It looked like a closet queen when I got it. If you don't bounce around with different string size sets, and neither the ambient temperature nor the RH (relative humidity) level changes drastically, you should not have to adjust the neck relief that often. Last one . Fender also offers a double action truss rod adjustment wheel on all American Elite models that makes it a snap to address neck relief. A guitar string is fixed at both ends and vibrates up and down in the middle when plucked, so it makes sense that a guitar neck should be bowed slightly in the middle to make room for the vibrations. The set-up was great, and my only concern was the thought of having to take the neck off of the guitar to adjust the truss rod. You sure you doing this the right way round. Unlike a vintage truss rod, this design does not compress the neck longitudinally in order to function; compression contributes to distortion of the fingerboard curvature. The thickness gauge will indicate what the gap is not rather than what the gap is: e.g. adjustment was exactly the same as your Warmoth neck. Free shipping . Here is the video of where the image comes from. It consists of a single steel rod, typically 3/16" in diameter, inset into a concave trench below the fretboard. "turning down" tightens the truss rod. Yamaha put a slot at the heel that can fit a wrench in there to make adjustments. A "soft" neck may even have backbow when unstrung. If that’s the case, depending on the design, you may have to remove the neck to adjust the rod (Fig. $7.89. Listen for a tapping/clicking sound, and examine how much room there is between the string and the fret. The thing to know about taking a neck out of the pocket for relief adjustment is that there really is no civilized way to do it. These were seen as CBS messing further with the purity of the Strat design, and S/H prices were comparitively low. Quick-and-dirty method to check relief: Tune your strings to pitch. Tilt the neck out of the neck pocket. Thanks for the Fuzzmania link ! It is anchored to the neck at both ends. The following setup procedures and specifications are for your . For use on American Vintage and Classic series guitars and basses with heel-mount truss-rod adjustment. Here's a handy little crank-action steel wrench made for heel-adjustable slotted truss rod nuts. Now I look at your fastidiousness in the daylight I don't find it quite as impressive. For those of you who gig, yes you will have to adjust neck relief more often. October 2016 in Guitar. These two screws don't need to come out as far. When the strings are loosened, you do. This at least was simple; a good guitar had a straight neck and a bad guitar didn't. What's Hot. There is no relief after the 12th fret. Top Rated Seller Top Rated Seller. Just to muddy the waters a little (it's a family trait), When checking relief, don't fret at the last fret - as Uncle Tom Cobbley and all will tell you. Excerpt from Fender Telecaster/Stratocaster Setup Guide: There are two different styles of truss rod found on Fender instruments—"standard" and "bi-flex" truss rods. C $35.91. The Fender-style necks with a truss rod that adjusts at the heel can be a challenge to adjust. Genuine Fender Guitar Original Vintage-Style Strat/Tele Truss Rod Adjustment Nut. Two 2 months after the purchase, I began to lose some string action. Turn the adjuster clockwise to tighten the truss rod and compensate for the string tension by straightening the neck. I'd still recommend putting a bit of assisting force against the neck while tightening though. The general advice is to give a 1/8 turn. I am cognisant with truss rod adjustment but never had one like this. Turn the adjuster anti-clockwise to slacken the truss rod and allow the strings to bow the neck more. Fender 1/8" Truss Rod Adjustment Allen Key/Hex Wrench Pack of 12 £8.49 Fender 3/16" Bass Truss Rod Adjustment Allen Key/Hex Wrench £15.99 Fender Vintage Style Locking Tuners 6 In-Line Right Handed £90.49 Fender Standard/Deluxe Series Bass Tuner Bushings Set of 4 ... Fender Pure Vintage Pre CBS Reverse Wind Bass Tuners 4 In-Line Right Handed At last we're getting somewhere. Replace, Repair and Restore—Genuine Fender Parts Make adjusting your intrument easy with the "T"-style truss rod adjustment Allen wrench for use with American guitars and basses. Almost gone. Ladies - could you accommodate such a monster! I will never trust a G-clamp ever again. A clockwise turn a.k.a. In circumstances where you need to use a screwdriver, you should take the neck off of the body before you attempt to adjust it. Compact steel wrench for slotted truss rod nuts. Fender now use a 9.5" radius, making the fingerboard a little flatter to