daws0n

Incase someone stumbles across this thread looking for the same part, here is Fender's advice straight from the horse's mouth: Darren Riley sells them for a very reasonable price (10 USD) but the shipping cost is 47 USD on top. I'm a bit flabbergasted that these parts are so difficult to come by for MIA guitars, when they are readily available for cheaper MIM fender models for <£10. Not what I expected after paying a lot of money for an instrument!

According to service manual American series basses have a different part number truss rod nut. Same goes for both the Ultra and AMII pro models the rod has a less common different thread size, 12-28 part 0048688049 is what's needed, allegedly the same as 0048688000. Not easy to come by the UK currently so I have ordered one from the USA.

I don't understand it either, I much prefer truss rod adjusters at the neck end for this reason... On my mia Jazz it's not a major problem, the scratch plate comes off in no time and I can get an allen key on the nut OK then. With the P-Bass the scratch plate covers the pots and switches also, so removing would be far more involved. Using the Fender T-Bar the angle of attack is such that nothing is snug and you're relying mostly on the ball end for grip... It feels like there's plenty of bite left but given the value of the bass it's not something I'll make of a habit of adjusting often until the nut is replaced. Compared to the easy access on Ibanez bass below, it feels like a design choice that's asking for trouble long term.

Yes standard 3/16". Good to know they can be unspun and replaced, I didn't know that was an option!

Morning all I picked up this lovely new bass this week. Bought from original owner, hardly played, 18 months old. All is as expected my only concern being the truss rod nut, it looks a little worn to me? As it's in warranty I took it to a local fender dealer yesterday for their technician to check. He got the rod moving swiftly and corrected the forward bow, relief now at 0.015". All good is for now but I'd rather do the job myself in future. Stew Mac's gripper truss rod wrenches don't come cheap but look ideal for avoiding further wear & tear, are they a worthwhile investment over Fender's bundled T-Bar?

Looking better already Not a bad sounding amp for a 15 watt combo - the compressor does the job nicely as well. Well pleased for a few quid!

D'oh that was easy, lifted it clean off using the plastic strips!

Picked this up at a local car boot sale today, looks to have gotten damp at some point but figured it was worth a punt for beer money! To my surprise it's working fine, but there's a fair of white mold on the wood around the speaker. I'd like to get in there and clean it up with some white vinegar... I've taken the front cover screws off but the cover is stuck down well. Is there a knack to getting these off?

Just catching up guys, I hadn't realised anyone had replied! I remember your GB modern well gafbass02, was a lovely bass... One of the reasons I checked this one out! I've tried turning the wheel strings loose to no avail, but I haven't used any kind of oils/lubes to get it moving yet. It's a bolt on neck, so makes life easier. I have some old fashioned 3 in 1 oil in the shed along with some GT85, I'll give it a try when the times comes - the the moment the relief measuring is OK at 0.40mm but I'll need to get it moving eventually no doubt! Another thing I've noticed is low B is rather rattly on open string, at first I thought the nut must be cut too deep but looking at the string winding it looks to be a tad short for a 35" scale neck... It's starting to wind in before the nut, not by much but wondering if it's enough to cause issues?

Took bass back today for a no quibbles return after agreeing Truss rod was stuck. Once refunded and back on the wall I asked them to contact me if they get it repaired or decide to drop the price - a phone call later the boss man agreed to 50% discount on a no return basis. I figure it's worth that in parts so back home it came!

Thanks both. Bass is in otherwise as new condition (plastic wrap still on scratchplate, pups, and backing) all suggesting that it's seen very little use. I'd love to sort the issue myself but hesitate to tinker in-case I void said warranty. It looked like a fair deal at asking, but it's too much to splurge on a something with a potentially defective neck. Said shop is a general pawn rather than music shop, I don't think they have a guitar tech onsite - will take it back today to see what they can do about it.

I picked up a used Cort GB75 today as I want to try out a 5 string - she plays nicely and is in very good condition. After bringing it home I've discovered that the truss rod isn't moving - the spoke wheel has a small amount of free play but won't budge any further in either direction. I've used a long handled screw driver which fits into the wheel perfectly - all my other basses have hex nuts, when I've encountered spoke wheels in the past they've needed little effort to turn. Bass was shop bought and has a warranty, before I return it can anyone advise any thing else to try?

Given the bass a setup and it's singing well across the fretboard - turns out the muted tone on the A string was caused by the bad bass bridge innotation screw - it was too close and was choking the string. Action/innotation sorted and the strings wrapped tidy around the tuning pegs. No more choking and playing much better now. She almost took a bad knock on the weekend, I brought it down to show a mate of mine who's into his guitars - 5 mins after putting back on stand the bass slid side ways falling onto the living room TV!! Luckily I caught it before a total drop, but left with a scratched panel and bent machine head. Bloody annoying but nothing broken thankfully, could of been worse. Lesson learnt the hard way there, simple A frames have been absolutely fine for smaller Ibanez basses but for larger jazz bodies they can be unstable. Just collected a new stand off eBay for a tenner, much better

Good spot on the headstock Bassassin, I didn't know that either! Re: finish it's had a life and taken a few knocks, not bothered as it wasn't an expensive buy. The pick up screws are badly rounded on a couple of sides, so I'll be swappijg them out before I look under the covers - putting these on order https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266341683444

Picked this up today on a whim from a local s/h shop - it's been strung with flat wounds and modded with a badass bass ii bridge - the burgundy pick ups suggest they're not original either. Back plate says "steel adjustable neck made in Japan" with serial number starting with 05. I've a hunch it could be a 60s/70s model, any ideas? Plugged in and she's a bit quiet but all pots are working.

