Mica-Series 1 neck problem

[Sheldon Packwood (alembiclifer)]

My Series 1 (#77 867) has developed a bow in the neck after a move to a radically different climate about 18 months ago. It seems to be getting worse at this point. The action is now noticably higher than it should be and it won't intonate properly even at the far end of adjustment. I realize that without actually seeing the instrument it's like shooting in the dark, but is this something that could possibly be remedied without radical surgery?

[Valentino Villevieille (valvil)]

Hello Sheldon,
 
What you need to do is to tighten the truss rods to minimize the bow. It's not difficult,  I've done it a few times now, and there is a good guide on how to do it in the maintenance section of the Alembic website , I believe; if you are nervous about it, find a good luthier in your area and he should be  able to handle it.  Unless your bow is out of this world it ought to be easy.
Obviously you'll need to to re-intonate the instrument once you are done.
 
Good luck
 
Valentino

[Sheldon Packwood (alembiclifer)]

This is a bass I bought used some years ago. The original owner told me there was a non-adjustable graphite rod in the neck (I took him at his word), and there is no adjustment access that is visible. Where would I find it? In the neck pickup cavity? I have never removed the pickups so I suppose that's a possibility.

[Sheldon Packwood (alembiclifer)]

Never mind-I found them. Guess I should have explored that 15 years ago when I bought the thing! It never needed an adjustment until now! So much for the orig. owner's description. I always thought that plate was decorative........

[mica]

Glad you found the truss rods. You'll need a 1/4 inch open ended wrench to make the adjustment.
The instructions James referred to are online  
here. Valentino's advice is sound. While the procedure is relatively simple, if you're not comfortable doing it yourself, take it to an experienced repairman.

[Joey Wilson (bigredbass)]

Sheldon:
 
I found out quickly that not a lot of good guitar techs were not always good bass techs.  I invested in Dan Erlewine's excellent book, The Guitar Player Repair Guide. It was a TREMENDOUS help to me in understanding action, and how to do it myself.  Alembics are particularly easy due to the double rods and the adjustable nut.  Just remember that small adjustments make a big difference and that not all of the neck movement will occur the minute you crank the wrench.  It may take a day or two for the neck to fully settle.  And it may take several passes at it over a week to bring a bass that hasn't been maintained properly up to your desired action. Also, be sure you've got the strings installed you will be using normally; different string sets will have different tensions, which will require fine tuning the action again if you are very critical in your requirements.

[Sheldon Packwood (alembiclifer)]

Thanks for your help everyone. I've done quite a bit of tweaking in the last 30 yrs, so I'm not too nervous about it. I just took the previous owner at his word as to adjustability.  I have already removed most of the bow, although it is still settling. Playing my pride and joy with a proper set up is going to be SOOOOOOOO fun!!!!

[Paul Lindemans (palembic)]

Hi Sheldon and friends,
living out here in Belgium gives me the same problem every year when the season change. In house we put on the heating and hopla: there comes my Alembic to live again so tweeking time. You know: I own my Almebic for 6 years now and it's a job to be done every year. It's why I warned in a Threat: take care I's alive to every Alembic owner!
Mica answered a couple of years ago: Don't worry Paul, eventually the tree will accept he is a bass now!
I know Alembics are made from old wood but hey: it's still a new guitar!
Enjoy Sheldon!
;-)
Paul

[Derwin C. Moss (bassdude63)]

I hope you're able to sort things out with your adjustments, Sheldon. I bought my Europa new in 1996; It had been on the wall at the music store for 3 years before I bought it. It always had a weird dip on the G string side and a flip at the end of the E string side. I could never get the E string side free of buzzes. I thought it was my lack of experience with dual truss rods. In 2000 the buzzing became so severe It had to sent back to Alembic. It had to be defretted, the fingerboard had to be re-trued, and then refretted. This process cost me over $300.00. It plays fine now but I hope the wood does'nt decide to play games again. Best of luck, D.M.

[Sheldon Packwood (alembiclifer)]

YEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!! I'm VERY happy to report that the neck is now as true as it ever was and I played it last night onstage. I play a variety of other axes, but every time I come back to the Alembic I fall in love with it all over again. The production crew and the guys in the band all complimented me on my tone. Our drummer even said I play better when I use it. If there's a better make of bass guitar out there I sure haven't played it yet.

[Derwin C. Moss (bassdude63)]

Good deal, Sheldon. I'm glad it worked out for you. Having to send my Europa back for neck surgery was pretty tough. I missed having my favorite bass around. I was also shocked when I was charged for the repair. I've talked to numerous luthiers locally and nationally who were also surprised to find out I was charged for a problem that was due to the neck settling improperly(even though the warranty had elapsed). They did do a great job though. Congrats again. D.M.