The Last Bass Outpost
Main Forums => The Bass Zone => Topic started by: nofi on September 28, 2008, 03:04:56 PM
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how can i tell for sure. i'm talking about a twist, not a bow. this is a distinction that seems to confuse people per online search. my bass plays fine but sighting down the headstock towards thae bridge saddle it seems the headstock is not on an even plane with everything else. the bass side of the headstock seems higher, even though the nut and bridge line up level and the strings appear to be at equal height off the fretboard. any ideas. ???
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It's not uncommon to have twist in the headstock but not in the main neck shaft. Ask any owner of a slothead Gibson bass. :) The neck shaft is thicker and has the truss rod to counter the tension. Different string tensions and different break angles can put the headstock out of the plane. Hope that makes sense.
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I bought a '77 Bird from George (our very own Old Man C) that has a bit of a twist in the neck (he told me beforehand of course!) maybe from having it's headstock broken. Anyway the neck does seem to have a slight twist to it, but its much maligned ( by some folks, not me) 3 point bridge more than compensates for it - in fact it's an excellent player, often go-to bass that sounds great. Thanks George!
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The three point really does make up for it as long as the twist is even and not too crazy. The bird I sold Mark looks a little weird if you sight it down the neck from the headstock, but when it's hanging from a strap and being played it's not something that you even think of. It may have affected it's value from a collectors POV, but as a player who cares? I was glad my bass went to a home where it'd be loved and played. And Mark, you're welcome!
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Nofi,
Is this on your Olympia?
No real words of wisdom from me . I had an old buddy who used some strange techniques that everyone said worked, but I don't know the whole story and what I remember was pretty off the wall. I recall the use off steam , a jig made for a vice and a lot of critical timing issues. Not a thing I've experienced or would want to pass on to anyone :o
Rick
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Rick, steam and clamping can work if the neck itself is twisted, but if it's just the headstock, it's more likely that the twist will come back once it's strung up again.
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And.........This weekend at The King Cat Theater I wanted to play my new Fenderbird but it was putting up some 60 cycle hum thru the large FOH system. So here I am playing the '77 - Pure Rock!
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd306/veronicasteed/kingcat2.jpg)
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yeah it's the olympia. the truss rod never did turn very smoothly on it so that may have something to do with it. the repair guy i go to worked on doc watson's guitars for years so he knows a thing or two about acoustic stuff. we will see. :sad:
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yeah it's the olympia. the truss rod never did turn very smoothly on it so that may have something to do with it. the repair guy i go to worked on doc watson's guitars for years so he knows a thing or two about acoustic stuff. we will see. :sad:
Good luck on this. I'd hate to see anything bad happen to the Olympia. Keep us posted on the results.
I've been playing the heck out of mine the last few days through my little 5 watt Roland Microcube. If you're ever looking for a baby practice amp, you've got to give one of these things a try :)
Rick
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update. i got my bass back from dan the guitar man and everything appears fine. to paraphrase him the neck has a slight twist but he considers that "normal" since he rarely sees a perfect neck. intonaton and playability is fine re: no fret buzz or any other weirdness. action is good and truss rod adjusted. no charge. ;D
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That's good news ;D ;D
Rick