A question about bass necks.

damienblair17 · Post by **damienblair17** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:57 am

Hey guys. Remember the Schecter bass I was GAS-ing for a while back? the p bass copy? Well I bought the white one over president's day and it's great. Nice P bass growl and the humbucker gives it some nice bite.

There's a problem though. I left it in my rehearsal space on a stand for maybe a week? There's been some temperature changes and such in the SF bay area lately. I come into the studio a few days ago, and the action has suddenly gotten much much lower. there's hardly half a mm gap between the strings and the frets. My thunderbird, which has a higher action, was also sitting on a stand in the space, but it's action was exactly the same.

Was this the temp causing the P bass to adjust on it's own? did the neck warp? do I have a Lemon? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Viljami · Post by **Viljami** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:53 am

Without being an expert in neck warping but having played bass for 6 odd years now I'd say its probably the temperature change. My Mustang Bass RI does it sometimes too, albeit more slightly. just try to adjust the action back.

Can you see any warpage in the neck, other side of the fretboard being higher than the other?

gaybear · Post by **gaybear** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:56 am

seems weird though. bay area has pretty mild weather, and schecter seems pretty well built. is that the normal way for a neck to bow anyway? i too am no expert, but it seems like it would bow the opposite way, making the action higher.

porterhaus · Post by **porterhaus** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 12:39 pm

Its hard to say without seeing the guitar in person. But, I think chances are good that it is just humidity related changes. If the humidity level where the bass is now kept is different than where the bass was previously kept, the neck and fretboard will absorb or release the humidity and change. It might just need a truss rod adjustment or maybe even a shim (if it is a bolt-on neck).

Check to see if the first string is the same distance from the frets as the fourth string. This will tell you if the neck is warped. If not, I would give it another week or two to fully acclimate. Then have a competent technician set it up properly.

Good luck.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:22 pm

Yeah, just sounds like humidity changes. I have to adjust my bass truss rods twice a year as humidity changes, while I almost never adjust my guitars. The longer necks make changes in the wood more dramatic. If loosening the truss rod doesn't fix it, there might be something more going on, but I wouldn't jump to that conclusion.

damienblair17 · Post by **damienblair17** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:44 pm

So I've messed with the truss rod a bit and raised the saddles. Not really getting anywhere. Maybe the neck really is messed up?

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:50 pm

Any chance of pictures?

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:51 pm

if you raise the saddles, it won't matter if the neck is bowed; it will raise the action. I can't imagine that neck would just bow like that in such a short period of time. Are you sure you're not just remembering it with higher action? how bad is the string buzz?

I've been told several times that weather changes are more of a concern with basses because of the longer necks. I know over time, bass necks (especially Jazz) have a tendency to warp because they are so long and they get narrow towards the nut.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:56 pm

This isn't too helpful, but I'd have thought it was definitely a humidity thing. If the bass is brand new, I'd have thought that would make it much more prone to warpage compared to one that's been in your area for years.

damienblair17 · Post by **damienblair17** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:28 am

Thanks for your help guys. I think I got it right. I raised the saddles and I'm getting a decent action now. Plays pretty nice actually. Maybe I just needed to set it up to my own specs.