Broken truss rod?

[TheDisparities]

Hit guys, i first realised there may be a problem with my truss rod as i saw my bass had some up bow so i tried to tighten it. It felt really tight and didnt do much for the necks bow. Then just now, i played really hard on the open A, and the bass made a wierd metallic rattling noise from the neck around the fifth fret. The string wasnt touching the fret bar, i dont know what it was. Could it be a snapped truss rod? Cheers guys

Chris

[Mr. Foxen]

Could well be. Gutted.

[6stringbassist]

It's not that big a deal really. I had a new one fitted to a Warwick bass recently. John Diggins did it for me, it cost about £100.

[xilddx]

As long as you get the correct truss rod, you can do it yourself with some care and research. There's a lot of knob talked about truss rods and it scares people.

Have a go fitting it yourself, if you can't get it to work, then spend your £100 (which is a LOT for a truss rod replace I reckon :/) to get a pro to do it.

[LawrenceH]

What type of bass is it?

[TheDisparities]

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='871351' date='Jun 18 2010, 11:43 PM']What type of bass is it?[/quote]
fender jazz it is. Okay, cheers guys. Im gonna have to save up, it snapped at such an awkward time, i got no money lol.

Edited June 19, 2010 by TheDisparities

[Protium]

If it is likely to cost £100 I would consider a replacement neck - MightyMite are a very good straight swap and you could pick one up for well under £100, but depends if you want the genuine Fender.

[chrisba]

My Squier P used to have a rattle on the open A string, pretty sure it was the truss rod, but it definitely wasn't broken. If it was broken, then it would turn very easily, wouldn't it ?

[aznbass]

Just attempt the repair yourself, but be carefull. or try a second hand neck, like mighty mite as someone has suggested.

[TheDisparities]

[quote name='aznbass' post='871931' date='Jun 19 2010, 05:23 PM']Just attempt the repair yourself, but be carefull. or try a second hand neck, like mighty mite as someone has suggested.[/quote]
Cheers. Is it defo broken, cos one person i saw said it may not be :S

[fonzoooroo]

Surely whether you might consider changing it yourself depends on the construction... I tend to build mine captive, so it'd be a fingerboard off job if a truss rod ever broke. ... That's me though... not fender!

As for a buzz on open A, that could be movement of the rod left to right in the slot. (nothing to worry about - often there's rubber pads to take that movement up) If the adjustment on the rod's now loose, then we can expect a broken rod. If the adjustment's still tight, I'd be tempted to pour some oil down the rod and turn it back and forth a bit, as it's most likely to be corrosion (either from damp athmosphere, leaving in cars overnight or even from glue from manufacture) causing the tightness. A bit of 3 in 1 (or similar light oil) might ease it.

[TheDisparities]

[quote name='fonzoooroo' post='871977' date='Jun 19 2010, 06:15 PM']Surely whether you might consider changing it yourself depends on the construction... I tend to build mine captive, so it'd be a fingerboard off job if a truss rod ever broke. ... That's me though... not fender!

As for a buzz on open A, that could be movement of the rod left to right in the slot. (nothing to worry about - often there's rubber pads to take that movement up) If the adjustment on the rod's now loose, then we can expect a broken rod. If the adjustment's still tight, I'd be tempted to pour some oil down the rod and turn it back and forth a bit, as it's most likely to be corrosion (either from damp athmosphere, leaving in cars overnight or even from glue from manufacture) causing the tightness. A bit of 3 in 1 (or similar light oil) might ease it.[/quote]
Thankyou mate, ill give it a go. so a quick bit of WD40 would do the trick?

Edited June 19, 2010 by TheDisparities

[tino]

[quote name='TheDisparities' post='871005' date='Jun 18 2010, 06:14 PM']Hit guys, i first realised there may be a problem with my truss rod as i saw my bass had some up bow so i tried to tighten it. It felt really tight and didnt do much for the necks bow. Then just now, i played really hard on the open A, and the bass made a wierd metallic rattling noise from the neck around the fifth fret. The string wasnt touching the fret bar, i dont know what it was. Could it be a snapped truss rod? Cheers guys

Chris[/quote]
Have you not tried adjusting it yet???
You wont be able to tell if its knackered until you do.if its sheared you can get repair kits and or extensions from StewMac...
30 minute repair,I done a strat and Im the number one ham fisted chump
Loads of You tube vids to help

[mrcrow]

[quote name='TheDisparities' post='871005' date='Jun 18 2010, 06:14 PM']Hit guys, i first realised there may be a problem with my truss rod as i saw my bass had some up bow so i tried to tighten it. It felt really tight and didnt do much for the necks bow. Then just now, i played really hard on the open A, and the bass made a wierd metallic rattling noise from the neck around the fifth fret. The string wasnt touching the fret bar, i dont know what it was. Could it be a snapped truss rod? Cheers guys

Chris[/quote]

snapped truss rods shouldnt go tight..iirc
slacken it off a bit and try again
could be the adjustment is used up and merely inserting a new one could be a cure

the rattle does sound like the rod is too slack...

