Ricardo Alves Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 (edited) A couple weeks ago I took my Squier VM 70's Jazz Bass to a luthier so he could set it up for me (I can make the basic adjustments by myself, but the bass also needed some fret leveling / polishing), and he said that when he was adjusting the neck relief, he wasn't able to tighten the truss rod anymore after a certain point (it's not that he was tightening it and it wasn't making any difference, the wrench literally wouldn't turn anymore!). My bass' neck is a little bent (I know it's normal to be a slightly bent) and I think that if it was slightly less concave it would be perfect, but as the truss rod won't tighten any further we couldn't make that adjustment. Note: I used to make the adjustments by myself, but I had always been quite apprehensive about adjusting the truss rod. I never forced it too much, I always made only 1/4 turns and always waited a few hours between those turns. Does it mean that my neck is warped or it's just a problem on the truss rod? What may be causing this? What can I try to do to solve this problem? Thanks for anyone who answer this question! PS: Sorry if my english is not perfect, I'm not a native speaker! EDIT: I am able to turn the wrench it to the other direction (to give it more relief), so it's not locked at an specific position. Edited November 16, 2021 by Ricardo Alves Additional information about my problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 You'll need a couple of washers or a truss rod nut with a bit more thread. If you look in the builds thread @Andyjr1515 has just done a similar thing to a BC member's bass... I'm surprised your Luthier didn't have the solution. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 @Ricardo Alves - read this: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 (edited) On 16/11/2021 at 22:12, TheGreek said: You'll need a couple of washers or a truss rod nut with a bit more thread. If you look in the builds thread @Andyjr1515 has just done a similar thing to a BC member's bass... I'm surprised your Luthier didn't have the solution. +1. I don't want to sound harsh but if your bass tech just passed it back to you without suggesting the "washer solution" I have to suggest taking stuff elsewhere in future. Edited November 17, 2021 by rmorris 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Alves Posted November 23, 2021 Author Share Posted November 23, 2021 On 17/11/2021 at 20:49, rmorris said: +1. I don't want to sound harsh but if your bass tech just passed it back to you without suggesting the "washer solution" I have to suggest taking stuff elsewhere in future. I've tried the washer solution and it worked perfectly! Pretty strange that he didn't try it out, maybe he was afraid of damaging the bass. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 I don’t think all truss rod nuts come off to get a washer on though do they ? , I always thought dual action ones were fixed, otherwise they wouldn’t work both ways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 58 minutes ago, Reggaebass said: I don’t think all truss rod nuts come off to get a washer on though do they ? , I always thought dual action ones were fixed, otherwise they wouldn’t work both ways Good point. I'm assuming a Squier VM 70's Jazz Bass as per the OP would have a single action rod ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 1 hour ago, Reggaebass said: I don’t think all truss rod nuts come off to get a washer on though do they ? , I always thought dual action ones were fixed, otherwise they wouldn’t work both ways And you are right Tony. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 Apologies - I'm late to the party on this one! I'm pretty sure the Squier VM's have a modern 2-way truss rod and so, as said above, the washer fix isn't relevant as the adjusting nut on these rods are welded to the rod. The washer method only applies to single action trussrods with a removeable nut. If the rod is 'maxed out', there are things you can try, but they may or may not help. The first thing to try is to put a set 'backbow' into the neck by taking the neck off, putting the nut and heel end of the fretboard upside down on some blocks and, with the truss rod still tightened as it is now, putting some weight in the middle of the neck to bend the neck the opposite way from the way the strings are trying to pull it. A couple of 1kg bags of sugar or a single large (2.5kg) bag of flour is probably enough - but not too much - weight. This is left like this for a day or two. With luck, the wood will hold at least some of that bend when the weight is taken off and give you a little bit of a reduction of the neck relief when the neck and strings are back on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: I'm pretty sure the Squier VM's have a modern 2-way truss rod and so, as said above, the washer fix isn't relevant as the adjusting nut on these rods are welded to the rod. The washer method only applies to single action trussrods with a removeable nut. Okay. I think i probably assumed 70s = Single Action. Seems kind of disappointing either way (no pun intended !) though. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 24, 2021 Share Posted November 24, 2021 12 hours ago, rmorris said: Okay. I think i probably assumed 70s = Single Action. Seems kind of disappointing either way (no pun intended !) though. Good Luck. I might, of course, be wrong. That said, all of the photos I've ever seen of that model have headstock adjustment with the plug and small hole. A single action headstock adjustable would have a bullet nut. I am a great fan of Squiers - stunning bang for the buck and excellent in absolute terms too, IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.G.E.N.T.E. Posted November 24, 2021 Share Posted November 24, 2021 (edited) If everything else fails, you can always put lighter gauge strings to get a flatter neck as they create less tension. Edited November 24, 2021 by A.G.E.N.T.E. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted November 27, 2021 Share Posted November 27, 2021 On 23/11/2021 at 17:40, Ricardo Alves said: I've tried the washer solution and it worked perfectly! Pretty strange that he didn't try it out, maybe he was afraid of damaging the bass. I think you need to edit the thread title to include the word SOLVED in there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 On 16/11/2021 at 22:08, Ricardo Alves said: ! PS: Sorry if my english is not perfect, I'm not a native speaker! EDIT: I am able to turn the wrench it to the other direction (to give it more relief), so it's not locked at an specific position. Your English is absolutely fine, I’ve met native born speakers of English who would not get a vocabulary or command of grammar anywhere like yours even if they lived to be 1000. English is complicated, really complicated, as I am learning whilst teaching my children Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.