"slight" twist in the neck

[FrankieTbird]

check out the last pic

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gibson-Eb-4L-Bass-Guitar-1972-Brown-/122234665763

The seller did disclose it though, so 

[Alanko]

Somebody got it for $366.00, which is nae bad, eh?

Neck pickup looks like a very early Dimarzio Model One, with a chrome cover. I've seen one or two before with a textured chrome cover, but never a shiny one like that. Looks like the owner was going down the road of a Dennis Dunaway signature.

[Dave W]

Not bad at all.

That's a Gibson pickup. Only 4 polepices, look closely. Looks like this under the cover.

[Alanko]

Ahha I see now. The bass is missing the 'goof hider' ring from around the pickup, which made me think it was an aftermarket pickup that didn't quite fit the original route. Must be a very early multi-coil pickup?

[Dave W]

It was only used on the EB-4L. Doubt if it was the first of its kind, but it was an early one.

[clankenstein]

What could be done to correct that twist? Mine  has it too but to a lesser extent.

[veebass]

What could be done to correct that twist? Mine  has it too but to a lesser extent.

You could try the clamping to overcorrect the twist and applying heat method. Works sometimes.

There are a few videos on Youtube that run through the process. I have done it a few times with variable success. I also add a small clamp between the first fret and nut- out of fear of the fretboard popping off when under pressure..

I did it with a Ric 4003 and it helped a bit. Obviously you would need to clamp the body on a bass that isn't a bolt on.

[clankenstein]

Thanks. I might give it a go after our next gig. (DEC 10)

[OldManC]

I had a Thunderbird that had a twisted neck. I got it in trade, in need of a headstock repair (small crack), and found the twist when it arrived. The three point bridge made it easy to line up the strings (straight/even relative to the fingerboard), so while there was a twist it wasn't really an issue unless you looked down the fingerboard from the top of the neck. When I sold it I priced it accordingly and still felt bad about it even though I did disclose the issue, but its current owner has only ever expressed being pleased with the bass and it went to a great home. That EB might have enough meat to try the heat method, but it might be fine even without a fix.

[veebass]

I had a Thunderbird that had a twisted neck. I got it in trade, in need of a headstock repair (small crack), and found the twist when it arrived. The three point bridge made it easy to line up the strings (straight/even relative to the fingerboard), so while there was a twist it wasn't really an issue unless you looked down the fingerboard from the top of the neck. When I sold it I priced it accordingly and still felt bad about it even though I did disclose the issue, but its current owner has only ever expressed being pleased with the bass and it went to a great home. That EB might have enough meat to try the heat method, but it might be fine even without a fix.

That's a great point- I have two basses with a twist that I bought at the same time. Neither were disclosed by the seller (same guy) and he lied outright and then refused to make good- but the interesting thing is both set up and play fine. Both twists are down on the treble side and so mean I don't need to get the wrist on my fretting hand round quite so far, so I really don't worry too much about it. The only issue is I paid too much for them given the issue and I feel I was cheated because I have heard since he got them cheap.

[66Atlas]

A true "slight" counter-clockwise twist on a neck under truss rod tension can actually be somewhat common.  If its almost playable as-is you might try just releasing the rod tension for a day or two and reset. A little graphite dust under the rod nut/washer isn't a bad idea either.

I've used heat bending to correct issues on necks quite a few times (guitars & viols) and would only use it as a last resort.  I you decide to do it be cautious and don't over apply heat. Also make sure you leave your clamps in place until the neck has fully cooled for the best results.