Hey all, was doing my normal morning practice today and while I was playing my neck made a snap/pop sound that I also felt in my fretting hand. After the sound, my action was a little lower than my preference.
Now, of course the weather is changing and I've had the windows open in my apartment. Was this just the neck relief changing due to weather? Has this ever happened to any of you? Nothing visible seems wrong post-sound.
Posted Sep 24, 2021, 2:40 PM UTC
I'd see an orthopedic if you pop your neck and you feel it in your fretting hand
Haha, while I was reading this, I also thought it was a medical issue at first.
I'd just check and make sure you don't see anything funky anywhere.
I borrowed a bass to a friend once and he returned it with a snapped neck.
except you couldn't actually tell it was broken at the time - the strings were holding it together tight enough that it just looked like a chip in the plastic.
as soon as the strings came off, the headstock fell off entirely.
Ouch!!!
It may not be anything to worry about but they to make it happen again by playing the way you were and somewhat gently pulling on the neck and moving the instrument around.
If it’s a concern take it to a luthier and have them check it out.
I've heard of truss rods slipping before, could be that. Id take it to a local tech and make sure it isn't your truss rod breaking or something else major
It happens to a lot of people. Sometimes it's a loud sound like that, other times it's just a creak here and there.
Unless you live on or near the equator, this is the time of year (and also in March) when the barometric pressure, humidity, and hours of daylight are changing most rapidly. Wouldn't surprise me at all if there's an uptick in posts about truss rod adjustments here and at talkbass. Just be sure you inspect it closely and if you're still in doubt, take it to a pro to give it a once-over.
It does sound like the truss rod. I would turn the truss rod 1/4 - 1/2 turn clockwise to raise the action back up a touch. Play a bit. Make sure the rod still does it's job. If adjusting it does nothing then you have a problem. Otherwise it just could be heat, cold, humidity.
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Sometimes wood moves suddenly when the temperature and humidity changes.
If you don't see any visible cracks and nothing is loose it's probably nothing to worry about.
If it's a bolt on neck, check that the screws are snug. It could have been the neck shifting in the pocket.
Yeah everything is snug and a-ok. Very scary sensation when it happened though!