PaulNeeds Posted May 12, 2003 Report Share Posted May 12, 2003 Hi folks. An acquaintance has asked me to sort the action on his Warwick Thumb bass. It's pretty much a standard truss rod adjustment, as he's upped the gauge of his strings. But. When the neck is straightened, the strings are heavily buzzing/rattling on the first few frets, which to me suggests the nut to be too low. On this guitar the nut is not glued to the neck, but is held in place by two allen bolts so it doesn't fall off during string changes, and held firm to the neck by the pressure of the tightened strings. I've not come across this, having not owned one. If it were a standard nut, I'd either cut a new one to the correct depth, or if it were my own guitar, shim it. Anyone have any experience they can pass on? Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted May 12, 2003 Report Share Posted May 12, 2003 paul, I have two warwick thumb basses (4 string fretted and 5 string fretless) they both have this same feature, it is called a just-a-nut, as in adjust a nut. Those allen set screws are not just to keep it in place they are there to adjust the height of the nut, it is sort of like adjusting the height of a jazz bass pickup. In fact they do not really keep it from falling of, the tabs on each end of the nut keep it from falluing off. On the older models the nut height is adjustable for each individual string, pretty cool eh? Just turn them clockwise to raise the height of the nut. If you have any problems with the bridge let me as the saddles are kind of weird if you have not adjusted them before, but they are extremely flexible in terms of adjustment, you can also use them to change the string spacing. Peace, Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulNeeds Posted May 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2003 Many thanks Ryan - I'll have a go at that in the morning, and I'll get back to you if I can't work out the bridge saddles. Thanks again! By the way, your handle of 'bassman' is what I used to be called on an old videotex system in the UK, pre-internet days! When I saw your reply I thought I'd answered me somehow! cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulNeeds Posted May 13, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2003 ...the saddles are kind of weird if you have not adjusted them before, but they are extremely flexible in terms of adjustment, you can also use them to change the string spacing. You can say that again bro! VERY interesting and flexible piece of design - many congrats to whoever came up with it. I spied the 'lock' bolt early enough not to end up pulling out my (remaining) hair! I particularly like the way that the bridge can be height adjusted en masse - a little like a guitar tunematic in priciple, but will remain locked in place. WIll have to checkout suppliers for this kind of bridge when I get around to re-finishing my explorer bass. The lack of lateral adjustment on the Schaller bridge has bugged me for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matia Posted May 13, 2003 Report Share Posted May 13, 2003 Paul i dont actually own one of these but the Luthier at Mosh Pit Music in manchester does have three i believe... If you give them a call I've always found him happy to give advice noticing your in the UK! Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 13, 2003 Report Share Posted May 13, 2003 Can anyone post a picture of one of these up close? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulNeeds Posted May 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2003 These are all from the Warwick manual (can send to you if of use Brian?). quality ain't all it should be, as simply grabbed from the PDF. This is the whole thing including the separate tailpiece, all nicely labelled. Here's a zoom in on the bridge. What isn't shown is a little allen bolt on the opposite face of the blocks on which the saddles themselves sit. this runs through the block from front to back in the direction of the strings, and when tightened locks the saddle in position - height AND spacing. This is the adjustanut as mentioned above by Bassman. Very easy to alter, but I can't help but wonder what effect it has upon the natural sustain of the instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted May 14, 2003 Report Share Posted May 14, 2003 Paul, I may have gotten carried away with this post... I have wondered about that to, its effects on sustanin that is... Just play it and you will find out. Even though there is not a large area of contact between the nut and the top of the neck there is a very solid connection between them via the set screws, with the pressure of the strings adding to this effect. Just think of the "floating bridge" that can be raised or lowered into the body, it is not in direct contact with the body, it is floating on some bolts, yet the conection between it and the body is very stable. Some guitars I have seen have the bridge and tail piece held place via two little metal rods set into the body, the string pressure keeps them in place, otherwise they fall out. We have to remember that the amount of contact does not increase sustain or resonance unless the "connection" points are very stable, and if you reduce the contact area you will not lose sound transmission if you proportionally increase the pressure (stability) between the parts. I would think that when you reduce the area of contact between a bridge/saddle or nut and the body/neck you are effectively keeping the pressure applied to them the same, however that pressure is distributed in a more concentrated area. On another note... has anyoone here built their own amplifier? I am learning about electronics in general and amp schematics from a book right now, I think it will be a blast to do. However, since I play bass I must deal with the hassle of building a much larger and more complex amp. Peace, Ryan Rice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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