Fender MIJ truss adjustment problem

[banditcosmo]

Sorry if this has been asked before but how do I adjust the truss on a 1989 MIJ Fender fretless ? I've adjusted all of my bass truss rods before but never had a Fender and not sure how to adjust it as only a portion of the nut is showing. Do I need to take the pickguard off?

See pic

Thanks, Tony

[GabeN]

No. You have to take the whole neck off to adjust the truss rod. It's annoying but once it's set you just leave it.

[banditcosmo]

man that's a pain ! I have little too much bow, not a lot so I just need to make a little tweak.
If I change from rounds to flats do you think that will straighten then neck a little ? I think I heard flats have a little more tension than rounds ?

[mortar]

What I do on guitars that have the adjustment at the heel is to put a capo at the first fret , loosen the strings, take off the neck give it an adjustment then put it back together, tune and check.

The capo keeps the strings from falling off the tuner posts.

It's really not that bad once you get accustom to it

[banditcosmo]

Originally Posted by mortar

What I do on guitars that have the adjustment at the heel is to put a capo at the first fret , loosen the strings, take off the neck give it an adjustment then put it back together, tune and check.

The capo keeps the strings from falling off the tuner posts.

It's really not that bad once you get accustom to it

Thanks Mortar,
That worked great.

[Pilgrim]

As a fellow TB member noted a few weeks ago, one can also use the end of a paint can opening key - it's bent just enough to allow turning the nut with PG in place.. Loosen the strings first. It works on my '63 P.

[lonote]

Originally Posted by mortar

What I do on guitars that have the adjustment at the heel is to put a capo at the first fret , loosen the strings, take off the neck give it an adjustment then put it back together, tune and check.

The capo keeps the strings from falling off the tuner posts.

It's really not that bad once you get accustom to it

I have done it this way for years. The local Fender "Gold" level tech showed me this method.