NKS said:
I didn't do any of the changes that you said should
be done. Now Im freaking out, can this be fixed???
Before the change the strings I asked my luthier and
he told me that nothing should happen, at least nothing
that can not be fixed. I'm praying that this hasn't
damaged my bass.
Ok. Here's what I think I read:
1. You had a playable EADG bass.
2. You strung it BEAD, made no compensations at all.
Other than a slight noise, it was a decent BEAD ax.
3. You restrung it again, back to EADG, but now the
slight noise that occured at BEAD is still around at
EADG, and it is worse.
OK. Thaz what I read.
Here's what I find between the lines:
1. After going to BEAD with no adjustments, the neck
gradually lost relief, due to reduced tension of BEAD.
2. Despite the loss of relief, the action at BEAD did
not
seem to be too low, cuz the strings sat higher in
the nut slots [fatter strings]. But the reduced relief
could provoke some minor noises from some notes.
3. Assuming the nut didn't break, the slots may be
partially enlarged from tuning RWs thru it that are
too fat for the slots.
4. You put the EADGs back on. The neck relief should
return to what it had been when you originally had the
EADGs on there.
BUT ..... it may be flatter now [less
relief] due to weather change,
AND the EADG strings
may be sitting
lower in the nut slots than they had sat
BEFORE the slots were enlarged somewhat by the fatter
BEAD strings.
5. Depending on the degree of wear during the BEAD
era, the nut slots
may now be wide enuf to let the
EADG strings do a mini-rattle side to side, but prolly not.
OKaaaayyY. I've now laid out all the things that might
not have occurred to you, so you can do something
about them at a reduced level of empuzzlement. Other
than if you cracked the nut [not
too likely], nothing
here suggests damage .... just messed up set up.
Now that it's all mapped out, you can apply your set up
skills or take it to the luthier. The nut slots may, or may
not, be reusable. Prolly just a tiny clean up and raising
the whole nut on its adjuster screws will fix that [JAN2
or JAN3]. THe rest of the stuff is just set up. No damage.
You do it or you pay someone. But get to it, so you can
enjoy playing. Don't hesitate for fear of a big repair bill
cuz the WORST damage would be a cracked nut [which
I do not expect].
Basic setup is covered elesewhere [somewhere ... ] on
this site, and in 2.3 zillion places on the web. Nut filing
is not uusally described, but a few sites do explain it.
