A Few Important Questions About A Trussrod Plus Fretted And Fretless.

[andy88]

FRETTED

I have built a bass that i plan to fret and i am concerned about the action, height, buzz etc. i guess my question is should i go ahead and fret the bass with neck completely flat and then adjust the trussrod, saddle height and nut height till i get it where i want it or should i sand the fretboard so that the part closest to the body will be a few mm lower than at the nut area? the answer may seem obvious but to make it a little more complicated i want as thick a neck as possible. i have a stew mac hotrod double acting trussrod installed in it, the neck is purple heart with black walnut in the center with a rather thick wenge fingerboard. question is how thick can i have the neck for the trussrod to still move it?

FRETLESS

The question here is pretty much the same as above do i need to adjust the neck etc. or shave off a little bit of it or should i just have a really tall bridge simulating double basses and such where the string is higher away from the fretboard closer to the body? the neck wont be quite as thick as the fretted but still thicker than average and it it 3 purpleheart lams with a macassar ebony fretboard which is pretty thick but not as much as the wenge on the other one. so again how thick should this be so the truss rod can adjust it if that is the path i need to take?

I realize that everyone has an opinion about these things and while all thoughts/ comments are much appreciated (after all they might make me think of new things if they dont help me directly) I would much prefer someone with personal experience with building necks, hotrod trussrods, and the wood types in dealing with this matter because i really really would prefer not to screw up my basses. so far they are turning out excellent.

[andy88]

also i should have added that they are both neck-through so no shims or anything like that.