[Bloodaxe]

Slack rod & yet no adjustment? Could be that the nut's been taken off by some loon & put back cross-threaded. That'd feel as though it were tight, but still leave the rod loose.

[TheDisparities]

[quote name='tino' post='872060' date='Jun 19 2010, 07:42 PM']Have you not tried adjusting it yet???
You wont be able to tell if its knackered until you do.if its sheared you can get repair kits and or extensions from StewMac...
30 minute repair,I done a strat and Im the number one ham fisted chump
Loads of You tube vids to help[/quote]
Yeah i tried adjusting it and it was tight as anything, i couldnt tighten it at all. Thanks for your help guys, its been really appreciated. If i were to check if the nuts been put on cross threaded, how would i do this? Thanks again

[Kongo]

[quote name='Protium' post='871635' date='Jun 19 2010, 12:14 PM']If it is likely to cost £100 I would consider a replacement neck - MightyMite are a very good straight swap and you could pick one up for well under £100, but depends if you want the genuine Fender.[/quote]

I've been lookin at some Mightymite necks, so they do ship to UK then?
I need a high quality neck for my P-bass, the other one I bought didnt last a year!

[Raving_camel]

Hey there, I think we have the exact same problem. I made a thread about a year ago with videos of the sound. Does your truss rod make this noise aswell? (There are more videos of it on my Youtube account). If you find anymore information, could you pass it along aswell? Thanks

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=62956&hl="]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=62956&hl=[/url]

Edited June 20, 2010 by Raving_camel

[wesfinn]

Changing a truss rod on a jazz can be simple or complicated, depending on the country of manufacture, age etc. what is the model age and country of manufacture and is it rosewood or maple fingerboard?

[Paul_C]

[quote name='TheDisparities' post='872221' date='Jun 19 2010, 10:20 PM']Yeah i tried adjusting it and it was tight as anything, i couldnt tighten it at all. Thanks for your help guys, its been really appreciated. If i were to check if the nuts been put on cross threaded, how would i do this? Thanks again[/quote]

It might be that you've run out of thread on the rod (the wood may have compressed exposing the limit of the threaded bit) if you can get the nut off then a spacer or a washer or two might give you back some ability to tighten again.

If in doubt, take it to someone who knows what they're doing and get a second opinion.

[TheDisparities]

[quote name='wesfinn' post='872505' date='Jun 20 2010, 11:45 AM']Changing a truss rod on a jazz can be simple or complicated, depending on the country of manufacture, age etc. what is the model age and country of manufacture and is it rosewood or maple fingerboard?[/quote]
Im not sure about age, i bought it second hand. But its maple, so getting the first fret off is pretty much impossible. How would i get the nut off to check the thread and stuff?

Edited June 20, 2010 by TheDisparities

[BassBunny]

[quote name='TheDisparities' post='872525' date='Jun 20 2010, 12:14 PM']Im not sure about age, i bought it second hand. But its maple, so getting the first fret off is pretty much impossible[/quote]

Not sure why would you need to take the first fret off?
I would follow Paul_C's advice as I have just done the same with a Bass Collection that ran out of adjustment.

Remove Strings
CAREFULLY slacken off the trussrod adjuster and remove it.
Slip a couple of packing washers or spacer over the trussrod
Lubricate the trussrod adjuster, (either a thin smear of grease or a quick spray of WD40)
Replace Adjuster being careful NOT to cross-thread it.
Replace strings and then set relief up.

If the adjuster won't move, it could be either cross-threaded already or just seized, so it might be an idea to see if the above works first.
It sorted my Bass Collection out a treat.

Edited June 20, 2010 by BassBunny

[wesfinn]

is the truss rod adjustment at the headstock end or butt of the neck? If it is at the headstock end there may be a metal disc anchor sunk into the heel of the neck when you remove it from the body. with the truss rod nut removed you should be able to un thread the rod from the anchor disc and pull the rod out.

As others have said if you are unsure whther the rod is broken then take it to your local repair guy or music shop who should be able to diagnose the problem first.

[Protium]

[quote name='Kongo' post='872294' date='Jun 19 2010, 11:42 PM']I've been lookin at some Mightymite necks, so they do ship to UK then?
I need a high quality neck for my P-bass, the other one I bought didnt last a year! [/quote]

Your best bet is to watch ebay for good deals, there are usually a few on. They occasionally show up on here too.
You might be able to ship from the US but I expect that could get expensive with postage, import duty etc

[TheDisparities]

thanks guys, it been a great help. I will try with the nut removing, see if that works. If not, i will take it to a dealer who will be able to fix it. Thanks again guys. Oh and btw mate, its at the top of the neck.

Edited June 20, 2010 by TheDisparities