How to fix a bowed bass guitar neck?

I have a bass guitar that I really wanted to repair the super bowed neck on. This video will go through my process of fixing the guitar neck.
If you have a badly bowed guitar neck this may help you!

[@anthonymorales842]

My squier neck has the same thing goin on. Excellent vid much appreciated and happy new year

[@MusicAndWood]

Thanks for the comment and happy new year!

[@jimharrow8104]

Best set up video I've ever seen... Thanks a lot...

[@dabanjo]

I didn't even know you could take the nut completely out. So that tip helped 😂

[@MusicAndWood]

Glad it helped. Thanks for the watch and comment!

[@darklight4815]

This video is helpful to many people I'm sure...thanks so much for sharing this information. 🤘💀🤘

[@MusicAndWood]

Very welcome! I hope it has, thanks for watching and commenting!

[@neanda]

thank you so much. I found my old bass guitar from my 90s grunge days, and it definately needs this. thank you :)

[@jacoblee2400]

A very informative video. My Fender Jazz Bass has that exact same problem. Thanks for the info.

[@MusicAndWood]

Thanks for the watch and comment! I hope it works out for you.

[@rfilianogmailcom]

GCenter sold me a used MIM Strat they said it was in a playable condition and needed a good set up only. I didn't have the money for that and when doing it myself I discovered the rod thread had no more room to adjust the neck. I did this(video) following stew-mac instructions but mentioned nothing about washers. This technique is better. Thank you

[@MusicAndWood]

Glad it helped!

[@janneboman8573]

Thumbs. I recently purchased a cheapo Yamaha P/J bass with a bent neck (too much relief). I fixed it exactly like in this video and now I have a perfectly fine backup bass :) Only difference is that I left the neck pressed into a backbow overnight (with the truss rod completely loose), tightened the truss rod before releasing and it stayed straight.

[@MusicAndWood]

Thanks for the watch and comment! I am glad it worked out for you! Leaving the clamp on for a while is certainly one way to try to help coax the desired shape back in to the neck.

[@metallibasscovers]

Thank you so much! While trying to lower the action on my trust rod I noticed that when I would make quarter turns, nothing would change, so i think I might of made bigger turns than just a quarter.

[@MusicAndWood]

Thanks for the watch and comment! Glad the video helped ! Always go slow with the truss rod. Give it a few hours or over night to settle and adjust if you really need to drastically change the relief helping the neck move with this method is a good idea. You can’t rely on the truss rod to dramatically bend the neck.

[@pekeciel]

hi, excellent video! thanks, I did it today (squire vm fretless), really bowed, did the same but put two bags of rice on top (rice on a fabric bag warmed on microwave), just to heat things up, add some steam, I wonder how many hours/days I shoud keep it clamped?

[@brianmclaughlin4419]

Nice Clear Instructional. No bellowing hysterics required.😂😂😂❤

[@thisoldmanchannel]

Just did my neck on a TBRX174 and it got really tough to turn towards the end of the adjustment so much so that I could a have stripped the allen head screw on the truss rod. Using the clamps is a brilliant idea. Thank you for this video!

[@MusicAndWood]

Thanks for the watch and comment! If you have to make a big adjustment, helping it along is always a good idea. Hope the clamps help!

[@pineapplej7310]

Subbing for this video. First video of yours I've seen. I really like it, very informative and never boring

[@MusicAndWood]

Thanks for the watch, comment, and sub!

[@Hellion73]

Hi. First of all, thank you for this vid. I have a couple of doubts tho: Could this procedure be made on a neck thru bass? and how much time should the neck stay clamped?

[@buska100]

Great Vid. Just what I was after, I have a Yamaha BB400S Bass that has this same neck issue so I now know how to address it. It doesn't have an allen key type truss rod, I just have to find a hex nut socket wrench that fits the truss rod and I will give this a go. Cheers Mate

[@MusicAndWood]

Glad I could help, I wish you luck with straightening that neck!

