so i got a vintage musicman, a pre-eb 79, i stripped the truss rod nut. the truss rod was very hard to turn in general and i think it may be that there were only two points catching and so the leverage on the turn was decreased hence the harder to turn problem. pretty sure its stripped or cracked. I turn the allen and the allen doesnt catch anymore, luthier says its pretty stuck in there, their idea was to cut a slot in the top of the nut and turn it with a flat head and adjust the truss rod like that. i think that probably will be a good idea. they said that to remove the truss rod nut theyd have to carve into it in the same fashion anyways and that if it turns with a screwdriver like that, its better not to worry about it and just adjust it that way. I also happen to have the exact replacement truss nut for it. i think the truss nut was either re-attached wrong at some point or ran out of lubricant. something was up with it, might wanna replace it entirely if i got the part. not sure though, just hope its ok! So while i wait for answers anxiously im just gonna see what you all think lol. pretty confident with their work and also really really love that bass and wanna be careful with it
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Truss nut either cracked or stripped, prognosis?
- Thread starter Mrtoodamnsabre
- Start date
Hello Mrtoodamnsabre;
I read through your post several times, and I'm not sure what your question is? If the truss rod nut is jammed, and the hex socket is rounding out, then yes, you need to get it out of there somehow. Fix the problem, and probably replace the nut.
For sure, I was just wondering basically if it’s a crack in the truss nut is it more of a risk of serious damage to the truss rod. I was also wondering if having a couple slots carved in so I could adjust it with a screwdriver is an ok solution to go with, i figure that’s probably ok, though I’m worried that the truss nut might crack while adjusting it. Also wondering if the truss nut being mostly stripped would make it harder to turn before it finally being fully stripped
If the truss rod nut is mostly stripped already, it will be a matter of time before it gives out entirely. So in that case it seems more sensible to replace it now instead of throwing time and money at it.
If you have a or can get a replacement nut and the one that’s on there will come off I’d replace it.
As to your other questions, yes all those things can happen, or not, it depends on the circumstances. If it is a truss rod nut that takes a hex key and someone has abused it to where it’s about to round out I wouldn’t expect that to make it more difficult to turn however, it being more difficult to turn could cause it to get rounded out, if that makes sense. Also, on that type of nut, if it’s rounded out and the ball end of a hex driver doesn’t work sometimes you can get the square end in there and it will grab enough good material to work. I prefer to not use the rounded end of a hex driver unless I have to.
As to your other questions, yes all those things can happen, or not, it depends on the circumstances. If it is a truss rod nut that takes a hex key and someone has abused it to where it’s about to round out I wouldn’t expect that to make it more difficult to turn however, it being more difficult to turn could cause it to get rounded out, if that makes sense. Also, on that type of nut, if it’s rounded out and the ball end of a hex driver doesn’t work sometimes you can get the square end in there and it will grab enough good material to work. I prefer to not use the rounded end of a hex driver unless I have to.
I had a hard time reading this too.
IF they do notch a slot in the bullet nut to turn it, then why not just remove it all the way.
You can still buy new replacement bullet nuts from Musicman.
IF they do notch a slot in the bullet nut to turn it, then why not just remove it all the way.
You can still buy new replacement bullet nuts from Musicman.
forgot to post the resolution to the story! So I brought in the replacement nut and they ended up removing the old nut with a bolt extractor iirc, truss rod turns so nicely now too, no weird tightness or spooky things happening anymore. Was really worried cause that 7.25 ratio is so nice and I can play the thing for hours with no issues on my wrists!