Cheers John. I assume it's just a case of unstringing the bass, removing the pick up screws completley, lifting them out and add some foam cut to fit underneath before popping back in? I'll see what I have around the house that will work.

It's frustrating but tinkering over the weekend has been an education! Fender recommended spec for pickup height is 2.8mm bottom (E) / 2mm top (G) - I've got them close @ 3mm / 2.5mm (neck) & 3mm / 2mm (bridge). I can't get the neck pick up rise anymore, if I unscrew them a little and wiggle the cover I seem to be moving the housing more than the pole pieces as I can see them recessing. Repeating the same exercise with my MiM player jazz, it was a lot simpler and the pickups stay firmly in place. With the AMII pro, the pickups move about under pressure, if I use one as a thumb rest they start to sink. Can anyone suggest a durable material to put under them for support? I've read mouse mats are a good choice. With shims removed and proper neck relief, I've set the action now as follows: E 2.6mm (bottomed out) A 2.5mm D 2.5mm G 2mm Looks like the plastic shim put in on the first setup was doing nothing to help, my guess is that it sunk into the body pretty much straight away after the neck was put back on. If I decide to try a shim again, I'll insist on a full pocket one.

Thank you John. As it happens I found a video afternoon on YouTube which follows it step by step - very interesting watch!

Bass is now back to original state, glad I whipped up the bottle to get the neck off and take a look (equal size screws in case anyone's wondering). Found the original plastic shim in place with a piece of folded sand paper on top of it. I've spent over £100 on setup fees since getting the bass, I seriously don't think I could do any worse a job myself with the basic tools I have at home. She is back together while I figure out what to do next. Thinking either Blue Peter a shim out of cardstock or splash out on a Stew Mac full pocket shim. A wood full pocket shim would be better long term however I'd need to buy a blank shim and make the holes myself. Damn shame he doesn't do a 5 bolt variant! Option C is to buy a babicz bridge as recommended above but that will have to wait.

Back onto the subject of pick ups, here is the distance between the neck / bridge pickups with finger down at fret 20: 4mm at neck pickup 5.5mm at bridge pickup A long way off fender's recommendation here https://support.fender.com/en-us/knowledgebase/article/KA-01903 Had a good look at under the neck pick up with a flash light, I stand correct earlier - there are no springs over the pick up screws

Agreed, I am surprised given the cost of the instrument. The first bass I bought 2 years ago was a used JSH Vintage 940B - it's heavy and sounds uninspiring but it plays nicely was no more than £250 new. There is nothing fancy on it hardware wise but it works as it should. https://hazeguitars.com/blog/neck-shimming-and-ski-jumps-the-latest-research This guy says that full pocket shims are best and small shim can cause ski jumping. Not a term I've heard before, but my old Hondo definitley has this issue - for it's age it sounds and plays surprisingly well for budget aimed 80s instrument. Until Fret 14 onwards, when every note chokes and buzzes. I don't mind as it was not expensive and I enjoy it for what it is. I really want this Fender to play well as it's cost me more than most of my other basses put together!

Here are some better photos the AMII with shim #2 installed. The E string saddle has gone from being bottomed out to 3mm above the bridge, since the rest of the string heights were OK they are now standing very proud. I am thinking it would benefit from a thinner shim to bring the saddle height down and increase pickup output?

Good point MrCrane, my Hondo has equal sized screws but I'll be sure to check what's what on the Fender.

I've found a comprehensive guide on here courtesy of BOD2 which has been very helpful (good job!). Got up early before everyone else to make a start. As a trial run re: neck removal I've used my trusty Hondo 830 precision copy as a guinea pig. I took it to the same luthier last year and I recall that he put in a shim on this bass also, here it is: It's a couple of strips of sand paper near the back pocket, at least it hasn't squashed in like the plastic strip shim #1 had on my AMII. I've taken it out and the saddles still have plenty of room for adjustment (see attached) so seems pointless putting it back in. Will move onto the the AMII later today, I'm assuming it will be sandpaper cut in similar fashion but we'll see. BOD2's above guide suggests cutting a shim from thin card stock to the fit back pocket snuggly, so I'll try that if needed.

Dead notes were not an issue prior to shim #2 install (shim #1 was a thin plastic strip so wasn't doing much). My knee jerk thought is to take out the shim tomorrow and see how it plays now the relief is in a better place. I'll admit though I am a bit unsure about taking the neck off, is there any best practice to follow for unscrewing the neck? Thinking the safest/best way to go about it would be to unscrew the lone one furthest from the body, then the other 4 in a criss cross fashion. Does it really matter?? No idea! Excuse the pendantry if it's not needed