Precision neck bow question

[BillyHunt]

I’ve got a 60s reissue Precision. I’m trying to get the action down a bit as it hasn’t been touched since it came out of the shop.

It had quite a pronounced bow in the neck so I’ve tightened the truss rod by a quarter of a turn which has straightened it a bit, but I’m getting a lot of fret rattle on the higher frets.

Looking down the neck, it appears to be higher at the body end. Is there anything I can do to flatten it out or does it need some attention from a professional?

Edited April 9, 2021 by BillyHunt

[Geek99]

Pictures ? Of what you see looking down the neck might help 

[KiOgon]

You probably need a shim in the neck pocket, but remove the neck and first see if there is one already! If there is at the bottom end, nearest the pick-ups, take it out. If not then fit one at the top, furthest away from the pick-ups. Try something about 10/12 thousandths of an inch to start with, like a piece of a business card.

HTH,

John

[BillyHunt]

1 hour ago, Geek99 said:

Pictures ? Of what you see looking down the neck might help 

I’ll have a go in the morning when the light’s better

[BillyHunt]

1 hour ago, KiOgon said:

You probably need a shim in the neck pocket, but remove the neck and first see if there is one already! If there is at the bottom end, nearest the pick-ups, take it out. If not then fit one at the top, furthest away from the pick-ups. Try something about 10/12 thousandths of an inch to start with, like a piece of a business card.

HTH,

John

I’ve heard of shimming but haven’t given it much thought before. So a shim in the front of the neck pocket has the effect of lowering the body end of the neck relative to the headstock end?

I’ll give that a go. Thanks

[Geek99]

Yes, couid also be a blob of paint or some other debris 

[BillyHunt]

I’ve taken the neck off and given it a good blow out. It was a bit dusty and grimy. I’ve put a piece of matchbox cardboard at the front end of the pocket.

That seems to have sorted the problem. It’s far better now. Probably as good as an amateur like me will get it.

I’ll still get it set up properly when we’re let out of prison. The setup is basically what it came with so could do with improvement.

Thanks very much for your help.

 

Edited April 10, 2021 by BillyHunt

[clauster]

Buzz at the top frets?  Less bow, and raise the bridge.

[PlungerModerno]

I'd say give it a full setup, setting neck relief, string height and testing for high frets. Odds are you will need a shim or will have very high or worse very low saddle height screws poking yer hand.

You can make or improvise all the tools you need to check except the hex keys. An old credit card can easily make a fret rocker and folded paper, thin guitar picks, and coins (you can easily find their thicknesses online) can stand in for feeler gauges.

Edited April 17, 2021 by PlungerModerno
setting neck relief etc., not 'getting'.

[BillyHunt]

On 17/04/2021 at 11:33, PlungerModerno said:

I'd say give it a full setup, setting neck relief, string height and testing for high frets. Odds are you will need a shim or will have very high or worse very low saddle height screws poking yer hand.

You can make or improvise all the tools you need to check except the hex keys. An old credit card can easily make a fret rocker and folded paper, thin guitar picks, and coins (you can easily find their thicknesses online) can stand in for feeler gauges.

I've probably got all the tools I need around somewhere. At the moment I've got a bit of rattle when fretting higher up the neck. Could this be caused by uneven frets. Hw do I check this?

Yes I do indeed have very low saddle height. The E is sitting right on the bridge plate. 

Edited April 24, 2021 by BillyHunt

[Horizontalste]

4 hours ago, BillyHunt said:

I've probably got all the tools I need around somewhere. At the moment I've got a bit of rattle when fretting higher up the neck. Could this be caused by uneven frets. Hw do I check this?

Yes I do indeed have very low saddle height. The E is sitting right on the bridge plate. 

Raise the saddles a bit & see where you are.

I wouldn't worry about anything shim related until I'd tried everything else.

[jrixn1]

I had some fret rattle recently on the higher frets due to installing higher-tension strings.  I agree with a previous poster that the first thing to do is set the relief correctly.  E.g. https://www.premierguitar.com/diy-how-to-set-up-a-bass-guitar

For me, this initially seemed to make things worse: the fret rattle spread lower down the neck.  But I then raised the saddles to compensate.  The overall effect was a lower action but without the higher fret rattle.

 

[bloke_zero]

On 24/04/2021 at 19:28, jrixn1 said:

I had some fret rattle recently on the higher frets due to installing higher-tension strings.  I agree with a previous poster that the first thing to do is set the relief correctly.  E.g. https://www.premierguitar.com/diy-how-to-set-up-a-bass-guitar

For me, this initially seemed to make things worse: the fret rattle spread lower down the neck.  But I then raised the saddles to compensate.  The overall effect was a lower action but without the higher fret rattle.

 

This - without the relief setting properly you can be running around like a kid on a see-saw - tightening one end and creating issues at the other.