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Post subject: Neck Relief on new American Vintage 62 Jazz
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 1:10 am
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I recently purchased a Fender American Vintage '62 Jazz Bass. Initially it had some fret buzz with the stock round wound strings, so I removed the neck and gave the truss rod a quarter turn counter-clockwise. The buzz remained so about a week later I decided to try changing to flat wounds. Before I changed the strings to D'Addario Chromes Medium gauge flat wounds, I removed the neck again and gave the truss rod a quarter turn clockwise to give some relief to compensate for the extra tension from the heavier strings. After 24 hours, the neck seems to have developed a back bow despite of the truss rod adjustment. I measure .022 inches on the 4th string at the 8th fret while holding down at the first and last fret. This is well over the Fender recommended .014 inches. The action is high but it's comfortable for me as I play pretty hard. Should I try to get the neck straightened for fear of permanent damage or is it okay to leave it where it's at? It's an expensive bass and I don't want to risk damaging the neck; on the other hand, I'm nervous about having to remove the neck constantly for adjustments - those screws will eventually strip out. I bought the bass from an online dealer, so I can't take it back anywhere for a setup, so I'm pretty much stuck doing it myself. I'm still well within the return period, so if the neck's bad, I will return the bass. Thanks for any advice!


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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 8:40 am
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I don't know enough to tell you if your neck is in peril or needs replacement. I will say this though: flatwound string have VERY high tension: far more tension than roundwounds, so that will have a big impact on the neck.


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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 6:57 pm
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Welcome!

I mean absolutely no insult here but it sounds like that bass needs a good, professional evaluation and premising all is well structurally, a good professional setup. If for whatever reason you can't get to a genuinely competent tech and you have some real doubts about it, you may as well send it back. As you've said yourself, you can't keep taking it apart and putting it back together.

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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 9:01 pm
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Thanks for the welcome and no insult taken. I should have mentioned that I took the bass to an authorized Fender tech right after I made the first truss rod adjustment. At that point, he heard the buzz on the D string but said there was nothing wrong with the bass that he could fix. The action and neck relief were fine at that point. I couldn't stand the fret buzz, so I moved to the flat wounds, which caused the back bow in the neck, even though I thought I had compensated for it with a truss rod adjustment. I have since given it one more shot and went with another 1/4 turn on the truss rod and it seems to be good now, within .002" of Fender's recommended measurement. The fret buzz is gone with the flat wounds. With the cost of pro set ups these days, I'm determined to learn to DIY - should have learned years ago. Unfortunately, this means there is some guess work involved. However, if I notice any variation in the neck over the next few days though, I think I will give up on this one. The vintage-style truss rod adjustment at the neck joint really s*cks, especially if you get bass with a finicky neck. I would think that medium flat wound strings are what would have been used standard on a vintage '62 J-Bass, so I wouldn't think they'd be a problem for the neck on the AVRI. Anyone here play a '62 AVRI Jazz Bass? If so, what strings are you using? Thanks!


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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:38 pm
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kaj3313 wrote:
Thanks for the welcome and no insult taken. I should have mentioned that I took the bass to an authorized Fender tech right after I made the first truss rod adjustment. At that point, he heard the buzz on the D string but said there was nothing wrong with the bass that he could fix. The action and neck relief were fine at that point. I couldn't stand the fret buzz, so I moved to the flat wounds, which caused the back bow in the neck, even though I thought I had compensated for it with a truss rod adjustment. I have since given it one more shot and went with another 1/4 turn on the truss rod and it seems to be good now, within .002" of Fender's recommended measurement. The fret buzz is gone with the flat wounds. With the cost of pro set ups these days, I'm determined to learn to DIY - should have learned years ago. Unfortunately, this means there is some guess work involved. However, if I notice any variation in the neck over the next few days though, I think I will give up on this one. The vintage-style truss rod adjustment at the neck joint really s*cks, especially if you get bass with a finicky neck. I would think that medium flat wound strings are what would have been used standard on a vintage '62 J-Bass, so I wouldn't think they'd be a problem for the neck on the AVRI. Anyone here play a '62 AVRI Jazz Bass? If so, what strings are you using? Thanks!


