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Post subject: Nate Mendel P neck out of whack...details inside
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 12:27 am
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So I have a parts Fender Precision Bass (Nate Mendel P neck and a Squier Affinity burst body).

The neck seems to have a maxed out truss rod. I got a tech to look at it and even he was stumped; he never fails at his job but this left him completely out of options. He did the best he could with the neck and setting it up, but he couldn't fix the too-high string action when tuned to pitch. Over time, I began adjusting it, giving it a maintenance session every so often.

I heard recently about adding washers into the rod before adding the nut, so I did just that. The neck began to tighten more just a bit, so I thought it worked. When I put the neck back on and tuned the strings to pitch and adjusted the bridge saddles, the action was still too high.

I tried lighter gauge strings. Helped a bit. Not much to satisfy my preferences.

I used a heavier-duty screwdriver and gave the rod more tightening....it worked better. The action was STILL too high. The E-string saddle was lowered all the way and the screws were digging into my hand when I palm-mute.

I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do. The neck seems to be fine but something is wrong with the truss rod, obviously. I never had this issue with any other Fender bass I had owned except for this one.

My alternative is to buy a MIM Standard maple P neck from Fender and try to sell the Mendel neck for whatever value I can get it for.

My questions are:

1. What else could I do to lower the action without causing massive unpleasant fret buzz?

2. Will the 70s-style tuning heads fit onto a MIM standard P neck? I realize the screwholes for the 70s-style tuners and the holes on the MIM neck are different but theoretically, I can add new holes to accommodate the 70s tuners and cover up the predrilled ones?


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Post subject: Re: Nate Mendel P neck out of whack...details inside
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 12:26 pm
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I can't believe any decent technician wouldn't know to shim the neck up, which is exactly what you need before you totally ruin your neck if you haven't already. Take it to a real luthier and start from scratch.

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Post subject: Re: Nate Mendel P neck out of whack...details inside
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 1:04 pm
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If you have a truss nut that is super tight and is still having action issues, such as you describe, and before you go any further with some other type of circumvention, give this video a look. This is probably a more extreme instance of what is happening to you, but give serious thought to this solution. I think that, from what you describe, this could get you the results you are looking for without having to make modifications to your neck or body.




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Post subject: Re: Nate Mendel P neck out of whack...details inside
Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 9:13 am
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I'd agree that shimming would be the professional's way to go. Surely your tech would have got to that point?


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Post subject: Re: Nate Mendel P neck out of whack...details inside
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2017 9:52 pm
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Bumping this - not with a solution but to note that I too have a Nate Mendel and I cannot get the bow out of the neck. And the truss rod is hard to turn.
It's a shame because it's an awesome bass otherwise. I wonder if it was a production issue?


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Post subject: Re: Nate Mendel P neck out of whack...details inside
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2017 8:34 am
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4001 Player wrote:
Bumping this - not with a solution but to note that I too have a Nate Mendel and I cannot get the bow out of the neck. And the truss rod is hard to turn.
It's a shame because it's an awesome bass otherwise. I wonder if it was a production issue?

Take your bass to a professional luthier. He'll take your neck off and put it in a special neck jig and straighten it slowly. This is also the perfect time to get your frets leveled, crowned & polished, and also set your action at the nut. Be sure to have a fresh set of strings put on when the neck is reinstalled, and the action at the bridge completely set up anew. $100-150 should do the whole shebang.

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2012 Lefty American Standard Jazz
2017 Lefty American Professional Precision
2018 Rumble Studio 40 Combo
2016 Rumble 200 Combo
One day they shall name a GREAT city after me, and they shall call it LINNINGRAD


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