[@buska100]

@@MusicAndWood Thanks I will let You know how it goes 👍

[@bass-hiroshimanick2534]

I just happened to come across this video, great job getting that neck straightened out! I have a question; at about the 3:45 mark what brand of clamp are you using? I'd like to get one of those. Also, nice walking bass line at the end.

[@MusicAndWood]

Hey thanks for watching and commenting! I use Bessey clamps. Thanks for the nice words about the bass line, I very rarely play bass, normally I am plucking at a guitar.

[@bass-hiroshimanick2534]

@@MusicAndWood , you're welcome and thanks for the info on Bessey clamps.

[@dheeraj3945]

I've been looking for a solution for my bent guitar neck and fret buzz under straight neck. Trying to dampening the neck and drying it under pressure for like the past month or so. But this seems so much easier. Thank you

[@MusicAndWood]

Hope it works out for you!

[@virginiagal8517]

Totally cool!

[@shrek2andgoku]

You earned a sub, great content. Hopefully I can restore my bass using this technique. Also got a chuckle from 7:33. I'm so mature 😂

[@MusicAndWood]

Haha thanks and hope you are able to bring it back to playable! Thanks for the sub!!

[@Garedot]

I have some Vintage Fender but I still love my Squier Basses

[@MusicAndWood]

Nice, I hope they are in better shape than mine was!

[@FUCKINGRI0T]

Great Video! Helped me a lot!

[@MusicAndWood]

Thanks for the watch and comment! I am glad it helped!

[@FUCKINGRI0T]

@@MusicAndWood i instantly subscribe, your content will help me a lot in the future

[@donnymcgahan1158]

My bass is almost 18 years old and survived a house fire. It's neck is still not nearly as bad as this one, but its bad. I'm excited to try and straighten it out

[@hugomejia593]

Hi Sir you are awesome great job now I take this problem with my fender American standard jazz bass I'm asking you for what reason the nut is came out side if I thighting out? Is this a truss rod broken? or for what's reason this happened to your bass and mine. appreciate your kind answer greetings from Mexico city

[@MusicAndWood]

Hello. Thanks for the comment! The neck had bent forward on the bass pretty heavily because it was left in a warm humid environment with full tension on the strings. I tried to fix it with the truss rod but it didn’t have enough adjustment. I needed to add washers in the truss rod slot to give the truss rod nut more tension. I needed to pre tension and bend the neck to get it in the shape I wanted first, then tighten the truss rod nut in place to hold the shape. The idea was to not use the truss rod to get the shape, just use it to hold the shape.

[@rudygracia5573]

My buddy gave me a Pre CBS Jazz bass,stripped,with a warped neck,to repair.If THIS method doesn't work,I used a different one,and it worked.I can't describe TOO much in detail here,but it involves utilizing 2 Irwin quick grip clamps,an 18"×1.5" strong pipe/rod,a small,square wooden block covered by a sock,to protect your finish(4"by4").Gently apply a backbow to the neck,leave the truss rod alone!I aply 1 clamp to the 1st fret,and 1 to the 14th fret?THEN,Place the neck on your car dashboard on a warm day,4-6hrs.Cover/protect the headstock with a rag.

[@MusicAndWood]

Sometimes this method can work to hold a neck straight, it has worked for me. What you suggest about leaving it in a hot place with the back bow in sounds good too.

[@rudygracia5573]

@@MusicAndWood This method I describe has saved SO many necks!It HAS to be heat from direct sunlight.I learned this from a vintage guitar dealer/store owner friend of mine here in San Antonio.I saw a neck on the dashboard of his truck and asked WHAT he was doing.He replied;"Heat caused the warp(partially),heat will will take it out.I've done this with acoustic guitars,set necks&neck thru's too,but it's a bit more tricky,and not as effective.

[@michaelmcdowell7096]

I may try this on my Ibanez Geo. I had it inotated at a shop and it made half the fret board unusable. I really wanted to love this mom and pop shop but they were so bad, I told them I wanted a guitar that would be dropped like 2+ steps amd he admitted when I got it back that he did it for standard but it works the same. They even had a guitar amd a separate bass guy and sadly idt they know as much as they should 😥.

