I can't get no relief!

[jalevinemd]

Looks like I might be sending Big Stubby back to Santa Rosa, but I'm up for suggestions. Had the same problem last summer which resolved after the hot weather. I have no relief in my neck. Strings are flat against the upper-mid frets. I can play but there's a fair bit of buzzing. The truss rods are as loose as they will go. They're actually finger tight. I don't know what else I can do.

[olieoliver]

What gauge strings do you have on it and have you tried a larger gauge.
Something else to check is the tension of the strings. I remember someone here mentioning that not all strings of the same gauge have the same tension. I guess material would make a difference in tension. Something to check into anyway.
 
Good luck, OO

[jalevinemd]

The strings are Ernie Ball. Hybrid Slinkies. Basically 10's for DAE and 9's for EBG. I could go for the full 10's but I don't know how much it's going to help, though I plan to try it tonight. Regardless, it can' t be normal not to be able to loosen your TR's at all. It's been like this for the year I've had it. Plays great until I need a tiny bit of relief.

[ralphl]

I'm no expert, but you could try over tightening all the strings about a step and a half and leave it that way for a few days. Sometimes this compression method works. I have used this method on my Series I with success. I guess a neck has to be talked into shape occasionally.
What ever you do, be careful! Best of luck!
Russ

[lbpesq]

Jonathan:
 
Sounds like  you may need a heat bend.  Woody needed one at first.  After Alembic did the heat bend the problem was completely solved.
 
Bill, tgo

[jalevinemd]

Bill,
 
I e-mailed Susan yesterday saying that's where I was afraid I was heading.

[jalevinemd]

Last week, the weather was very humid. By Friday night, the E and B strings were flat against the frets. Not playable. I know it needs a heat bend and if I lived close by, I'd just drop it off. But I'm dreading having to ship it back. First off, I need to by a flight case. And I really don't want to be without it. It's been my main player lately.  
 
So, I bought a set of Ernie Ball Slinky Light Top Heavy Bottoms (.010-.052), hoping heavier strings would show this neck who's boss. The problem has resolved (for now) and I don't mind the 10's. If I really start to miss the 9's in the next few weeks, I'll have to break down and send it back to Santa Rosa.
 
These haevier gauge strings are obviously exerting the degree of forward bow that I needed. I'm assuming that this will continue to the point where (by fall/winter), I may actually need to tighten the truss rods a bit. If I get to that point and then switch back to the 9's next spring/summer, will the neck return to where it is now? Or, having started with more relief than when I first got the guitar (thanks to the heavier strings), is it possible that next spring/summer I can return to the 9's and have a playable instrument?
 
This is difficult to ask in writing. Bottom line: can you PERMANENTLY increase the degree of forward bow with heavier gauge strings, tighten the TR's and start with a new relief baseline or will the neck always find a way return to its original state?

[ralphl]

Glad to hear you are getting some relief!
 
As I pointed out in my first post to you, the compression method can work.  
But will it stay that way? If it is held in that shape long enough, then, yes, it will. How long is long enough? Can't say for sure. But the wood will always have some flexibility to it (or should).  
 
Alembic necks are very strong, but they have personality. They want to do what they want, sometimes. However, you are not going to snap off the neck with a set of 11s or 12s that are over tightened a step and a half. Try leaving the guitar that way for a week. That amount of time may help convince the neck to bend the way you'd like it to. It may retain its shape well enough that you can go back to using 9s and might even have to tighten the rods a bit.
   If the neck moves back, try this method several more times. If it does not keep its shape after you feel it should, then heat is the next step.
 
This is not an exact science. Wood is organic and cannot always be predicted. But compressing the neck as I suggest is a lot cheaper and probably safer than heating, re-gluing, etc.  
 
Russ

[jalevinemd]

Well...the Light Top-Heavy Bottom strings did the trick. I have just the right amount of relief in the neck. And if things keep moving in this direction, I'll have to tighten the truss rods a bit in the neck month or so. I like the heavier strings, though I might go back to the hybrid 9's down the line. At least for now, the heat bend has been avoided!

[bigbadbill]

I can't use the strings I would normally use (Roto 40-95) on my Triple O bass. Like you, there just isn't enough adjustment available (or rather I can use them but even though I play lightly they're buzzing all over the place; not a problem in normal use - it just sounds very aggressive - but when recording it's been a problem). So far I've just stuck with heavier strings; as long as the tension of the particular set isn't too high it's fine, and the Alembic seems to feel better with heavier strings than anything else I've got.  
 
Just out of interest, How do DRs and TIs compare tension-wise to the stock Alembic strings?

[David Houck]

I play TI Jazz Rounds, which are very low tension.  The tension, in pounds, for a 34 four string set:
E-27.99, A-29.54, D-30.20, G-34.61

[bigbadbill]

Thanks Dave. I'll check how that compares.

[gtrguy]

Interesting. I just bought a bass ( P bass clone) at a garage sale this weekend that was sitting outside for a few hours. The strings buzzed at the tuner end of the neck pretty bad and I talked them down a lot after I showed that to the owners. However, when I brought it inside the house for a few hours, it quit buzzing! The nut, neck bow, and string height were fine when I picked it up at the sale, but it buzzed. There must be some physics principle at work here related to heat and sunlight.
Dave

[keith_h]

Heat can sure enough have an effect on the moisture in the neck which itself has an effect on the relief.  
 
Keith