Neck Adjustment Question

[SeelsHH]

I've been searching the forums to see if someone has encountered the same problem as me, but i could not find any help.

So my problem is that all of sudden (probably due to the weather) the string height past the 10th or 11th fret has become incredibly high, so i adjusted the truss rod. Well the neck is straight, but the high action is still there. Could this be a problem with the saddles even though i haven't touched the bridge saddles since i've owned the bass?

Thanks in advance

 

[bovinehost]

There are really only a couple of variables here. If the neck is straight (or fairly straight, we should say, since you need 'some' relief) and the action is too high for you, then you need to adjust your saddles.

How are you checking the straightness of the neck?

 

[SeelsHH]

To check the straightness im using the method where you capo the 1st fret, and fret the 15th and check the distance between the string and fret. I can only fit a credit card under the string when doing this.

 

[maddog]

Business card thickness or less might do the trick.

 

[bovinehost]

Well, I'd have someone you trust have a look at it.

If the neck has moved, then the truss rod adjustment should take care of it on its own. The environment generally won't make saddles move, right?

On the other hand, saddle height adjustments are easy to make.

If it were me, I'd probably give the truss rod another quarter turn and let it settle in for a day before doing anything else.

Jack

 

[SeelsHH]

alright i give it another turn and see how it is tomorrow, and if i still have problems i'll bring it in.

Thanks for the help guys

 

[oli@bass]

To check the straightness im using the method where you capo the 1st fret, and fret the 15th and check the distance between the string and fret. I can only fit a credit card under the string when doing this.

IMO, that's a lot of relief. Way too much for me. I generally have my setups like adouglas: You can hardly see the distance, but it's just enough so that the string makes a clicking noise when you tap it on the frets.

 

[ggunn]

IMO, that's a lot of relief. Way too much for me. I generally have my setups like adouglas: You can hardly see the distance, but it's just enough so that the string makes a clicking noise when you tap it on the frets.

Doesn't relief oppose bow? If your strings are closer to the middle frets when you fret at the 1st and 15th, don't you have more relief rather than less?

 

[mynan]

Doesn't relief oppose bow? If your strings are closer to the middle frets when you fret at the 1st and 15th, don't you have more relief rather than less?

It's opposite. Relief is loosening the truss rod.

 

[maddog]

Repairing Bowed Guitar Necks - Excessive neck relief, back bowed necks and other problems.

Adjusting Bass Guitar Neck Relief

Guitar Truss Rod Adjustment

Glossary: Relief | Sweetwater.com

all stick to the convention that relief increases as the bow of the neck increases towards the string side of the neck.

I remember it by relief = less stress = less tension in the truss rod = more bow since string tension remains the same.

 

[strummer]

Doesn't relief oppose bow? If your strings are closer to the middle frets when you fret at the 1st and 15th, don't you have more relief rather than less?

See, this is when stuff gets confusing;-)

A neck can be bowed in either direction, but generally you would say backbow if the neck is bowed in that direction...

And since a backbowed neck is never useable at all, we can either stick to talking about more or less relief, och be stubborn and call it more or less bow, meaning frontbowed if there ever was such a word.