This week we took in a 1960’s Fender P-Bass for a refret that had a severely warped neck. I have a Fender Squire Bass that came in a pack for $300. So, a little relief is needed for them to not hit the frets. To adjust the action, turn the screw in the truss rod to change the curvature of the neck. Here’s the fretboard against a straight edge – yikes! What is the cheapest and most efficient way of fixing this Problem? The way you described it, the neck looks more bowed than warped. I tuned them and they where the same way as before. The neck is slightly bowed. Back to the Bass Setup Guide. If your neck is straight or back-bowed, the strings may rattle against the frets causing unpleasant fret buzz. There's this contraption from StewMac that might help: I just bought a ibanez gio gsr200 from a friend for $50. If the gap is too large, insert the Allen wrench or Phillips screwdriver into the screw (located either on the headstock or at the other end of the neck) and then tighten the truss rod by turning the screw clockwise. The neck simply would not straighten out, no matter what we did with the truss rod – even with the truss rod completely loose, the neck had a severe back bow. Even fewer understand just how common a warped neck is. The bass strings put many pounds of tension on the neck of your bass guitar. Next: Bass String Height. It may be scary, but it is nothing to panic over. With a back-bowed neck, that bow shape is effectively reversed and the middle has ended up closest to the strings. If the curvature of your bass neck is not correct, you need to adjust the truss rod. My bass guitar has a front bow from the neck down to the 6th fret. How bad will this effect the sound and is there anything I can do to fix … I don't have those tools like alien key and such, is there a way to … One day I was playing my bass guitar and I noticed the strings were a lot looser. Warped necks are part of our world. Not only is this every player’s nightmare, but few bassists actually know how to correct the problem and fix the bass guitar. So when you see your warped bass guitar neck, it may feel like a punch just below the gut. The strings are a little high off the fret board. If the truss rod snapped, then you'll have to take the fretboard out and replace the truss rod. If for some reason the neck is straight but you are having problems with the action still, then you’re in luck because it’s not the neck or truss rod at all and all you need is to adjust the bridge! If it's just the threads on the truss rod that's problem, you might be able to save it. This means that a note fretted in the lower end of the neck can't sound clearly as it hits off the 'uphill' frets all the way to the middle of the bow. How can I fix it? If the neck has too much tension and needs some relief, it will look like a bow, with the neck arching towards you (assuming you are wearing your guitar and not looking at it). Think of it like a bow as in bow and arrow.