Today is a Sad Day

wavey_davey

wavey_davey

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:((

Today I took my Ovangkol Bodied $$ to the Doctors.

I've been told that her truss rod is not functioning correctly and requires replacing.

Having a read through some of these postings, it would appear that the Bass Doctor can't just loosen off and drop the rod out, but she needs full on open neck surgery which I am going to struggle to afford.

Does anyone have any good news for me? Is this sort of thing covered by any warranty? Perhaps the truss rod fairy accidentally stuck a replaceable one in there?

Any one else had any similar issues and if so, was it as expensive as hell?? (quoted £200 minimum) I'm stuck in the Channel Islands with the nearest (or any for that matter) Warick dealers sitting on the other side of 100 miles of water (I can't even contemplate the costs to ship).
 
aww Davey,sorry to hear of your babies woes.Like any brand of bass,this can & does happen.
The removable truss rod is on the older models,with the one way rod.Look at the last 2 digits of your serial number to see what year yours was built.If it's a 2 way rod,the fingerboard needs to come off to replace the rod.One guy here recently had his done & it turned out fine.But,like you say,it's not a cheap repair,but a necessary one if you wanna be able to adjust the relief in your neck.
One piece of advice I can give you,that's useful & will save ya some money for the rod itself,is to buy one through a Warwick dealer,rather than through the Warwick web shop,which charges a flat rate for shipping.Check to see what the web shop charges for shipping to your place before taking this advice though.Coz it's pretty affordable in ceratin countries.
The warranty applies for the first 2 years,to the original buyer,when bought from an authourised Warwick dealer.
So welcome aboard,I hope your baby is back to her full potential & you're thumping the crap outta here once more.Keep us posted about how ya get on too.
 
There's a plate on the back of the headstock saying 'Custom Shop 2007'

I guess that rules out the removable truss option!

She was ordered, new from the Bass Centre in London and as I specified an Ovangkol body, it was a custom shop job. And seen as I'm sure it was purchased / ordered / created somwhere in the middle of 2007, I guess the 2 year warranty is blown out of the water too! Even more annoying is that I noticed the action slipping higher at the 12th - 24th a few months ago and have only just gotten round to taking it to the Doc.

Wonder if my house insurance will cover it!!
 
Hey Davey, I am sad to hear such bad news... Please contact Warwick UK, maybe they fix it under warranty...
 
I've contacted the Bass Centre, still awaiting a reply. Will try Warwick UK too.
 
There may be a ray of light on the Horizon

The good folk at the Bass Centre in London (where I purchased her) reckon that their Warwick tech will be able to fix her up with out the need for taking her to bits. I just need to ship it there and back!

Apparently the Warwick rod is a tempermental beastie.
 
Before doing anything you should know this.
That is a dual action trussrod. It can work both directions. In the middle, it has a "dead spot". So it is a place where you can turn the trussrod a couple of times both directions till it tensions the neck.

Can you check this please?
 
Sure,

Having never tensioned a truss before, I can't really gauge what movement I should expect to see. I've read posts and article talking about quarter turns normally being enough.

Would WD40 help :) (Ive read some of your other posts!!)
 
If you feel the trussrod is free, and not engaged, Just turn it clockwise untill you feel it starts to tension the neck.
Then respect the 1/8 turn rule :-)
 
wavey_davey said:
Sure,

Having never tensioned a truss before, I can't really gauge what movement I should expect to see. I've read posts and article talking about quarter turns normally being enough.

Would WD40 help :) (Ive read some of your other posts!!)
Click to expand...

If you don't trust your eyes/hands to tell you if the truss rod is doing anything, try this; with your truss rod 'free' (i.e. a bit of free movement clockwise and counterclockwise) tune the bass to concert pitch with an electronic tuner, now adjust the rod till you feel it bite then tension the rod a further 1/8th of a turn, now check your tuning again. The tuning should now have altered either flat or sharp depending upon if you are adjusting the rod clockwise or counterclockwise. Now tune the bass again and undo what you have just done (slacken the rod off) and take the rod the 'opposite' way, check your tuning. It should have altered to the opposite of what it was before. If so then your rod is working correctly.

If none of the above makes sense then I've either not explained it well or you need to get someone who knows what they are doing to check it. :lol:
 
I'll have an experiment this weekend. If no joy then its off to the UK for her!!

Thanks all for the help and info!
 
I hope all goes well!

What does an all ovangkol $$ sound like anyway?
Like a stock $$ but tighter/growlier I would imagine?
 
Sound wise, i've never met such a versatile beast!

You want creamy and warm, its in there. You want popping funk, yup no worries. Plus its the trad thumb growl where the wood comes into its own.
 
Thought I'd best finish this one off

The Bass was sent to the Fantastic guys and the Bass Centre in London. They have sorted the problem - in fact, there wasnt a problem at all, just needed an experienced warwick experienced dude to fiddle with it.

Shes now for sale - there's an ad up in the second hand section.
 
Good luck selling it, and I hope you will come back to us soon.

I managed to stay away from Warwick only 5 years.
 
And only now is he getting back his groove.
3 days without a Warwick,equals 1 day with a Warwick.
So the longer you are without one,the longer it takes to get that cool credibility back.
Trust me.I've seen it happen ;)
Just dont trust my mathematics,coz the more I read my equation,the less likely it looks like I got it in the correct order.:confused:
I better pick up my Streamer.
AAAAH,yes.
Now I am redeemed.8:
 
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