| Author | Message | ||
| briant
Intermediate Member Username: briant Post Number: 178 Registered: 12-2004 |
This really didn't seem like it should be in the "troubleshooting" section so I'm throwing it here. Please move if deemed appropriate. I finally had to make some adjustments to the new Rogue 5. The G and D strings started to become entirely too unruly in the buzz department and I couldn't bend the G more than about half a step before it just stopped making noise all together. I started with about a half turn on both truss rods and that seemed to help quite a bit. I waited a couple days and let things settle down. Today I adjusted the nut up a bit on the G string side and raised the G string side of the bridge a bit. Everything is now totally wonderful and playable again and the action remains obscenely low. Odd thing is that my JPJ never went through this phase. Even from season to season it has always remained rock solid and has never required an adjustment. Maybe this is just the initial adjustment that the bass needed after settling down some from completion? It has been finished for only about 2 months now so I can fully believe that this is the case. Just wondering if others have experience the same. | ||
| bob
Senior Member Username: bob Post Number: 841 Registered: 11-2002 |
Glad to hear this worked out so well for you, but my real reason for posting was that I almost gasped out loud when I read you "started" with about a half turn on the truss rods! The generally recommended approach is to try something like 1/8 or 1/4 turn, and unless you know (by measuring or something) that things are really out of whack, not to go much more than about 1/4 turn per day. But given that it's had a few days to settle and you seem very pleased with the results, it sounds like you did the right thing. It is quite normal for an instrument to take several months, sometimes more like a year, to stabilize after construction. It may also be adjusting to your environment, if conditions are different than where it was built. But every piece of wood is different, so you never know. Also, I don't recall whether your JPJ was purchased new or used, but in any case it could be that the neck on it was (mostly) constructed many months earlier, relative to the time you got it. Sometimes these things race through production in just a couple of months, while others sort of lounge around for a year or longer, giving you a head start on the settling process. | ||
| keurosix
Advanced Member Username: keurosix Post Number: 305 Registered: 10-2005 |
I use the method of adjusting "one Flat" of the hex head on the truss rod as a guage. This is equal to 1/6 of a full turn. Usually only 2 flats per application is enough to make a difference. Kris | ||
| briant
Intermediate Member Username: briant Post Number: 180 Registered: 12-2004 |
"started" and "half turn" shouldn't have been right next to each other.... I did a 1/4 turn let it settle for about half a day then did another 1/4 turn because it was still pretty bad. | ||
| bob
Senior Member Username: bob Post Number: 842 Registered: 11-2002 |
Fair enough :-) I just didn't want a bunch of other people out there to read that and start cranking on full turns. I think Kris' rule of 1 or 2 flats is also reasonable, though at least on my bass - if I'm already in the ballpark - I can often feel the difference with a little less than one flat/sixth. This probably varies with the instrument, but it can be surprisingly subtle. |
