barryman Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) [b]I have a problem with a bass neck. I left my bass out in the sun for only a coupla hours and the result is the bloody neck has twisted. I don't mean a bow or hump, I mean it's developed a twist from right to left like someone held the body end while someone else tried to twist the headstock. Looking down from the headstock I can see that the headstock and nut are not level with the fretboard as it should be.[/b] [b]I need advice on how to fix it. I know that one answer is to buy a new neck but I'd prefer to sort it out myself if poss. A friend said something about leaving it in a steamy room then applying sideways pressure in some kind of jig or clamp. Can anyone help me along these lines, ie steam and natural re-twisting. Any advice on making some kind of jig etc? Or, would there be any way of using over-tightened strings to pull the neck round, ie loosen off the E and A strings completely and then over-tightening up the D & G strings - (the neck is higher on that side).[/b] [b]I happy to have a try at fixing it before I shell out on a new neck!!! [/b] [b]Thanks in advance[/b] Edited April 3, 2014 by barryman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Have a peek at a thread I raised recently titled 'longitudinal neck twist'. May be a start ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 If the nut seems higher on the G than the E I'd have thought you'd want [i]less[/i] tension in the G and D strings and a little [i]more[/i] in the E and A strings if string tension alone could cure the twist (but then I've never had to cure this kind of problem so what do I know... ) but yeah, you might have to warm the glue bond between fingerboard and neck and then clamp flat as it cools (assuming the neck has a glued on fingerboard). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryman Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Howie - of course you are absolutely right. Tension should be on the lower strings so that's what I'll try first. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) If you look at string tension tables, like this [url="http://www.ghsrep.net/uploads/2/2/2/5/22258814/ghs_bass_string_guide.pdf"]http://www.ghsrep.ne...tring_guide.pdf[/url] you'll notice that it's often the D string that seems to have the most pull and that might be what's twisted the neck (it's been in the sun, glue bond has softened, the G and D are exerting more pull than the E and A). Edited April 3, 2014 by HowieBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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