[@recordlabeldao7820]

My warwick corvette bubinga 6 string bass have some thing called ski jump and it wont even become straight i dont know this will help ?

[@jwandhistools]

I always push them into a backbow, then release the truss into proper relief. Never, ever tighten a truss rod on a bass under string tension. Asking for it.

[@jimlytleworks]

Can I ask, how do I determine that I need washer(s) on a trussrod? I have a Peavey Patriot bass that is somewhat bowed.

[@mrcabasa]

What oil do you like for conditioning the wood? TIA!

[@Punkologist]

I have this problem with my bass but I'm a total beginner. I wouldn't even know how to take the strings off or replace them for example. I imagine getting a guitar repair guy to do this would be expensive?

[@acpguitar1516]

I just got my first bass and being a guitar player all my life I'm used to setting up truss rods. But my bass has a massive bow in it. I though... I'll just give the rod a tweek but... The truss rod is fully tight and its not doing a thing. I've put washers on it and nothing, now I'm trying this but can't get the neck to back bow under clamping 😕 and it just goes straight back to looking like a banana when in tune. I even shimed the neck at the body to help action and I'm almost at using it as fire wood 😭

[@MusicAndWood]

Oh no! Might try clamping it in a back bow and leaving in a hot place like on the dash of a car in the sun. There was a comment suggesting this as an option. Seems like something else to try.

[@musicalmotors]

I like the clamp and tighten trick. What if the wood is too “bendy” and refuses to stay in shape once during tension is applied again?

[@MusicAndWood]

There may be bends in the wood that the truss rod can not fix. I would suggest taking it to a pro. The worst case scenario is you need to pull the frets, level the board, re fret, then fix the neck angle. Or replace the neck if it is a bolt on.

[@azam-tg7ry]

my SG EB3 same problem

[@marofkhan70]

you look like Jim carrey 😊👍👍👍👍 thanks for the lesson sir.

[@MusicAndWood]

Haha thanks and your are welcome

[@tedkay3750]

do you have a idea what this most cost at a repair guitar shop? my baas has that same bend in it.

[@MusicAndWood]

Hey thanks for the watch and question. It depends on where you go, the instrument being worked on, what exactly needs to be done, and whom is doing the work. I would expect if it is the same problem as in the video somewhere around $50 to $150. More if the truss rod or neck needs to be replaced.

[@evocoil7715]

Was reeeeeely hoping for a before and after. Seems that shot was carefully avoided.

[@MusicAndWood]

Hello, thanks for the comment! You can see the bad relief at 0:57 and after fixing the neck you can see and hear me testing the neck with a straightedge at 5:27

[@jimsnorgleson]

How far down did you clamp the neck? I clamped mine down 3/16 in the middle compared to the ends I was afraid to go anymore and it did not help even with 4 washers.

[@MusicAndWood]

I didn’t really measure just made sure the neck was in a nice back bow and tightened on the truss rod but to hold it in position. You could try clamping more seeing if the truss rod holds it decently flat. If this is a pricy guitar or you really don’t want to deal it take it to a luthier to have them work on it. There are other ways to over come the next relief issue but, they are more involved than this. Such as pulling the frets and sanding the fret board flat if it is not to bad. Also could replace the neck.

[@jimsnorgleson]

@@MusicAndWood I actually did this without washers on a p bass and it worked perfect. I need the neck because its a road worn bass, it matches the body. I will try 3/8 maybe leave it for a few days and if that doesn't work next is heat. Thanks

[@leighfilmer1962]

I was wondering that when you check the intonation.....what fret are you using please. Thanks Lazza

[@MusicAndWood]

