Truss rod woes

[bossross]

I have a problem. I cannot properly set up my lovely SR4 and I hope it is not for the reason I think it is.
The prob is My neck has a little too much bow in it.
The back story is my saddle allen keys (all of them) that lower and raise the individual saddles had locked up and could not be turned at all. So I called up the fine folks here at ernie ball, told 'em what year 'ray I had (91)and in a few days they had sent me some replacement saddles (with 1/16" adjustment screws), springs, and bolts.
With the new bridge pieces I should now be able to set it up properly. Now I'm worried that the truss rod is broken. When turning it I still feel resistance, but I fail to see any improvemnet even after several adjustments.
Is it possible to have broken the truss rod and still feel resistance when you turn it, or at that point would it just spin freely?

I know I should take it too a pro. I've been very careful so far.
I apologize if this sort of thread should be directed towards customer service, but I thought maybe some of you out there have maybe gone through this as well.
All input is greatly appreciated. Thanks -Kyle-

 

[lamerjay]

I think you will be directed to customer service as a first resource...

 

[bossross]

By the way, the reason it got this way wuz I took it to a local music store and they set it up as best they could given the fact that the hex keys in saddles wouldn't budge.

 

[MickeyMouse]

Ring up the good folks at EB customer service

 

[Musicman Nut]

I have a problem. I cannot properly set up my lovely SR4 and I hope it is not for the reason I think it is.
The prob is My neck has a little too much bow in it.
The back story is my saddle allen keys (all of them) that lower and raise the individual saddles had locked up and could not be turned at all. So I called up the fine folks here at ernie ball, told 'em what year 'ray I had (91)and in a few days they had sent me some replacement saddles (with 1/16" adjustment screws), springs, and bolts.
With the new bridge pieces I should now be able to set it up properly. Now I'm worried that the truss rod is broken. When turning it I still feel resistance, but I fail to see any improvemnet even after several adjustments.
Is it possible to have broken the truss rod and still feel resistance when you turn it, or at that point would it just spin freely?

I know I should take it too a pro. I've been very careful so far.
I apologize if this sort of thread should be directed towards customer service, but I thought maybe some of you out there have maybe gone through this as well.
All input is greatly appreciated. Thanks -Kyle-

you'd have to really crank that rod for it to break, and I mean over Crank, you probably should call Customer Service before you do try something silly.

 

[Caca de Kick]

Everyone is saying call customer service.... I see the bass is 15yrs old. What good would that do?

Surely I'd like to see this as open discussion for us that have old basses to diagnose and fix what's wrong.

 

[tkarter]

Everyone is saying call customer service.... I see the bass is 15yrs old. What good would that do?

Surely I'd like to see this as open discussion for us that have old basses to diagnose and fix what's wrong.

How I see that is it leads a bunch of us to speculating on the problem. All kinds of remedies will be presented. Newbie reads and assumes his is doing the same thing.

QC and customer service from EB is such a fantastic thing. They build them great and support them great. They generally know more about what is happening than what an old hack like myself would.

A simple phone call is also be the easiest and for sure the quickest cure as well.

IMHO

tk

 

[lowliferumble]

QC and customer service from EB is such a fantastic thing. They build them great and support them great. They generally know more about what is happening than what an old hack like myself would.

A simple phone call is also be the easiest and for sure the quickest cure as well.


tk

+1 +1 +1 +1

 

[Musicman Nut]

Everyone is saying call customer service.... I see the bass is 15yrs old. What good would that do?

Surely I'd like to see this as open discussion for us that have old basses to diagnose and fix what's wrong.

So what, you don't think they can still fix your bass, Yes it's out of Warranty and yes it make cost you to ship back and for the repair but a fixed bass at some cost is better then
a Bass that doesn't work.
There's no one better to fix your bass then the Ernie Ball Repair people. Get it done right with Factory Parts if needed.

 

[lamerjay]

Everyone is saying call customer service.... I see the bass is 15yrs old. What good would that do?

Surely I'd like to see this as open discussion for us that have old basses to diagnose and fix what's wrong.

If I remember correctly Sterling asked in another topic to use customer service and not to give advice until customer service has been involved...

 

[Caca de Kick]

Yes I've seen that said for new basses that obviously had a warranty on it.

But I've seen other owners say they had to buy a new neck and just trade the old one in. Is the EB factory in the repair of old basses business?
I'm sure there has to be some cut-off point for rebuild projects.

 

[Aragorn35016]

Yes I've seen that said for new basses that obviously had a warranty on it.

But I've seen other owners say they had to buy a new neck and just trade the old one in. Is the EB factory in the repair of old basses business?
I'm sure there has to be some cut-off point for rebuild projects.

They refretted a 95 sterling of mine for an insanely good price so I dont think they have any problems repairing/doing maintenence on older instruments.

 

[tkarter]

So what, you don't think they can still fix your bass, Yes it's out of Warranty and yes it make cost you to ship back and for the repair but a fixed bass at some cost is better then
a Bass that doesn't work.
There's no one better to fix your bass then the Ernie Ball Repair people. Get it done right with Factory Parts if needed.

What I was saying or trying to was not to condemn your way of thinking.

It was just to say that I am just like you but been around here long enough to know that you don't let bass players fix your bass.

We will all try like hell to help you after you have exhausted the fine customer service that Mr. Sterling Ball offers to each of us.

That call to customer service will be a pleasant one and will more than likey get you the answers you want.

You can bet after I have played my Bongo 5 H for 15 years it needs something it is going to see some California time to get back to what it was I grew to love.


The written word is so harsh.

Should we blame the language?

tk

 

[AnthonyD]

I'm thinking this need a professional to actually SEE the bass and feel the tension on the rod...

 

[tkarter]

I'm thinking this need a professional to actually SEE the bass and feel the tension on the rod...

That is worth a million guessers.
And the point of call them who knows.

imho

tk

 

[jongitarz]

There's no one better to fix your bass then the Ernie Ball Repair people. Get it done right with Factory Parts if needed.

yep...those repair people rock!


Seriously, I don't bleeb you can break a MM truss rod. Crank on that sucker! Use something in the wheel that won't snap if you apply pressure. an allen wrench works great. But customer service could have told you this.

 

[PzoLover]

Not disagreeing with any above posts; just a possible helpful suggestion;
The setup on my SR5 fretless new from the factory was so good, I never bothered with any action adjustments until recently.
The rod was very difficult to turn, almost like it was seized; and then I remembered something from a tech column in an old Bass Player mag that worked fine ...

If it feels stuck turning clockwise, try turning counterclockwise first to get the rod moving.

Everybody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

 

[Aussie Mark]

If it feels stuck turning clockwise, try turning counterclockwise first to get the rod moving.

Exactly. If it's still tough to get moving, a little WD40 can unstick the truss rod too, but make sure you wipe it off the body finish immediately.