ARRRRRGGGHHH!!

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:35 pm

Try Carvin Strings ... they have less tension than many other brands ... I started using them on my 4004 4-2-5 basses ... they seem to put less stress on the neck ...

ilan · Post by **ilan** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 11:01 pm

Greg, first of all, if you like TI Jazz Flats (or Jazz Rounds) and you can't buy them locally (same problem here... not many TI dealers in Tel Aviv, Israel), you can order online, like from juststrings.com or from Steve Barr at the Dudepit. They are much lower tention than the set you currently have on the bass.

Second, you might want to check out the thread I started about two weeks ago. I had a similar problem - although not nearly as severe, but still the same problem: I could set the neck flat, zero relief and low action, but ONLY with very light strings - TI Jazz Rounds - and with the rods maxed out, as tight as they will go before snapping off the threaded ends. With the advice I got here, I was able to fix the problem in half an hour on my kitchen table.

Hers's a link to the thread: ../43/136089.html"#FFEECC">

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 7:20 am

Greg the 4003s5 bass that I got from you years ago had a wonderful neck ... I could set the truss rods finger tight and the neck was great ... I had another 4003s5 where the neck would not flatten out ... I broke a truss rod trying to flatten it out ... then I replaced the rod and strung it with lower tension strings and it played fine ... I was setting up another 4003s5 for a friend and it would not adjust out right with DR strings ... I switched to lower tension Carvin strings and it adjusted better ... I currently have Carvin strings on both of my 4004 4-2-5 basses and they both adjust really nice with those strings ...

Also many 5 string basses play better with a little relief in the neck ... the B string sometimes needs a little travel distance to vibrate ...

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 7:26 am

Also get the humidity in your house up to at least 35% ... when the humidity drop below 25% the neck will shrink and bow ... with a humidity level of 50% the neck will expand and flatten out I use a humidistat in my house to check the humidity level ... it is currently 34% which is almost at the perfect level of 35% for maple ...

elysrand · Post by **elysrand** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 7:43 am

Hi Jeff! I didn't know that 35% was the best RH at which to keep a Rick!!!

Am I doing wrong by keeping everything at 45% RH? Is that too high?

gshadoan · Post by **gshadoan** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:47 am

Hi Ilan, unfortunitly pulling the rods isn't really an option for me. I have the first type 4004CII/5 with the pickups set back to the bridge, and pulling the rods would be for factory/ experts only. I dont really fix em, I just ride em. At least not on that level. I could pull rods on a 4001/3 all day long. The 4004 is a different beast.
I really think I SHOULD be able to put whatever strings I want on this, without all this repeat drama. After all, this IS a modern bass ... right? Even JH made the suggestion to put heavey guage strings on it.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:57 am

45% is fine. 35 is the minimum...

markbass99 · Post by **markbass99** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 11:03 am

Greg, me and Ilan did some troubleshooting recently with a truss rod issue he was having, see the vibrola section for the details. We found out that RIC sometimes puts a bend in the rods(Mr. Hall came into the thread and stated so ) and if that bend gets flipped around it will be impossible to straighten the neck out. My suggestion is contact RIC and see if they will cut access routes in your body at the base of the neck, as it's the only way you are going to access the rods. The previous owner of my Cii had this done under warranty and it saved me when I had to pull my rods for a similar issue like yours.

Like Ilan's bass, mine also had bent rods, they had flipped, and I fixed it by straightening the rods and everything's good now. Ilan elected to reinstall his bent rods in the backbow orientation, mark them for reference, and that fixed his problem. If his rods ever flip he will be able to tell and correct. I prefer starting out with straight rods, provided the neck is straight with the rods out and unstrung.

I don't see why RIC wouldn't cut access routes under warranty as the pup routes shouldn't be affecting your neck. I think you have bent rods, they are flipped, and now you need access to them. See pic below-

markbass99 · Post by **markbass99** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 11:11 am

And the bass pictured above is a five string now and the neck is stable and very adjustable now. If you look very close you can see the acorn nuts at the base of the neck for the truss rods.

gshadoan · Post by **gshadoan** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 10:07 am

Update on the scary tight truss rods on my 4004CII/5. I took it over to Dale' Saterday, and well... in an attempt to loosen the nut, it broke the rod. After some carving work on the wood, Dale finally wresteld the broken rod out. He also noticed the other nut was fractured, so 2 new rods / nuts are in the works. The good news, after the broken rod was pulled, the neck flattend out pretty nice. I think he said that it had compressed on both ends, and was out of treads. Looking to next Saterday for the repair to be complete.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 10:10 am

You could not be in better hands Greg. I am glad it is working out for you.

gshadoan · Post by **gshadoan** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 10:26 am

Yes Ted. Your right. Sometimes things just work out that way. I too beleive that I could NOT be in better hands. Dale is genuinely a very nice and obviously very talented guitar guy. Evidenced from some items laying around his well equipped shop. All I can say is there are some lucky folks out there waiting for some of his work

xsubs · Post by **xsubs** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:15 am

Glad it worked out for you, Greg.
I'm one of those "lucky folks" about to have Dale work on my bass! These threads sure put me at ease, and confident that I picked the right guy to do the work.
Cheers
Sean

markbass99 · Post by **markbass99** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:04 am

Definitely in good hands with Dale and I'm glad everything worked out. I suspected compression was going on in mine too so I chose to pull my rods and when I got the bass side out it was bent into almost a half circle. I know RIC has said that they pre-bend their rods sometimes but a half circle is a little extreme. I straightened it out and everything's fine.

gshadoan · Post by **gshadoan** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 2:40 pm

WOW !!! Alls I can say. Got the bass back from Dale, and WOW.....