Hello, thanks for the watch and comment. Generally you want to get the neck relief correct, set the action, then intonation. For the action there are two places you could look one is where the neck heel is the other is the 12th fret. I generally like to set action based on the 12th fret. You will want to press down on the strings at the 1st fret to remove the nut from the equation when setting the action. For the intonation you will want to tune the guitar in a playing position, on each string you would play the open note then the 12th fret which is an octave higher. Both should measure perfectly on pitch with a tuner. If the 12th fret note is above or below the target pitch you will want to move the saddle forward or backward, the the string open again and repeat. There are a couple more factors that can make intonation sound off even when the 12 fret and open are perfectly pitched. When fretting the first few notes on the neck if they go high it might mean the nut slots are too high, this can cause a string to be bent too much when you fret the notes. The other potential issue could be string gauge, if you notice that your chords don’t sound right it might be because the string gauge is too small so when you press harder that forces the string out of tune. Pro tip, if you change string gauges you have to start from step 1 all over again, neck relief, action, then intonation. Hope that helped.

[@leighfilmer1962]

@@MusicAndWood Thanks it's helped alot. I'll note back how I went. 🎤

[@michaeljohnson3913]

How do I know if my truss rod is just tight or if I need to add some washers?

[@MusicAndWood]

Truss rods are kinda tight under tension. You can remove the truss rod nut to see how far it was down.

[@Jinnuksuk]

Man, I wish I had clamped my guitar neck before trying to relieve the bow. I broke my truss rod so now that guitar is now absolutely unusable... Unless you're okay with a badly intonated, really bowed, very high action guitar neck.

[@OrangutanTradeSalesmen]

Did the same, was able to save the guitar with the stew mac truss rod rescue. Just need to bore a bit intoo the neck and then re-cut the new threads, then install a new nut. Now need to clamp before trying again

[@jakefoxx7978]

The truss rod nut in my Squier doesn't come out even after loosening it to the max

[@MusicAndWood]

Hello thanks for watching, also thanks for asking a question ! There are a couple possibilities. One is that it is a slightly tight fit, if you can get some paste wax or something to lubricate the truss rod nut hole you may be able to wiggle it out. Go slow, wiggle and turn the nut out with a hex wrench. The other less likely possibly issue is that the hole is too small altogether to remove the truss rod nut. There are couple reasons, expansion of the wood might be one. I would suggest the lubrication / turn / wiggle method first. If that doesn’t work you might have to remove the truss rod plug. I would really avoid trying to remove the plug though, it is also unlikely that you will have to resort to that.

[@jakefoxx7978]

@@MusicAndWood it does look like a plug used to be there but wasn't when I got it out of the box, and I have read about Squier using either a single action rod or what they call a bi-flex. This bi-flex rod has that plug on top which should also have a washer that sits beneath it, and out of the box I had niether. The wrench that came with it was also just too small, that is, it had room to wiggle in that hex space which I understand is not what you want. My guess is Reverb sent my uncle, the one who bought it for me for Christmas, a tampered with or fluke instrument. I'd hate to believe that Squier would make faulty rods and put them into already sensitive/weak necks, so I probably got unlucky with this model. Still, it's endured freezing weather from back in February and I've managed to set the action to where there is only a slight uneven string height. You can still look at the neck from the side and see the headstock end of the neck is bent upward, but it's not as bad as when I first came across it in the Spring. I would rather the neck be it's flat self again knowing how much more playable it is, although it's totally still functional as of now. The rod nut used to at least be able to loosen but now it doesn't budge either direction and even the stew Mac gripper wrench just smoothly rotates when you turn it. At one point I did clamp the neck to help the truss rod move but loosening it all the way still wasn't enough to free it, assuming it's even made to come out. Worst case scenario is the rod that's inside the neck isn't even a real rod, or it's been abused before someone decided to sell it on Reverb. Truth be told it does look rather nasty with its uneven edges around the hole where the wrench goes. Any amount of turning a wrench in there just leaves scratches on the key and metal shavings all over the sides of the nut. A local guitar shop I've taken it to couldn't figure out, or so it seems since they left the painfully obvious bow exactly the way it was when I addressed to them and waited two weeks for them to set it up. Even though it's a less than desired situation, I'm glad I can still play it and have a small sweet spot with the string height.

