Quick truss rod Q

[stretch80]

Hi all...

My new-to-me beauty gold/rosewood stingray 5 arrived w/ high action and more neck bow than spec (or than I like).

I want to tweak the truss rod to flatten out the neck relief, so I looked at the FAQ which says "turn counterclockwise to lower the neck, clockwise to raise it".

Does "lower" mean "less relief"? Counterclockwise seems like it would be loosening the truss rod, which would lead to more bow (in most truss rods)....

So...can someone set me straight before I start turnin'?

thanks!

Bert

 

[jongitarz]

Counter clockwise = more relief (bow) Clockwise will straighten the neck out.

I hope this clears it up for you.

 

[bovinehost]

Yes. The truss rod, in a way, counteracts the pull of the strings, which tend to make the neck curve like a bow. Make sense?

I have a bass that needs higher tension strings than I like to use, so I have to loosen the truss rod almost all the way. To do this, looking face on at the bass, I turn the wheel to the LEFT.

Righty tighty, lefty loosey. Right? I mean, correct?

What you want to do is turn the wheel to the RIGHT. Clockwise. Good practice is to turn it no more than a quarter of a turn and then wait a few hours or overnight to let the neck settle in and adjust.

There is a good set-up FAQ on the Ernie Ball website....do you have a pretty good idea of how the saddle height works in conjunction with neck relief in order to set proper action? If so, I'll just shut up now.

Hope that helps.

Jack

 

[jongitarz]

Yep...What Jack said.

 

[bovinehost]

You were much more direct.

I love that about you.

That, and the dog.

 

[jongitarz]

I'm a man of few words.....But I'm learning more every day.

 

[bassmonkeee]

I'm a man of few words......

Yeah, we call those "guitarists."

 

[stretch80]

Thanks all....

The FAQ actually was what confused me. It says:

"A: Virtually all the adjustments to string height can be made with the truss rod. Turn clockwise to raise the finger board, counter clockwise to lower. "

To me, if we have the neck facing up, this says the opposite of what you've all said: ie: clockwise = tighter = less relief = "lowering fingerboard.

For what it's worth...might b

Thoughts on bridge saddle adjustments also welcome! I've not done much setup work before. Thanks!! --Bert

 

[bovinehost]

I think Jon needs to re-write that FAQ.

You're not the first person to say it's a bit confusing.

 

[midopa]

Why not just say, "Turn towards the E string to loosen the truss rod and towards the G string to tighten it"? Makes sense to me...

 

[Mobay45]

Why not just say, "Turn towards the E string to loosen the truss rod and towards the G string to tighten it"? Makes sense to me...

Unless you are playing a left hand bass!

 

[midopa]

... D'oh!

 

[Mobay45]

Righties never think about that. That's why us lefties have to adapt to almost everything.

 

[jongitarz]

I think Jon needs to re-write that FAQ.

You're not the first person to say it's a bit confusing.

IMHO I think it's WRONG. You need to get the neck right with the truss rod, then set the string height with the saddles.

 

[bovinehost]

Yup, it is wrong and you are right.

Further proof of your value to the company - not JUST the head tech, not JUST the groundskeeper, not JUST the trainer of insane chihuahuas....but a technical proofreader as well!

My God, is there anything you CAN'T DO?

Behold the power of Juan!

 

[jongitarz]

Jack,

I wish the powers that be thought that way

 

[stretch80]

I'm a lefty playing right-handed basses, so I'm definitely easily confused.
But with a strong fretting hand.

So...I'll get the neck relief set right (pretty flat for me), then I'll adjust string saddles.

Otherwise, I'm loving the sound of the bass. Solid but defined under my 7 piece roots-funk-rock band. Band mates instantly preferred the sound over my Cirrus 5 and my 76 Pbass, tho the P does some things that only it can do...

I'm still knocking the G string off the fretboard here and there, but have decided not to get extreme with nut work.

Bert

 

[jongitarz]

I think Jon needs to re-write that FAQ.

You're not the first person to say it's a bit confusing.

Just got a message from Scott (Dargin) We will be looking at, and changing the FAQ section after NAMM when things get a bit less crazy.

This is a good example of how great the forum is, and when you have pro-active folks like Scott around things get better. (No, this is not a reason to whine about sparkle finishes )

 

[Doogels]

IMHO I think it's WRONG. You need to get the neck right with the truss rod, then set the string height with the saddles.

I'm so glad to hear you say that! Even though I read the FAQs, I adjusted mine on the saddles, wondering in the back of my mind if I wasn't messing up some feature unique to MM!

...Now if only I could figure out what 3/32 of an inch looks like, I'll be set! (Any suggestions?)

 

[jongitarz]

I'm trying to think of what I can compare 3/32 to....Maybe the thickness of your "A" string. Don't worry too much about measurements. Go by what feels right to you.