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

Ugh... tend to agree. I love my USA Geddy, but...

... guess where the truss rod adjustment is...

... and, out of all my basses, guess which one requires adjustment, most frequently?

yea, the geddy could stand to have that one improvement... not like it would affect tone or playability, although you have to live with a truss rod exposed or a little cover or plug.

not saying they did it wrong - it's authentic - but if I owned it I'd prefer a headstock-end truss adjuster. Ah well... still one of the best Fender bass models ever made!
 
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I'd have to assume that this video is issued by Fender themselves that they endorse this method for adjustment of that style neck. I'm not a fan of doing this with wood screws . . . . .

FMIC could easily remedy this situation by leaving a rout next to the adjustment screw in the body where an appropriate tool would then have access with everything in place and tuned up to pitch. Yamaha and others have done this for years and it simplifies everything for so very little increase in cost in production. You can leave it under the pickguard to not disturb that vintage look, removing the pickguard is WAY easier than a neck.

Personally, Fender blindly sticking to that layout and its difficulties are aggravating while there are several ways available to keep the look of it and end the unnecessary work it requires to adjust your own instrument. I could sorta justify those choices back in the 50's, but in 2020 there are few answers that are as satisfactory 70 years later.
 
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The sound your bass makes when it gets sent to God's waiting room, I think.

I think the loud "Crack" is the pickguard rubbing against the neck. Funny he does it while the neck is under string tension.you'd think they would advise to loosen the strings a bit. Surprised they released this video with the all the "wranglin' involved" kind of homer simpson mechanics, I'll just tug on the head stock back & forth 'til it straightens out! seems like a recipe for a lot of customer service calls.
 
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I'd have to assume that this video is issued by Fender themselves that they endorse this method for adjustment of that style neck. I'm not a fan of doing this with wood screws . . . . .

FMIC could easily remedy this situation by leaving a rout next to the adjustment screw in the body where an appropriate tool would then have access with everything in place and tuned up to pitch. Yamaha and others have done this for years and it simplifies everything for so very little increase in cost in production. You can leave it under the pickguard to not disturb that vintage look, removing the pickguard is WAY easier than a neck.

Personally, Fender blindly sticking to that layout and its difficulties are aggravating while there are several ways available to keep the look of it and end the unnecessary work it requires to adjust your own instrument. I could sorta justify those choices back in the 50's, but in 2020 there are few answers that are as satisfactory 70 years later.

I wonder if Leo, if he were around, would endorse that method? Maybe it's his own idea? Destructive though it seems to us..... the man knew his stuff
 
Even if you don't want to see a truss rod slot at the heel, you can always put one in under the pickguard. Then remove the pickguard, rather than the neck.

If I'm understanding you, the adjustment screw at the heel is pretty much dead even with the body. By the time I got through routing an access cavity for the TR adjustment, I'd have a chambered piece of crap... Lol! I'll keep removing both the strings and screws...
 
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If I'm understanding you, the adjustment screw at the heel is pretty much dead even with the body. By the time I got through routing an access cavity for the TR adjustment, I'd have a chambered piece of crap... Lol! I'll keep removing both the strings and screws...

This is, again, where innovation improved things immensely later on.

EBMM truss wheels are incredible - the best design around imho.
 
Call me thankful that all of my bass guitars have exposed truss rod nuts, or a nut in the headstock. >.<

Him - "Now what I like to is this" *snap crackle pop*
Me - :eek::vomit:
ikr? translate to - the guy with him in the video is like, "erm, seriously dude, you don't loosen strings????", then has to clench hard not to freak out when the dude wrenches on the neck and actually claims that he likes to manhandle it, or whatever term he used.

What scares me is this - is this a guy who will do your setup for you if you ship your bass to fender for warranty work?????? How many fender basses have had this done to them?
 
I wonder if Leo, if he were around, would endorse that method? Maybe it's his own idea? Destructive though it seems to us..... the man knew his stuff

I'd imagine it was a production decision, and in the 50's, there were no other strings than Fender's for these things and I daresay they thought the neck would need adjusting once in a very great while . . . . . . the design tells you that. And if it's demonstrably better than the 'other' way of doing this, at least mod it to where it's user-friendly and I don't have to turn my neck-joint into a trapeze . . . . .
 
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Horrible, just horrible. I bet he turns the truss rod more than a quarter turn at a time too and doesn't wait 2 to 3 weeks in between turns to let it "settle." People have been adjusting Fenders this way for 70 years, get over it people!
And that's probably why they are the worst playing basses
 
Its a conspiracy!brake the basses and make people buy others instead :)
Maybe its not as bad as it looks,I would loosen the strings though.

This truss rod design is a pain if you do a lot of setups,but it also keeps amateurs away from truss rods.
 
If I'm understanding you, the adjustment screw at the heel is pretty much dead even with the body. By the time I got through routing an access cavity for the TR adjustment, I'd have a chambered piece of crap... Lol! I'll keep removing both the strings and screws...
I was thinking you'd use a router and a guide/template/jig to rout a very simple and clean slot to the neck pocket. I have no idea how to turn that into a chambered piece of...
 
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This thread is hilarious. Its like being appalled that the egg factory produces eggs out of chicken cloacas. But when you take in your instrument for a "professional" setup...this is your guy. A nice healthy cloaca dropping out delicious eggs.
 
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