My main Jazz bass is a 62 AV reissue that I got last year and is on its third set of strings without needing any truss rod adjustment. The stock Fender strings bowed out to DR Sunbeams which lasted a while and were eventually replaced by TI flats which I still have on. They have extremely low tension, the lowest of any flatwound string and they last for years. I use them on most of my Fenders.

I hear what you're saying about the pain of having to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod, and thankfully this bass hasn't required it but I've got others that I've had to (my CS 59 P-bass and CIJ 51 P-bass reissues) and while I know of guys who have to adjust theirs every year with the weather changes I still don't like the idea.


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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:59 pm
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Yep, as anubis16 alluded to in another post, the tension from the medium gauge flat wounds is really high - too much for my 62 AVRI J-bass to handle. I thought I had the neck bow fixed, but after another day the bow was back. I switched back to the stock round wounds, and within a half hour the bow was gone. With this string gauge, it requires a light touch to avoid fret buzz, something that just doesn't come naturally to me. I guess I could try a lighter gauge/lower tension flat wound string. I'm really on the fence with this bass. I love the look and sound, but I'm probably better off with something less troublesome. I live in South-East Pennsylvania, and the humidity here ranges from near-tropical to near-desert like, so adjustments are going to be necessary throughout the year. Thanks again to all for the advice.


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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 8:57 am
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kaj3313 wrote:
Yep, as anubis16 alluded to in another post, the tension from the medium gauge flat wounds is really high - too much for my 62 AVRI J-bass to handle. I thought I had the neck bow fixed, but after another day the bow was back. I switched back to the stock round wounds, and within a half hour the bow was gone. With this string gauge, it requires a light touch to avoid fret buzz, something that just doesn't come naturally to me. I guess I could try a lighter gauge/lower tension flat wound string. I'm really on the fence with this bass. I love the look and sound, but I'm probably better off with something less troublesome. I live in South-East Pennsylvania, and the humidity here ranges from near-tropical to near-desert like, so adjustments are going to be necessary throughout the year. Thanks again to all for the advice.


You should really think about giving TI flats a try then. TIs (Thomastik-Infeld) have the least tension of any flatwound string, and are very flexible (some that don't like them say "floppy" but I don't think so). Pino Paladino uses them on his P-basses so if you like his tone with the John Mayer Trio that's the tone. I've got TI flats on my 62 Jazz and have my action as low as it goes, requiring a very light touch. But you could raise the action if you want to attack the strings more. TIs are expensive but will last for years between string changes so in the long run they're a bargain. Good luck!


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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 12:51 pm
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What item number is those TI flatwounds you said you use. I am in a similar situation with my 62AVRI.


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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 2:50 pm
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bigjimm64 wrote:
What item number is those TI flatwounds you said you use. I am in a similar situation with my 62AVRI.


Here:

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/thjaniflworo.html

And this is the cheapest place to buy them too. Free shipping.


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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 4:17 pm
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Thanks!


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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 4:19 pm
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bigjimm64 wrote:
Thanks!


You're quite welcome. One thing to keep in mind -- these strings are expensive but they literally last years. It's not uncommon to hear people talk about having them on the same bass with daily use for 5 or 6 years. And unlike most flats, these aren't stiff. They're flexible like rounds, very easy to play.


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Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:16 am
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anubis16 wrote:
I don't know enough to tell you if your neck is in peril or needs replacement. I will say this though: flatwound string have VERY high tension: far more tension than roundwounds, so that will have a big impact on the neck.


I have to correct you. Its the opposite. Flatwound strings have lower tension than roundwound strings in general and specific round wounds like Rotosound have extremely high tension.

Those early Jazz bass necks are very thin and need to get the truss rod just right, so if you have to, take it to a good repair person and get the bass set up.

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