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Fender American Original 60’s P Question

scottrolf

scottrolf

Jul 13, 2011
367
348
Bandon, OR
#1
Even after calling Fender I can’t seem to get a definitive answer on this:

Hopefully you owners out there can.
Did Fender update the truss rod adjustment feature on these or do you still have to loosen (or remove) the neck in order to access the adjustment point?

Thanks
 
#4
You can get the Cruz Tools "Cheater". Its essentially a long screwdriver with a thinner head so the neck doesn't have to be removed. It works perfectly, just be careful not to scratch the pickguard. You still must loosen the strings before any truss adjustment.

It's a must have if you have the vintage style truss rods.
 
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#7
scottrolf said:
Even after calling Fender I can’t seem to get a definitive answer on this:

Hopefully you owners out there can.
Did Fender update the truss rod adjustment feature on these or do you still have to loosen (or remove) the neck in order to access the adjustment point?

Thanks
Click to expand...

"Still?" You've never had to do that. Some people do it because they don't know any better.

At most, you have to pull the guard. But you should be able to adjust it without doing so in most cases. You should be using a #1 screwdriver on half of the adjustment nut, not a #2 or #3 all the way across the nut. Some of Fender's '60s owner's manuals state this.

The other part of the proper technique is that you don't make the nut do the work of actually bending the rod. You manually bend the neck in the direction you want it to go. This allows the nut to spin freely, taking up as much slack as you think is needed (1/4 turn, 1/2 turn, whatever). Then you release the neck from its manual bend. This makes it so you don't have to torque the nut very much. Easier to use the small screwdriver, less goring of the nut, less chance of slippage.

Additionally, the specs list on that model clearly states: "Vintage-Style Heel Adjust," and you can see the pickguard notch in the factory photos. Don't buy basses – especially $2,000 basses – without first reading the factory published specs fully and looking at the pix!
 
Last edited:
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#9
They have the truss rod adjustment at the neck heel but like 2F/2F has already explained, with the right tool it can be done quite easily without removing the neck.

BUT...

Unless Fender has learned how to operate a CNC machine lately the AO60s P-bass also have the truss rod installed off-centre inside the neck. Mine is like that and there are threads about it on this forum so it must involve at least one entire production run. SHOCKINGLY poor quality control. I have no idea how this will affect long term neck stability but I would NEVER had purchased it if I had known.

I would strongly advice to not buy unseen.
 
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#10
Chrisk-K said:
I am a Fender fanboy but refuse to buy any Fender bass / guitar featuring the vintage truss rod access. It’s a rare mistake Mr Fender made. It’s just a dumb design that should have disappeared long time ago.
Click to expand...

But...but...it's a feature, not a bug. ;)

Even Leo figured out a much better way to do it, but Fender keeps on being Fender.
 
#11
EFA60B15-0E99-4797-9F59-EC8C47EBE318.jpeg
I have an American Original 50’s P-Bass and use this.
 
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#12
With the AO ‘50s the pickguard is hard but with the ‘60s the celluloid can be shaped in such a way as to allow the screwdriver to act on the truss rod’s nut without the need of removing the pickguard ... this is the way I adjust the truss rod of my jazz bass ... I recently acquired a Classic ‘50s P-bass and the situation, in this regard, is decidedly annoying unfortunately ...
 

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