamental instrumental that isn't fussy about strings if you do these mods and in total, the bridge (a Gotoh copy that cost me £12) and the retainers (less than a tenner for two to cover all 5 strings) cost less than a set of strings and enhanced the look of the bass. [/quote] The bridge is the stock mexican bridge. I had thought of replacing it before so that definitely is on the cards now. Those two ideas are very interesting, and neither look like they will break the bank! It currently has a string retainer on the A, D and G strings, would it be okay then to get a separate 2 string retainer for B and E? I see that Sadowdkys and Laklands both have 5 string retainers/tension bars so I imagine it won't do any harm anyway Looking at a Gotoh 201 5 string bridge, works out just less than 50 euro shipped.

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]I got a Fender Mexican Jazz 5 string at the weekend, and I put a set of Dean Markley Blue Steel 45-128 gauge strings on it (they were the only one's available in the shop) and I'm not a fan on them overall, but the Low B in particular is really floppy and has no definition at all to it. I was reading there that Fender's have a 34" scale, so that makes them a bit looser, so what can I do to get the B string nice and tight? I'm going to go up in gauge, but is there any particular strings that have a tighter tension? I was looking at picking up a set of D'addario Prosteels that go from 0.45 - 0.135. What other brands of strings have people used with success on Fender 5 strings?[/font]

Thanks man, that's perfect. I didn't realise that there was the little allen key thing on the pot, ended up ripping the shaft of the pot out!!! Think I might have a 500k pot at home from an Ibanez RG that I replaced the pickups in it with actives, will check to see if its the same type before ordering!

Just got an Ibanez SRX 500, and like a donkey just broke the volume pot while trying to tighten up the nut underneath, it's just spinning around now with no friction stopping it. Does anybody know where the best place would be for me to get a replacement pot? Does anybody know if I need to replace the actual knob as well, it looks like they're somehow connected. Thanks, Eamonn