avoid this problem. A little truss rod adjustment goes a long way, as you can see by measuring your string height before and after with a string action gauge. When a truss rod nut is difficult to turn it could be that the rod has met it's limit of adjustment. As stated above, I recommend loosening the strings and then putting a capo on the 1st fret. If you fret one of the outside strings and then bend it towards the middle, the string will 'choke' on the frets above because they're higher in the middle. They used to, though. Why do I do this? Truss rods can break if too much tension is placed on an already maxed out truss rod so caution is warranted. Slacken the 3 neck screws, and adjust the grub screw. This style of truss rod adjustment, be it on a vintage style Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Precision Bass or Jazz Bass freaks people out because the neck has to come off in order to make a truss rod adjustment. I don't know if it is normal but, when I play a bend on the high E string around the 13th and 17th fret the sound of it just goes off and "dissapear". On a 6-string guitar, when you tilt the neck out of the pocket, if your strings are still at pitch you won't get enough tilt angle to get to the adjustment screw. Skip to 4:05 to see this process in action. On a Fender neck with vintage style heel adjust for the truss rod, believe me, it is worth it to give the neck wood time to settle else you'll have to take the neck off again for another adjustment. The reason is that the truss rod is designed to give relief in this area. So you've given up fiddling with your rod? That's right, on the end of the neck and accessible only when you take the neck right off. If there is no tapping/clicking sound and the string is resting flush on the fret, the truss rod needs loosening to bring the strings away from the fretboard. The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly. Brand New. "turning left" a.k.a. Once you have the relief set to your liking, it will stay put and you shouldn't have to be constantly adjusting it. I'll explain why in a moment. That little final tweak threw the 'angle of turn' to 'height of relief' table results out the window! This is what it looks like (see the arrow I added in that points out where the slot is): If holding the RBX170 bass in the seated position, "turning down" is a clockwise turn, which tightens the truss rod and would bring the strings closer to the fretboard. And does the string gauge chanches the neck bow? A counterclockwise turn a.k.a. So I worked out a better way. I don't totally agree with the way the tech took the neck out of the pocket. Normal truss rod adjustments do not require hiring a strong man to turn the wrench. Reply What you do is just loosen the strings enough so that you can unbolt the neck and take the neck off with strings all attached. StewMac exclusive! I don't know the 50's Classic Player Strat, but if it's styled after a 50's Strat the chances are that it's the fingerboard radius that's the problem. Flathead and Phillips screws are both used. A Bi-Flex Truss Rod Doesn't Consist of Two Rods, Then? Original Fender truss rod adjustment nut. Ah yes, heel truss rod adjustment is a little more touch and go to get where you want it. But since basses rarely need counterclockwise truss rod adjustment, more powerful single-action truss rods with a larger diameter replaced Bi-Flex truss rods in Fender basses. $12.99. Steve. Optimal spacing is generally considered to be about the thickness of a credit card or American quarter coin. Step 8. How much should you loosen? Adjusts at the "butt" of the neck by the pickups. Do everything in order and you’ll get good results. Because when I buyed this thing it came with .10s and I play with .9s. 3/16" "T-Style" A vintage-style Tele ® requires only simple pickguard removal. Click here to see the difference between vintage and repro Fender truss rod nuts. Brand New. Back to the string as straight-edge then. Turn the adjuster clockwise to tighten the truss rod and compensate for the string tension by straightening the neck. My vintage strat style neck should apparently have a relief measurement of 0.12in - it's probably different for your guitar. I bought a two foot steel rule and cut it down to around eighteen inches so it was the same length as the fingerboard, rested it 'edge on' over the frets and slipped the gauge through the gap as before. Did you get the truss sussed? Remove the capo and tighten strings to pitch. Truss Rod Configurations. Now, a little bit of background here: The neck I was attempting to match with the James Bisset Fiftieth Anniversary strat was my old and faithful Squier Japanese Hank Marvin Strat