Big Oopss, need new truss rod now

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 4:29 pm

I was just working on a bass and the neck is so strong that even with a 5th string added the truss rods are only finger tight ...

cheenyc13 · Post by **cheenyc13** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:28 pm

Hey i took my ric to this guy at sam ash in queens,ny he did a great job on my neck..

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:29 pm

But how's the bass? And I didn't know they had Chiros at Sam Ash!

jmh · Post by **jmh** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:13 pm

I took my Ric a year or so ago to a store in Huntington, LI. He also did a good job, although I'm not sure he set the intonation. He said he did, my Bass Podxt's tuner said he didn't. He also suggested I use 45-95 gauge strings, which I did for awhile, but I wanted the feel of a 105 again.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:50 am

Jack: E-mail me - I will make the rod today or tomorrow.

jmh · Post by **jmh** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 6:21 am

E-mail sent, thanks.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:24 am

I actually prefer the sound of a lighter E, around 90/95. My 8 string originally had a 90 E and it sounded terrific; when I changed the strings and put a 105 on that it lost all its twang and clang....I currently have 40-95 Rotos on my Ricks, and prefer the sound to the 45-105s, although strangely I possibly prefer the feel of the heavier strings.

redvette · Post by **redvette** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 10:52 am

Am I missing something here? I thought that you should always loosen the strings a little before trying to tighten the truss rods. Otherwise you are working against the neck AND the string tension. I generally use the "old" method and apply a little pressure to the back of then neck when tightening (no more than 1/4 turn). Then, I retune and wait a day or so before tightening some more if necessary.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 11:11 am

No, neck adjustments are pointless without the corresponding string load. The instrument should be tuned to pitch. When adding tension to the old style rods or a stubborn neck with the new style rods, the neck should be flexed BACK, away from the string pull. So you would be pressing on the front of the neck (fingerboard). I usually grip the neck at the first fret and pull back slightly as I adjust the nuts. Then I retune and check the neck again.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 9:32 am

Jack's bass arrived safely and I have more or less determined the cause of the problem. I've seen this condition on a few Ricks recently. Marc Seligman's FG V63 suffered from it. The ends of the rods at the body are way up inside the end of the neck. So far up that the adjusting nuts at the top ran out of rod thread. Initially I thought it might have been from over-tightening and that the wood compressed but after a close examination of the holes, I don't believe that to be the case. I could be wrong but it looks to me like the holes were drilled too far in during manufacturing. There was no visible distortion or splintering. The rods are nearly 1/2" too far in. Compressing that much maple would have left some tell tale signs. The holes are otherwise perfectly clean. I will post some pics later. Anyway, the plan of attack is to use some drilled out hardwood dowels as spacers to move the end nuts back to about where they should be. I am hoping that the up-bow the neck has developed (presumably from being strung up with inadequate truss support) will eventually be corrected by respacing the rods.

ilan · Post by **ilan** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:07 am

That should be very interesting. Looking forward for detailed updates.

chefothefuture · Post by **chefothefuture** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 12:56 pm

I remedied a problem like that with steel instead
of wood dowels.
I used rodstock and turned it down to about .002
oversize. Then I bored it to #10.
The rods Rick use are #8- I might try that next time...

I hade a problem in a different Rick where the wood did
collapse due to the compression.
John Hall had mentioned in another thread using
super glue to coat the holes and harden the wood...

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 1:49 pm

I've gotten inside now and have found some evidence of tearing and compression. It is amazing how smooth and consistent the hole looked at first. I stuck my depth gauge in there to measure the offset. It is kind of an awkward angle. I measured it 3 or 4 times to make sure I was getting a good reading. On the last pass, the tip of the depth gauge knocked a chunk of maple splinters loose. Hmmmm. The hole is about .8" deep. I made my dowel about .3" thick that sets the acorn nut just inside the end of the neck and the tip of the rod to the top end of the adjusting nuts.

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 1:56 pm

Sometimes you feel like a nut..........

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 2:06 pm

Here is a shot showing the problem at the headstock. The E side rod is clearly f'd up the adjusting nut is right at the bottom of the threads. The G side rod has been respaced and shows a more reasonable and hopefully functional length.