Fender Truss Rod Tutorial...is this a joke?

[bbh]

The minor catching sound doesn’t bother me at all.
I wonder if you can get access by just pulling the pick guard... I’ve had issues with the pocket screw holes loosening up so I prefer my method if it can be done...

 

[Jamvan]

Since I've bought a Vintera Mustang, I've been looking for the proper, reccomended way to go about doing a truss rod adjustment. Take strings off completely? Leave them on and loosen them? Completely take off the neck? You get the idea.

I felt compelled to watch the Fender Official video since...well, it's Fender's own video with their personal guidelines. Now I won't spoil the video, but just go to 4:00, and wait for it...

Hopefully, you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm NOT in a million years doing it in that way. I find it funny that it's a video aimed at beginners, where he uses a method with which I suspect you could damage your bass. I cringed. So did the whole comment section apparently.

Holy heck!! I can't say I've EVER considered adjusting the old heal adjuster that way. I have to believe tilting it like that, with the screws still in the neck, would potentially strip the wood as there's very little forgiveness in the holes the screws pass through in the body for horizontal movement like that. Ugh!

 

[bench]

The Fender vintage truss rod access is a joke anyway.

THIS!! And the fact that it is still made that way on "vintage basses" and that people buy them is a mistery to me... ...it probably sounds better and more vintage this way And i would really like to see how the "tech" in the video shims a neck...

 

[TjMetalhead]

I work at a local used instrument store and this method was one way to adjust the truss rod if it's hidden like that but I do not trust myself enough to do it that way. I usually capo the strings so they don't go flying and just take the neck right off. That crack just sent shivers and not in a good way.

 

[gln1955]

This guy has probably done thousands of set-ups this way, so he knows what he can get away with. But to recommend this technique to a newbie is bizarre.

 

[Avigdor]

Did you see the neck bend?

I did - I'm still trying to unclench. Ouch.

And then: "You're gonna need to retune it for sure".

 

[Ostie]

Uh uh....not me....

 

[finfrocka]

I physically recoiled in my chair during that neck bending and cracking. I mean, I'm no expert but that does not seem right to me. I always detune and back off all 4 bolts enough that they won't strip the holes in the neck.

 

[Silky Johnson]

Wow that procedure may work fine, but ya that was hard to watch

 

[TheIndieKid]

It might be okay, and probably was. It's just, as @gln1955 said, it's strange to reccomend it to a newbie. Also, you can gently slide the neck out of the slot, without having to lean on it like in the video. As we've all established, basses can take a beating, but I think that's one place where we'd,at least, like to be a little more gentle. Tenfold if you care about the basses finish.

 

[konfyouzd]

"It looks worse than it is..."

It certainly looks bad. But I didn't get quite as big a shock from it as the rest of the folks in the thread I don't think. Maybe I was already bracing for it since I read the whole thread first. :lol:

 

[micguy]

That video make me glad that, on my basses with truss rod adjustment at the heel of the neck, I have access slots in the body. Yousah!

 

[foolforthecity]

Anything that sounds like my knees popping first thing in the morning don’t seem right

 

[MotorCityMinion]

Quite a few noobs in here today. With or without screws in the neck, a tight fitting joint can and often does sound like that. None the less, I would have loosened the strings. I would never buy another "players" bass that did not have access at the heel of the neck for adjustments there. Yup, that's a crappy design and should be dumped.

This is where serious problems can arise: Folks don't know what they are talking about and pass that info onto the next noob.

Necks can bend much farther than what the video is showing (I did not see anything ridiculous here) and on instruments that have not been adjusted in a long time, bending the neck with a clamp in the middle to help the truss rod is safer than just forcing the truss rod to bend the neck.

 

[Andy Daventry]

It's a P bass. It can leap tall buildings with a single bound. You can use it as a pit prop. Like Gloria Gaynor, it will survive.

 

[smurfco]

here's how i was always taught to make neck adjustments. now this doesn't work every time but i know i have seen this work for a few people over the years and maybe this will work for you too. the first thing you're gonna need is a small to medium size can of turpentine and a medium horsehair painter's brush, you can pick both of these up at your local hardware or hobby store no problem. you will also need an artist's smock and two medium drop cloths, as well as a stepstool between two and three feet maximum height. you will probably not need the entire height but it's always best to err on the side of caution here. remove the guitar's strings and then remove two of the neck bolts, but leave the other two bolted in. it doesn't matter which two but i usually leave the two closest to the bridge. now loosen these two until they are about a quarter to a third of an inch backed out. the joint between the neck and the guitar should be moving pretty freely now. i forgot to mention earlier that by this point you should be wearing the smock and also you should have one of the two drop cloths down, but don't take the other one out of the package yet. so anyways you've now got the neck attached to the body by two bolts, and these are pretty loose as well. now what you want to do is hold the guitar by the neck, face-up (so the pickguard is pointing to the sky) and start jostling it up and down, shaking it until you start to hear some cracking and splintering from the pocket. you might also see little slivers of wood falling out. (this is why you have the drop cloth down.) now you're gonna take the turpentine and dip the brush into it so that the brush absorbs a really healthy amount of turpentine, and you're going to put the sopping brush bristles in between the neck and the body. the dropcloth should catch any overspill. without removing the brush now you're going to tighten those two screws down as hard and as tight as you possibly can. it's a good idea here to booger up the screw heads real bad with your screwdriver. now set the ladder up, climb up on top of it holding the guitar by the headstock, and what you're gonna do now is jump off the ladder and drive the body of the guitar straight down into the concrete. oh i forgot to mention you should be doing all of this outside over concrete. make sure when the butt of the guitar lands hard on the concrete that you are putting your full weight through the neck lengthwise down to the body. this helps to loosen the truss rod which can be stubborn. repeat this move several times until the neck breaks off of the body. then take the leftover pieces and smash them into the ground until the guitar is mostly pulverized. wrap the pieces up with the second drop cloth and pour some turpentine on the whole blessed mess and light it on fire. now drink the rest of the turpentine.

 

[JRA]

Now I won't spoil the video, but just go to 4:00, and wait for it...

funny stuff!

but i'm with you: no need to give newbies any ideas....that could possibly go wrong!

 

[TheReceder]

I typically do all my own setups, (Except on my Ric) but I really have a hard time with the idea of loosening the neck screws with the strings under tension....

Maybe I need a poll to see if I'm an idiot. Maybe I'll just assume that I am, and will always be... But hey... if ignorance is bliss, I'm a really happy guy.

 

[Kubicki Fan]

I don't get it?

What was so heinous about that?

How else would you suggest doing it?

Perfectly normal adjustment from the company that actually makes the bass.

Dirk

He is concerned about not tearing up the pickguard but stripping the wood in neck screw holes is ok. ***.

 

[Kubicki Fan]

This is madness. What you're hearing is the edges of the screws scraping the inside of the holes in the neck.

Sure smooths things out in there after a while...