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I am working on a '76 Fender P-bass and having trouble with the neck. The frets are worn in the first 4 positions. The bridge saddles are all the way down. The truss rod was fully relieved and the strings were bottoming out on any frets above the 12th fret. Clearly the frets needed crowned, the truss rod needed adjustment and the neck needed shimmed. I have seen this situation before and corrected this with little issues. After completing the work on this bass it still seems like the neck is not adjusting correctly. If I had to guess it almost seems like the end of the neck 16-20 frets have a hump and frets 1-4 are dipping. I am going to look at the frets again and recrown where needed but it seems more problematic. Here is my questions....has anyone seen this situation on vintage instruments where it seems like the only option is leveling the fretboard and re-fretting to fix major humps and dips in the fingerboard. This is becoming my conclusion but I am curious on others experience.

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Brad
Avon, OH

Brad, You're going to have to check that neck with some straightedges, relieving the truss rod and getting it straight as possible. Then do setup steps.

You may want to check the archives for the Turner Fret Levelers. Under string tension, those things are amazing straightening out lesser problems.

Following Frank Ford, I use a #5 Bailey Plane body using PSA adhesive sandpaper for a quick once over with the neck levelled and no strings.

Yes, anything very severe will require recrowning. It's amazed me over the years how many instruments live with flat tops to a degree. Playability is important. Good luck.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Watch out when shimming a neck. A strip of material at the back will cause the end of the heel to rise slightly. I've seen buzzes on the last fret disappear and re-appear just by varying the torque on the neck screws.

A tapered wedge is a much better solution.

[quote="Brad Way"Here is my questions....has anyone seen this situation on vintage instruments where it seems like the only option is leveling the fretboard and re-fretting to fix major humps and dips in the fingerboard. [/quote]

Yes. Although IMO nothing made after 1970 is "vintage."

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Howard...you may have a point there.

Maybe I should have called this an "old beat up Fender". Some how "Vintage" just sounds better.

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Brad
Avon, OH