Physics

[skej21]

I've been setting up basses for about 10 years for me and other local players. I still look in disbelief (or misunderstanding?) every time I hear someone say in a sale thread or when discussing their own set up "the neck is straight as an arrow" or "the neck is lovely and straight" etc...

I never ever have a straight neck relief on my instruments when setting them up. It's simple physics, right? You don't want a straight neck... A string moves more in the middle than at the fixed points, so you need relief to accommodate it!?

Or is this just my assumption based on my technique? I'm quite a light player and even I get fret buzz if the neck is straight because the string clatters off the frets in the middle of the neck.

I'd be interested to know from the builders and real set-up experts whether this is just one of those "plays like butter" sayings that is just nonsense subjective term to aid a sales pitch or whether there's actually reasoning behind a neck being "straight"?

Thanks in advance!

[ambient]

The neck on my bass is practically flat, just the slightest bit of relief at the 12th fret, maybe just 1mm.

It enables a very low action.

I know what you mean though, strings vibrate outward. It depends how lightly you play.

[Dad3353]

'Straight' also impies that there's no twist. I take it to be a general, bland statement from a non-technical player, rather than an absolute affirmation of the physical state of the neck. It's about as informative as 'a few dings', or 'road worn'. I don't think folks really mean it's 'straight', merely that it's 'straight'.

[TimR]

I'm not sure a bass with a bowed neck would be top of my list.

[MrDaveTheBass]

I agree - I've noticed the 'straight-neck' phenomenom in classifieds too, and thought it weird. I've always set up basses and guitars with a bit of neck relief, but I agree with Tim - you'd never be able to sell a bass using the line: 'with a nicely bowed neck'!

[NickD]

I've always taken arrow straight to mean laterally... which is a funny turn of phrase when there's usually a radius.

Edited May 4, 2016 by NickD

[Twincam]

If I'm selling a bass I put the relief measurement or say its fully setup or something to that effect.
I do see many ads with "stright neck" I just take it too mean the relief isn't bad and the neck is in good condition.

[Roger2611]

I agree with the above, with pretty much every bass I have sold the first question has always been "is the neck straight?" When I have replied "no it has a little bit of relief so as to make it playable" most buyers lose interest immediately, I guess most potential buyers especially on Ebay are not experienced in the physics of a set up so run a mile fearing being left with an unplayable bass.

[silverfoxnik]

I've always assumed that when people describe the neck on a bass they're selling as 'straight', they mean that the truss rod has been adjusted to provide the absolute bare minimum of relief because they like a very low action on a bass.

I've certainly bought basses on here that have been set up that way and it's always the first thing I change.

Nothing wrong with it of course, but I've always preferred a higher action, which inevitably requires more relief in the neck.

Variety is the spice of life, as they say.

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='silverfoxnik' timestamp='1462373637' post='3042486']
but I've always preferred a higher action, which inevitably requires more relief in the neck.

Variety is the spice of life, as they say.
[/quote]not sure I follow the logic there, I would have thought a higher action wouldn't need as much relief to stop fret rattle in the middle of the neck, I have just come back from the pub though

[skej21]

Question answered! I'd never considered the 'straight' comments to be describing the lack of twist in the neck. Glad I asked :-)

[Ghost_Bass]

You've answered your own question. It's purely physics added to the way the player attacks the stings and the own characteristics (sorry for the spelling) of the bass.

My TBR5PII has a perfectly straight neck (straight as it has 0 relief and the FB has no radius) and doesn't have fretbuzz. I have all my basses setup to the minimal height possible, in the TRB my G string saddle only has enough height to secure the screws so they don't fall off from being loose. I don't use a strong attack and i pluck the strings most of the times near the bridge pickup so i'm not creating a lot of string movement. When i want a fuller (bassier) sound i pluck above the neck pickup but use even less force. That being said i'm not petting the bass, i can dig in when i need to and still don't get fret buzz.

I need to add that it has a 35" scale so it probably helps with this. I also do a lot of setups for friends and i find that the basses that most commonly need some kind of relief to stop fret buzz are models based around the Fender design, maybe the design of the bass also plays a part in it too.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1462372871' post='3042478']
I agree with the above, with pretty much every bass I have sold the first question has always been "is the neck straight?" When I have replied "no it has a little bit of relief so as to make it playable" most buyers lose interest immediately, I guess most potential buyers especially on Ebay are not experienced in the physics of a set up so run a mile fearing being left with an unplayable bass.
[/quote]

that's odd

[sunburstjazz1967]

I've never met a bass that was too straight that couldn't have a bit of a bow let in but many that have too much relief no matter how tight the truss goes, better to buy a straight neck and let a bow in than buy a bent one that wont go where you want especially if you like them practically flat with a super low string height.

[tonyquipment]

I once saw an advert for a spares repairs bass project and it said the neck needs sorting 'it's more bowed than a banana'

It seemed that someone out there thought it was a good idea to tighten that truss rod beyond repair 😂

[miles'tone]

Just adding that when I've been on the hunt for a Fender type of bass and I ask if the neck is straight, I do want to know if the neck is without any twists or indeed the classic 's' hump that can manifest itself around the body end of the neck. Had an old P that developed said condition once. Disappointing!