Dont let this happen to you!!! - Page 3

carl-anton · #41 01-09-2004, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dave_clark69
I cant see the need to actually adjust the truss rod.
Why would there need to be an alteration in it?

Yeah, reading this thread I thought the same thing! I've done some adjustments to my own bass, but mostly if I was putting on strings with different tension than the previous.

If the bass is adjusted to your preferred setup, why does it need to be adjusted again? I can understand how humidity and temperatures can affect the wood, but the steel rod surely doesn't get affected by this. Is the bolt coming loose due to the altering of the wood? Else you'll just end up tightening the rod even more, every time you adjust it (I reckon tightening is the most common seasonal adjustment done) and finally it would snap. This is probally wrong (you guys who adjust it 1+ times a year doesn't snap your rods all the time, eh!?) But why?

rumblethump · #42 01-10-2004, 06:34 AM

Some of you are very lucky to have necks that are stable. Unfortunately not all necks are created equal. Wood expands AND contracts. Truss rods help stabilize this process, but don't stop it completely as you have witnessed by all the previous posts. My 68 Gibson has never had the truss rod touched. My neckthru carvin needs to be adjusted one direction in the winter and the other direction in the summer. It is NOT being constantly tightened. I have opened my case to find the strings laying on the neck. Time to back it off. I have also opened the case to find the strings so high it was almost unplayable.
Time to tighten. I hope this answers your question.

carl-anton · #43 01-10-2004, 08:12 AM

Thanks for clearing that up rumblethump

It sounds extreme to me how susceptible your Carvin is to the weather. I guess my bass have a very stable neck, or I live in a place where the humidity is allmost the same all year round. Maybe there's slight variations that I don't notice since I play the bass every day (the same), but I've never experienced what you describe. I'm glad to hear that it's not because the trussrod bolt unscrews it self over time.