Neck relief.

[Mr Fudge]

I have just put together my first bass ( a jazz/ precision mongrel ) from various bits. I must say that I am highly delighted with the results bur have a few little buzz's on the D string 6th and 7th fret. I have raised the saddles a bit to compensate but I feel it leaves the action of the string too high and generally feeling wrong, if you know what I mean. Months ago when I was tinkering with my MM sig someone posted an excellent link on dabbling with truss rods and their effect. Needless to say I can't find it.

I wondered whether my problem could be solved by putting a little relief into the neck. Would this be a slight anticlockwise turn. I can't remember.

Any words of advice would of course be much appreciated. I will be posting pics of my mongrel soon and reviewing the wizard thumpers after I gig it on Saturday. I haven't had it through a rig yet!

Cheers.

[neepheid]

[quote name='Mr Fudge' post='355692' date='Dec 16 2008, 10:17 AM']I have just put together my first bass ( a jazz/ precision mongrel ) from various bits. I must say that I am highly delighted with the results bur have a few little buzz's on the D string 6th and 7th fret. I have raised the saddles a bit to compensate but I feel it leaves the action of the string too high and generally feeling wrong, if you know what I mean. Months ago when I was tinkering with my MM sig someone posted an excellent link on dabbling with truss rods and their effect. Needless to say I can't find it.

I wondered whether my problem could be solved by putting a little relief into the neck. Would this be a slight anticlockwise turn. I can't remember.

Any words of advice would of course be much appreciated. I will be posting pics of my mongrel soon and reviewing the wizard thumpers after I gig it on Saturday. I haven't had it through a rig yet!

Cheers.[/quote]

Possibly. You should check the relief as is first. Hold the E string at the first fret with one hand then push it down onto the last fret by applying pressure after it. This uses your string as a straight edge to check the current gap. If it's non-existent then perhaps a little relief might help and yes, it would be anti-clockwise, you're loosening the truss rod to allow the string tension to pull some relief into the neck. Don't do too much at a time - a 1/4 turn at a time, and give it time to settle down before re-evaluating.

[GreeneKing]

This is a very useful and easy to use guide:

[url="http://garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html"]http://garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html[/url]

[Mr Fudge]

Thank you for the link. This has been saved to my favourites. I have just been talking to a friend who gave me very similar advice. It may be that I just need to dress one of the frets. Will assess the relief of the neck fist.

cheers.

[octavedoctor]

[quote name='Mr Fudge' post='355801' date='Dec 16 2008, 11:39 AM']Thank you for the link. This has been saved to my favourites. I have just been talking to a friend who gave me very similar advice. It may be that I just need to dress one of the frets. Will assess the relief of the neck fist.

cheers.[/quote]

There is a simple DIY set up guide on my website [url="http://www.edgeguitarservices.co.uk/quickfix.htm"]here[/url]

It's aimed at guitarists but it applies equally to basses.

There is no point checking arc relief until you know whether there are irregular frets or not. This will allow you to find the optimal adjustment for the neck in its present condition. If you can't hit the sweet spot where it feels just right, chances are yo need a fret dress.

Why do I call it arc relief, I hear you ask?

I once gave a talk to a bunch of young lads from one of the, er, [i]less sought after[/i] residential areas of the town.

"Can anyone tell me what neck relief is?" I asked innocently

"i think my sister charges fifty quid extra!" came the response

I've called it arc relief ever since...