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Synapse Truss Rod Adjustment


Paul K

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Ladies and Gentlemen

 

I bought a gently used fretless Synapse, and the neck has a fair amount too much relief for my taste since I like them almost flat. I've lots of experience adjusting wood bass necks, but this is my first graphite one. I've given the truss rod a couple four tweaks (half turn in all over two days), tightening the hex while flexing the neck straight so the strings are flopped against the fretboard. But no change at all yet in the amount of relief; not a drop. THe web page threatens doom and gloom for us do-it-yourselfers attempting this adjustment. I know that since the neck is a fair bit striffer than the wood I'm accustomed to adjusting, the truss rod will have to push a fair bit harder to straighten the neck out, and probably just needs a few (or many) more tweaks over the next week. And i know that the truss rod just holds the neck in place but isn't really designed to "pull" it straight, which is why I stress the neck straight before tightening the hex nut. But I need reassurance. My hex key fits just right, and the nut moves with effort, but moves smoothly and predictably. Anything else I need to know? Should I maybe loosen and remove the nut all the way and squirt some lubricant onto the truss rod threads? Help me Obi-Wan, you're my only hope.

 

Ah...but I'm digging the sound so far. Can't wait till I get the strings close enough for a decent mwaaaaa.

 

Peace

Paul K

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  • 1 month later...

Same story with me. Alpine white fretless, truss rod in two pieces now.

It is really weird about those weak and hardly adjustable Synapse bass truss rods...

 

Pls tell me what did they say to you. Have they solved your problem?

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  • 1 month later...
......nevermind' date=' baby.

 

SNAP! The truss rod is in two pieces. You should see the relief now......

 

Will call G.C. tomorrow.......(sigh....)[/quote']

 

Just had pretty much the exact thing happen to me yesterday. Needless to say I'm pretty down at the moment.

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By G.C., I meant Guitar Center (not Gibson Corporation). The gave me my money back under warranty. It was a used bass, and the unresponsive truss rod might have been why the fella traded it in. I bought a new one (musician's friend had a great sale), and I brought it to a local guitar shop who used to be Steinberger certified. He used a straight edge, two blocks, and a clamp to really, really really straighten (even back-bow the neck) while he tightened the truss rod. He said it moved smooth and easy.

 

I also took some nut files to the nut end. The fretless nut is still a whole lot too high. Now it's playing very well.

Sorry to hear of all the problems that ya'll have had. What can you do to this bass after a truss rod snaps? Can the fretboard be removed for a truss rod replacement??

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By G.C.' date=' I meant Guitar Center (not Gibson Corporation). The gave me my money back under warranty. It was a used bass, and the unresponsive truss rod might have been why the fella traded it in. I bought a new one (musician's friend had a great sale), and I brought it to a local guitar shop who used to be Steinberger certified. He used a straight edge, two blocks, and a clamp to really, really really straighten (even back-bow the neck) while he tightened the truss rod. He said it moved smooth and easy.

 

I also took some nut files to the nut end. The fretless nut is still a whole lot too high. Now it's playing very well.

Sorry to hear of all the problems that ya'll have had. What can you do to this bass after a truss rod snaps? Can the fretboard be removed for a truss rod replacement??

[/quote']

If you clamp the neck (Dan Erlawhine method) the truss rod will move very easily as it isn't doing anything until you take off the clamp,(the clamp dose all the work.)

As for the one with the broken rod , new rod or toast.(probably not economically viable.)

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If you clamp the neck (Dan Erlawhine method) the truss rod will move very easily as it isn't doing anything until you take off the clamp' date='(the clamp dose all the work.)

)[/quote']

 

Agreed. Evidently with this instrument one needs to more careful in this aspect; the usual way most of us bend the neck backwards with one knee behind the neck joint (hard to describe this Kama Sutra pose...)while tightening the nut either isn't sufficient, or these basses really do have insufficient truss rods. I dunno which. But I'll tell you, on the one I snapped I really, really pulled the neck back a fair bit harder than I have been doing on other basses for 20+ years, and it's the first one I've snapped.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey Dave

 

Me and the bass are doing well. A whole lot of positive comments at gigs; it seems some people can't even figure out how to tune these things. The tone and playability are top notch, but I'd sure like to have the neck just a little bit straighter. I've got the stock flatwounds on the E and A strings, groundwounds on the D,G,C strings; lots of whump on the bottom, but still some snap on top. The no-headstock thing has been a godsend; it's just easier to maneuver on a crowded stage. And I really, really dig the gig bag and how easy it is to toss into the car.

 

I might try some lighter strings instead of tweaking the truss rod again. I suppose I should have gone all out on the truss rod before my 45 day "no questions asked" Musician's Friend warranty was up. But I kind of wanted the bass for keeps, not just for mailing to and from the store. Hindsight says I should have put in a little more coin and bought a Moses Vertical Jump bass simply because of the likelihood of better customer support. (I kind of jumped on the Synapse because M.F. was having a sale, and this bass never goes on sale, and Gibson's reply to my e-mail said that the fretless version had been discontinued. So I kind of jumped on this bass before they ran out of 'em....) Also, the bass and treble on the Synapse don't really do much. They're very subtle; I like the ones on my Cort Curbow with the Bart's better. The piezo has been useless so far, but I haven't played any jazz gigs in a while.

 

I was kind of surprised that I had to cut the nut of the Synapse down quite a bit. I was expecting that to come right out of the box set up properly. But the neck has been very stable, which was one of my primary goals; most all of my other basses require monthly truss rod adjustments, which was getting to be kind of a drag. Not this one; it's rock solid. Am I the only person who feels an electric bass guitar shouldn't play like a damn upright????

 

Peace

Paul K

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  • 4 weeks later...

There is a bunch of worthless Synapse bodys with broken truss rods on Ebay now.

I suspect the rod is not up to the job and is having a hard time overcoming the graphite U tube,not to mention the massive neck these all seam to have.

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  • 1 year later...

I have turned as far as I dare I guess I will try block of wood mid neck clamps both ends tweek past straight with clamps then try to turn some more sound right anyone? Strings off?

 

HELP PLEASE

 

I own 2 5 strings the black one is the problem child my custom red one no problems and a lot lighter might just sell black one and get another custom blue.

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  • 4 years later...

Same happened to Synapse Guitar Transcale. Not in half, but also snapped. And this happened in the hands of a guitar technicians. Warranty is probably not valid now since I purchased it a bit more than a year ago... and I am Ukraine based so it's not like I will be able to send the guitar back to the States...

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  • 2 years later...

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