(weather blues) why do necks move so much. do graphite necks not move at all?

#61
In my experience it depends on a few factors. I never had to adjust 3 piece short-scale necks (Höfner Cavern / Ibanez EB3 copy) here.
My one piece maple 2 octave 4 string fretless neck sometimes needs to be adjusted around the end of winter.
But the fretless 2 octave 5 string hasn't had any adjustments yet.
So maybe the quality of wood and truss rod, combined with how well the bass is set up, make a difference too.

Then again, it also makes a difference if you carry the bass around a lot.
And if it's in a proper suitcase or in a bag.
 
#62
bassbenj said:
My Conkin is by far my worst bass for weather changes. Sometimes you can pick it up to play and get nothing but string rattle out of it. It goes out that far. But a couple of tweaks on the truss and it's right back killer again.

My Modulus (graphite) never seem to need adjustment or even tuning for that matter. The TBX can't be adjusted anyway. It is what it is (and that's great!) The Q6 can be adjusted but never needs it.

But oddly MY G&L (quartersawn wood) never seems to need adjustment for years. When I finally got around to adjusting it (it wasn't seriously out at the time) it hadn't been adjusted for so long the truss rod was nearly frozen. And I have a Squier PJ and a MIM Fender Jazz V with wood necks (not quartersawn) that are equally stable. Others sort of fall in between.

Just shows you that when dealing with wood usually there is some luck involved.
Click to expand...


Learning question.. how many laminations and truss rod does your Conklin have?

I've considered buying another (have owned a few)...
 
#63
For sure, most wooden necks move a bit, but some don't. Most graphite necks are pretty stable, but some move. My Alembics move a bit, my Foderas less so and my Pedullas don't move at all. in my small sample size experiment the number of laminations in the neck doesn't seem to matter, as some of my bases with multiple laminations move the most while others with the same number of laminations move the least. also, I suspect that it is the fingerboard absorbing water or losing in that causes most of the problem as opposed to the next itself, because most next are finished and therefore relatively well – sealed while most non-maple fingerboards are not.

Graphite necks move, too. I had a Modulus (without a truss rod) that become unplayable after it developed a black bow when I changed to low–tension DR Hi-Beams. Luckily, when I switched to a higher-tension string all was well.

The point that really comes through in all of this is that at some point you're going to have to learn how to adjust your trust rod. it's actually really easy to do, once you get the hang of it. It takes maybe 5 minutes and about $20 worth of tools (feeler gauges, a capo and the wrench that is right for your truss rod). It's easier and faster to tweak a truss rod then it is to change strings. Once you learn how to do it, your base will always play just like you want it to.
 
#65
MNAirHead said:
Learning question.. how many laminations and truss rod does your Conklin have?

I've considered buying another (have owned a few)...
Click to expand...

It's a Blll Dickens 7 string model so comparison to other Conklin may not be be totally fair. It's not here right now, but as I recall it has two truss rods and a 7 piece wenge/purpleheart neck.
 
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#66
thehangingmist said:
Are there ways to not toast the neck as in not run out of the truss rod movement on the tightening side?
Click to expand...

Yes. You can safely tighten the truss rod if you know when to stop.

1. If it is physically difficult to turn the truss rod STOP. It's either too tight and close to breaking or it's stuck. If this happens take the bass to a qualified tech.

2. Never turn the truss Rod more than 1/2 turn in any one day, or more than a full turn in total. If you think it's necessary to adjust the truss rod more than that something else is wrong, so STOP and take the bass to a qualified tech.
 
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#67
bassbenj said:
It's a Blll Dickens 7 string model so comparison to other Conklin may not be be totally fair. It's not here right now, but as I recall it has two truss rods and a 7 piece wenge/purpleheart neck.
Click to expand...

Interesting... that's exactly what lives in my Minnesota trunk 365 days per year...

----

I've done this with custom shop Conklins, but would care if they were stolen --- so take better care of them.
 
#68
I've had regular Fender-style and Lakland basses with wood necks that required modest (typical) seasonal adjustment. I've also had a pair of Euro-Spector basses from the early 2000s that seemed to go out of whack every month here in Tennessee - no kidding! I've had Carvin basses that never needed adjusting for years, but were 5-piece all maple necks.

In the composite world, I've also owned 2 Modulus basses, an original Steinberger and now two basses with Status Graphite necks. None of those required any seasonal adjustments at all, ever. I'm in my third season now with the Status ones and they're as good as they day I got them back from assembly last fall.

IMO, well-made composite necks will be more resistant to environment / climate movement. They're not impervious to movement and certainly not indestructible (i.e. don't repeatedly leave 'em in the trunk of your car in Phoenix AZ in the summer and not expect something to warp or delaminate) but they do seem to cut down on a whole lot of fiddling seasonal adjustments.
 
#69
1stnamebassist said:
Temperature will effect the expansion and contraction of steel. Probably in the case of a truss rod it would probably need extreme moves like 20 to 30 degrees and the effect will be minimal. Used to observe this as a Land Surveyor doing Powerline Route Surveys. We had to measure vertical angles to the centerline sag point of the wires to calculate the wire elevation above ground. We also had to take two temperature readings at the time of angle measurement. One was a piece of cable with a thermometer attached out in the sun, the other was air temperature in the shade. They use the temps in the office to calculate expansion and contraction to get as close to a true elevation. Just using angle measurements 45 minutes apart you can see extreme changes in contraction and expansion of the wires that could be several feet of difference. Never did a truss rod survey however!
Click to expand...

Truss rod will be too short to show some expansion/contraction effects due to change in temperature especially for a musical instrument which is not normally left long the road...
 
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#70
Jazz Ad said:
In a climate like yours, a graphite neck is a must. There is a reason why all caribbean bands use them.
Remember, the Fender bass was conceived in Cali, under a very stable climate.
Click to expand...
I'm trying to think of one Caribbean band I've seen in the last twenty-five years where the bass player was playing a graphite-necked bass and honestly can't do it. Not saying none of the guys from the islands use graphite basses anymore but it's certainly not the norm from what I've seen.
 
#72
Yeah that's what I was thinking, but I figured I would throw it out there that steel will expand and contract with heat, but at that length it would probably be a .020 thousandths or so at the most, not enough for major change.
Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati said:
Truss rod will be too short to show some expansion/contraction effects due to change in temperature especially for a musical instrument which is not normally left long the road...
Click to expand...
 
#74
Correct 1stnamebassist, I just made use of my engineering background...
Some other thoughts: my Am. Std. 2012 jazz bass had git possible graphite rods into its neck.
It came with a very bad setup from the shop but after changing the strings and gradually acting on the truss rod head I have to say that this is the most stable neck I've tried so far (I'm Italian but I work in Singapore and here the climate is very humid).
The MIJ Marcus Miller jazz bass I also own was difficult to set up in house until I pleck'd the neck here at Swee Lee.
From then on I was able to arrange it in a very stable firm although it is definitely more sensitive to weather than the Am. Std.
 
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