What should neck relief be on an acoustic bass? and pointers?

[lungimsam]

As a good starting point.
Gonna be playin someone's acoustic bass that has been sitting and I know its gonna need an adjustment.
I am great at electric bass T rods but never done an acoustic bass Trod. Any pointers? What should the relief be? Thanks!

 

[fronobulax]

As a good starting point.
Gonna be playin someone's acoustic bass that has been sitting and I know its gonna need an adjustment.
I am great at electric bass T rods but never done an acoustic bass Trod. Any pointers? What should the relief be? Thanks!

Dunno. You worry about things I have never been bothered by enough to adjust

Keep in mind that your options for action (saddle height) and intonation adjustments will be limited. You might wish to manage your expectations concerning what you can adjust or learn to make saddles and perhaps nuts.

 

[Nuuska]

Hello

I would start w capo on 1st or 2nd fret to check the neck/fretboard. Adjust if needed. To your liking.

After that check the saddle. Adjust to your liking.TYL

After that remove the capo. ATYL. TYL


Are you allowed to do all this if needed?

 

[lungimsam]

Yes, but I wouldn’t futz with the saddle or the nut. The trod adjustment should be enough.

 

[fronobulax]

Yes, but I wouldn’t futz with the saddle or the nut. The trod adjustment should be enough.

Methinks you might have the cart and the horse inverted. You are assuming, in advance, that a bass you have never played will need some kind of adjustment and the truss rod adjustment will solve whatever problem you encounter.

Or maybe this is just a case of when your only tool is a hammer all problems need to be nailed.

 

[lungimsam]

Frono, almost all basses I have played that were owned by people who weren’t players you could do archery practice with the neck due to neglect/ ignorance of maintenance. So I am wanting to know ahead of time because I am almost certain it will be a bass with a trod adjustment needed. Wanna leave it better off than I found it. I know good starting point for electrics, but not acoustics.
In this thread I’m just asking for a good starting number -not life coaching.

 

[krysh]

the same as on electric basses. only more complicated because of the fixed bridge height, if too high you have to sand down, like on all accoustics - if there is no need of a neck reset.
very critical ist the height of the saddle, this should be perfect before adjusting, most cheaper acoustics have too much height there..

 

[Wilmywood]

A good starting number would be whatever feels right without buzzing, within the constraints of the instrument in question.

Anyone who throws out a number would be doing so anally

 

[fronobulax]

Frono, almost all basses I have played that were owned by people who weren’t players you could do archery practice with the neck due to neglect/ ignorance of maintenance. So I am wanting to know ahead of time because I am almost certain it will be a bass with a trod adjustment needed. Wanna leave it better off than I found it. I know good starting point for electrics, but not acoustics.
In this thread I’m just asking for a good starting number -not life coaching.

I would not make that statement. Neither would I claim the hubris that suggests my preferred adjustment(s) would improve things.

Your mileage has obviously varied and part of that may be as simple as the non-players I run into nowadays have already sold the instruments ;-)