[@MusicAndWood]

Wow, sounds like you have been going through an ordeal trying to get the neck right on the guitar! I would suggest to try to find a guitar tech that will work on it. A good one should be able to look at the situation and suggest what can be done to remedy it. Good luck, I hope you can get it fixed!

[@d.l.hutson9953]

Thanks I hope my works and I know why your using super glue instead of Krazy glue. Lol like liquid nails.

[@gabehinman6917]

Can you do this same method with a bass where the neck goes all the way through the body?

[@MusicAndWood]

You should be able to, just be careful not to mess it up. If it is a pricy instrument you might want to take it to a pro.

[@gabehinman6917]

@@MusicAndWood how much should a luthier charge for this type of work on a bass?

[@braxtoncox1097]

what size washers are those

[@MusicAndWood]

I had to enlarge the center hole of some washer I got from the hardware store. This video talks about it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pn-TYZpnraaBmtU

[@Elo_madu]

What did you put inside the hole of the truss rod. Didn't hear you clearly

[@MusicAndWood]

I added washers.

[@MoGiMaL]

Get that nut out real quick. Are you by chance from Saskatchewan, Alberta, or Manitoba? Thanks for the tutorial. I will now attempt the repair.

[@MusicAndWood]

Lol thanks. No, I am not, I am from the US east coast. Good luck!

[@kelkaradwait9888]

Sir I don't have trust rod and my guitar is really bend and this guitar is acoustic

[@MusicAndWood]

Hello, most guitars should have a truss rod, otherwise the neck would collapse. The one exception that comes to mind is a classical acoustic guitar made for nylon strings, the tension from the strings is not enough to bend the neck. If this is a classical guitar and the neck is bent you should take it to a luthier. Otherwise I would search the internet for your guitar model and look for directions on adjusting the truss rod. Good luck!

[@iancharles9222]

Do you have any fix for ski jump issue?

[@MusicAndWood]

Hey great question! The correct way to fix that issue is to pull the frets off the fret board and sand down the fretboard with a radiused sanding block. Of course, make sure the neck is as straight as can be. One additional thought might be to loosen the truss rod a bit to allow for more adjustment after re-surfacing the fret board. I would suggest before diving into a job like this, you take the guitar to a luthier and have them look at it. This is not a very simple job and you could ruin your neck. Thanks for the watch and comment, good luck!

[@iancharles9222]

@@MusicAndWood Thanks for answering. Also, alternatively can this also be solved by fret levelling on the affected part of the neck?

[@MusicAndWood]

You could level the frets but, you may have too much material that needs to be removed from the peaks on the hump in the neck. You could try doing a fret level first but the best fix would be to level the fret board then re-fret and level the frets after that.

[@iancharles9222]

@@MusicAndWood if the ski jump is not that severe, would fret levelling be enough?

[@MusicAndWood]

If there is just a slight hump you should be able to use a leveling beam to get it right. It will also depend on the hight of the fret wire that is there.

[@doorgedraaid399]

use woodglue instead of super glue

[@grantkoeller8911]

Excellent job!! I tightened my truss and the finger board cracked on the first fret

[@jcmapula1544]

is this a permanent solution?

[@MusicAndWood]

It has held up for me

[@jcmapula1544]

​@@MusicAndWood after this procedure does the trust rod has more room for adjustment ?

[@AveryBCStudios]

bro, yo mic so BUZZY

[@1959Berre]

Do not use super glue for the nut.

[@musicalmotors]

The alternative?

[@LeviBulger]

Hey aren't you in Blink 182?

[@MusicAndWood]

Haha, my name is Mark so…

[@labicidesaturno]

It doesn't seem like a decent repair, the wood will tend to bend again and adjusting the truss rod in these conditions could easily break it, the fingerboard must be loosened to repair that bow

[@JokerLover123]

What do you mean by "the fingerboard must be loosened"?

[@carlosc.garzajr.9699]

Throw it away.