neck, a one piece maple neck. For only 9.99 you can see for yourself the extent of this man's fastidiousness. Because I have made the mistake before of making a truss rod adjustment, checking relief, adjusting again, being satisfied with the relief only to find it not set right when I check it the next day. What you are doing seems like the stuff of engineering degrees. But for reasons I still can't quite fathom, I decided at the last minute to get a rosewood fingerboard. Completely different result! Step 4. Step 5. Premium features include an alder body; maple neck with “D”-shaped profile, vintage-style heel-end truss rod adjustment and satin finish; and a compound-radius (7.25”-12”) rosewood fingerboard with 21 6105 narrow jumbo frets, oversize white pearloid dot inlays and a bone nut. This means yes, you will have to guess how much adjust. I may be wrong here, but my reckoning is that if you take the strings off, take the neck off, adjust the truss rod, put the neck back on, put the strings back on and bring the neck up to tension, then you'd better wait at least 24 hours and let everything settle in before you take any more measurements. I don't use gauges. "Turning up" is a counterclockwise turn that would loosen the truss rod and would bring the strings away from the fretboard. Vintage and vintage-style reissue Fenders, for … Operation is both fluid and accurate with the articulation of the neck, the “relief”, being very consistent across the length of the neck. Tap the 6 string at the 12th fret. If you're quick, you'll spot the logical flaw here. There's no way to know if you have adjusted the relief correctly or not until you get the neck installed again and all strings tuned to pitch at which point you can test relief distance. It's at this point where you realize why I said to loosen the strings. There's no reason to freak out, but I do admit it is a tedious process. This is the style of rod used by both Fender® and Gibson®. My question is, if it is too flat, wich way should I move the truss rod? It has never been setup since I've owned it. I bought an American Vintage '52 Telecaster. You can keep the strings on and the neck semi-installed in the pocket and still get the job done. It has the vintage type truss rod with the adjustment nut on the bottom of the neck. I just came across this site looking to adjust the truss rod of my EJ Strat that has the vintage style. What's shown may work for a Fender bass but I doubt it would provide enough tilt to fully expose the adjustment screw for adjustment on a 6-string guitar. This just seemed to me to be a hassle as compared to adjusting a modern truss rod at the top of the neck. But the same can't be said of the Strat maple neck and rosewood board. What I do agree with however is that you do not have to remove the strings nor the entire neck off the body just to make a relief adjustment. I recently performed a truss rod adjustment on my Yamaha RBX170 electric bass which does have the truss rod adjustment hole at the heel. Only pre-October 1950 Esquires have no truss rod. Many vintage electric guitars (including reissues) with bolt-on necks will need a trusty screwdriver to adjust the truss rod. Rather than being the big stiff rod that makes sure the neck is always kept to the straight and narrow, the truss rod turns out to be a tool of skill and subtlety, whose minute variations and delicate adjustments can tune the neck to exquisite refinement. Turn the adjuster anti-clockwise to slacken the truss rod and allow the strings to bow the neck more. Typical compression rod: Rod Anchors October 1950: all Fender guitars have a truss. It takes 5-10 minutes. the gap is greater than 0.006 and less than 0.008 so it's probably around 0.007. Buying a secondhand guitar always involved sighting down the neck, as if you knew what you were doing, and could spot a maladjusted truss rod at a glance. Free shipping. But if the guitar stays mainly at home, I seriously doubt you would have to adjust neck relief more than just a few times per year, if that. Straight and diagonal ends let you work without unstringing the guitar. With a properly functioning truss rod, you probably won’t need more than 1/8-turn in either direction to get what you’re after. Truss Rod and Truss Rod Nut. . On many guitars, the truss rod adjustment is made by accessing the truss rod nut in the headstock and in others, by tweaking a nut at the other end, where the neck meets the body. Look at the picture above showing the end of my strat neck and you'll see what I mean. Oh - and I never reported back because the results were bloody ridickulus. When I was but a young lad, dreaming sleep away with erotic dreams of sinuous, curved Fenders