Adjusting the neck and/or bridge of my SR5

[Soulkeeper]

So I bought a SBMM Ray5 some weeks ago. Not only is it a fantastic instrument for the money, it's actually so playable, now that I've gotten used to it, I realize my NOS, hardly played, 2002 EBMM SR5 needs some tweaks.

Here's the issue with the SR5: The action on the bass side of the neck is fine, but when I play above the 12th fret on the G string, there is way too much fret buzz. If I raise the G string saddle, the action gets too high. (Actually I feel the action on the G (and D) string is too high already.)

When I aim down the bass side of the neck, I see a slight bow, looks fine. But when I aim down the treble side, the neck looks straight like a beam of light. Is this how it's supposed to be? I thought the bow was supposed to be about the same on both sides of the neck? Is this a result of the bass hanging on a wall for the last 10 years? (I don't know how it was stored before I bought it.)

I *think* I want to loosen the truss rod a bit, to get some bow on the treble side, hoping that won't result in too much bow on the bass side. But then I'll have to lower the G string saddle. And the G string saddle is as low as it gets already. So it's time for a neck shim?

Or am I going in the wrong direction? I usually feel pretty confident adjusting and tweaking my own instruments, but not this time. I think I've confused myself. :S I hope I don't have to shell out loads of money to have a pro look at it. Hiring experts is generally ridiculously expensive in these parts.

 

[WillyD]

PM Sent!

 

[Soulkeeper]

Update

My dealer got me a replacement neck from EBMM. Norway has some pretty awesome consumer protection laws, so even though the bass was made in 2002, I got the replacement for free because I bought the bass "as new" less than two years ago. I don't know if it was the dealer or EBMM who took the bill (I'm guessing the dealer because he is the one who has to comply with Norwegian regulations), but in either case I am a very happy puppy indeed.

I took it on myself to mount the new neck on the body, and transplant the machine heads. Seldom have I taken this much care selecting the right Philips head for the job. Then I put strings on, and realized the nut needed to be filed. (Duh. That much should have been obvious.)

So I contacted a local luthier who filed the nut for me. He did a full setup while he was at it, at a very reasonable price. I just picked the bass up half an hour ago, and from the two minutes of playing time I had in the shop, everything seems to be in order now.

So now I've got a somewhat unique bass with a 2002 body and a 2014 neck with a compensated nut. Has resale value increased or decreased? Well I don't know, and frankly I don't care. This bass will not be sold as long as I am alive, so I have nothing to complain about, quite the contrary.

Now all that remains is to send the old neck back. (For destruction? Hey, I can saw it in pieces and document it on video, save me some shipping. Maybe it'll go viral, too.)

 

[Golem]

`

Resale value is unaffected. But you have
a compensated nut on the same bass as
the ceramic magnetic PU, something you
don't encounter every day

 

[tbonesullivan]

I've got a compensated nut on a ceramic stingray. didn't the compensated nuts come out in around 2005, and the switch to alnico in 2007?

 

[Movielife]

I think the Alnico switch was roughly 2007/2008....a year or so before I bought my Ray 5 HS.

 

[Golem]

`

Right, there was some overlap, but it is "something
you don't encounter every day" cuz the period when
that combination existed was rather brief compared
to the many years of production of the ceramic 5's,
and there's no reasonable way to update the nut on
the older basses.

 

[Soulkeeper]

Did the pickup covers change from "soap bar" to "dumbo ears" at the same time as the ceramic -> alnico change, or did the cosmetic change happen earlier?