and dark, sweet Gibsons which shamed my clunky third rate guitars, a truss rod was just the thing that made your guitar neck straight. "turning up" loosens the truss rod. 7). A few twirls of a winder and you are set! In that instance, what happened is that the wood settled over the night and the relief changed slightly from where I had it set. Sorry, I got carried away... Hi! Certainly the truss rod will need adjusting if you change the string tension, but I doubt that it would make much difference to the higher registers. Free returns. I started the process with the truss rod nut set as you see it above, with the slots vertical and horizontal. I've been investigating shimming too, which throws yet another curve ball into the mix (mixed metaphors I know). Again, clockwise a.k.a. It's a different world to my guitars - my cheap Vintage resonator doesn't have a truss rod, but it does have a g-clamp holding the horribly split head onto the guitar. Fascinating, and as ever I admire your fastidiousness. Of course, it could also be the that the frets are poorly finished , or as you say, the truss rod needs adjusting. However, I'm going to explain one step beyond that for Fender guitars, such as the Fender '60s Jaguar seen above, where the neck physically comes off the body in order to adjust neck relief. You know the one—it’s adjustment nut is hidden away beneath a wooden (walnut) dowel and you … lol. By "almost" mean about 80% of the way out. There's only one rod. It would appear that a stainless steel rule is not the same thing as a 'straight-edge', which I'm now guessing is a technical term. I also recommend loosening the screws more than what's shown in the video to provide more angle. The early strats had a fingerboard radius of 7.25", which means the the centre of the fingerboard is higher that the sides. Best electric guitars to play with fingers, Best acoustic guitar for under $500 might be the Guild DS-240, manjaro linux in 2021 - it's finally usable. This did not show up on the vintage reissues, but has existed since on many Fender instruments. I've got a Fender Mex Classic '60's Strat which obviously has the truss rod adjustment at the body end. "turning right" will tighten the rod and bring the strings closer to the fretboard, and counterclockwise a.k.a. This means you need to slacken off the strings, adjust the truss rod, tune back to pitch, and check the relief. Fig. The first time you do it, you will probably freak out a little because you are physically taking apart the guitar. $49.99. Once the screws are loosened, you do have to push to get that neck out of the pocket where "putting a little English on it" is required. Sounds like its time for a truss rod adjustment! It doesn't take days or even days. "turning right" a.k.a. Step 3. Easy enough to understand. There is something stated in the video that I will echo here. The first and oldest design we call "vintage." Fender® Vintage-Style Truss Rod Adjustment Nut. Now, they are conveniently 'vintage'. I will be getting trussed next time. (Assuming a 4-bolt neck plate) Loosen the two screws closest to the headstock between 1/3 and 1/2 of the way out. If there is no tapping/clicking sound and the string is resting flush on the fret, the truss rod needs loosening to bring the strings away from the fretboard. Whichever setup you prefer, a straight neck is a good starting point. The Fender manual does a good job of walking you through a setup. Now, this applies to any truss rod that uses a hex-socket for adjustment but especially—really super especially to those guitars with the Fender Bi-Flex truss rod. Fender Vintage truss rod adjustment help needed. 2) Write songs Isn't this a slight diversion from the recording? In most cases, it’s necessary to take off the neck to gain access to the adjustment. That is why the cross head adjustment at the body end was done. Remember, hard maple is an excellent neck wood. There are "dual-action" truss rods … Then fiddle with the adjustment and bolt the neck back on, set the loose strings back into the nut and retighten. Fret at the 12th, and check your relief at the 5th fret (halfway between the nut and the 12th). A 1/4 turn is only necessary if you've got some major string buzz issues going on even with the string saddles set correctly, or if the strings sit really high off the fretboard even with properly set string saddles. No shimmng necessary on my Strat, but the Teisco had a strip of some substance which had broken down with age. Obviously, you need to check the relief before you take off the neck. If you don’t, the nut can be damaged when you try to turn the wrench. A much-maligned Fender idea was the 3 bolt micro-tilt system in the '70s. At least until I double checked, turned the ruler over to use the opposite edge and couldn't get the gauge through the gap at all. Product Description. If you don't, your strings are going to come right out of the nut and possibly scratch up your neck once you move it out of the neck pocket. Unlike standard truss rods, which can only correct a neck that is concave (underbow), the Bi-Flex truss rod can pull the neck in either direction. 1) Do recording Guess where the adjustment lies there? Impossibly catchy, clever songs in this first solo release from James Bisset, longstanding member of cult folk-rock group Caedmon. Listen for a tapping/clicking sound, and examine how much room there is between the string and the fret. Buy It Now +C $9.99 shipping. Put a capo on the 1st fret. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. At a gig tonight my trusty resonator finally gave in to the pressure of gigging and the neck snapped in twain. Just remember: A concave (dipping) neck bow can be corrected by tightening the truss rod, thus resisting string tension. Back in 1951, the Gibson patent on the original truss rod design was still in effect,so Fender had to make a different design for their truss rod. 6. Best ZOOM R8 tutorial bookhighly rated, get recording quick! ... Genuine Fender Truss Rod Nut with 5/16" Allen Adjustment for Guitar 003-8443-000. Certainly the truss rod will need adjusting if you change the string tension, but I doubt that it would make much difference to the higher registers. I give the neck 24 hours to settle after making an adjustment before attempting another adjustment if need be. Adjusting the truss rod with a 1/8" Allen wrench. S G P I p P A o K n s N T o Y 1 S r e d. Genuine Fender '65 Strat Pickguard w/Truss Rod Notch 11-Hole 3-Ply - Eggshell. You have to do this. Over time, the wooden neck of your bass will bend or straighten slightly because of factors like the constant pull of the strings and changes in temperature and humidity. Truss Rod Is Hard To Turn. 3) Build guitar. Some techs will recommend a strip of veneer or cardboard, but old credit cards are very handy, and vary slightly in thickness so you can fine tune the angle. With these, you get the 'bullet' truss rod nut conveniently on the headstock. C $8.99. I have a Mexican 50's Classic Player Strat, and the truss rod is like this one you are talking about. Fender '70s "F" Style Stratocaster-Telecaster Guitar Tuners Set of 6. Let our good friends at Fender take you through the steps of truss rod adjustment and get the most out of your electric! Now I'd never heard of these before, so for those of you as ill-educated as me, here's a picture of mine: Each one of these strips is a different thickness, so by fitting a capo at the first fret, holding down the sixth string at the last fret and then slipping the various thicknesses between sixth string and fret around the eight fret, you can measure the gap. exactly the right tool to use when setting up and maintaining your Fender bass. A truss rod is a steel bar that runs through the neck of a bass guitar and helps to stabilize it. $7.99. I have a 1972 Fender Telecaster with a factory Bigsby tremolo bar. Whenever I talk about adjusting Fender guitar truss rods, I try to emphasise the importance of the correct size allen wrench. If there is a ton of room, the truss rod needs tightening to bring the strings closer to the fretboard. Neil Frets: 2872 . The technique for measuring your neck relief before adjusting the truss rod involves the use of a 'feeler' or thickness gauge. Gentlemen - who among you is not intimidated! Hold the last fret with your picking hand. The basic principle behind a single-acting compression rod is one end is fitted with (or formed into) an anchor of some sort to embed it into the neck and prevent the rod rotating. This is a Fender-produced video, by the way. An old-school truss rod bolt at the bottom of the neck (Image credit: Future) When you’re adjusting the truss rod, make sure the Allen key is seated properly in the truss rod nut; push it all the way in. Just enough so we can do the "scary" part next. So, a few careful tweaks that should take half an hour, end up with this particular neck taking days. On the RBX170 bass, the neck is not required to be removed to adjust relief. Replace, Repair and Restore—Genuine Fender Parts For use on American Vintage and Classic series instruments with heel-mount truss-rod adjustment, this Phillips head vintage-style truss rod nut helps keep electric guitar and bass necks straight and true. My guitar teacher told me the neck might need more "bow" because it was too flat. It isn't pretty but it works. What on earth was Leo Fender thinking of?