Do I seriously need to take the neck off to simply adjust the relief via the truss rod? What on earth were fender thinking? I know it is period correct but some things are better to be updated!!
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Truss Rod Access - Fender AVRI 57 pbass
- Thread starter Calvin Marks
- Start date
Turnaround
Commercial User
You don't take it off, you loosen the strings, loosen the neck bolts, tilt the neck back until you can cleanly get at the truss rod. Tweak the rod, retighten everything and check. Repeat until satisfied.
What a pain! Silly silly silly. Leo fender was a genius but the guys at Fender should have clearly updated this design with the American Vintage series...it has absolutely zero benefit and you risk chipping the finish!
The did that to disprove the 'pay once, cry once' axiom. You get to pay once and cry every time you need to tweak the rod.
All of mine turn easily and are exposed enough that a narrow flat driver slides right in. Never had to loosen the neck. Just put a business card on the pg to prevent rash and twist away. Try it. Just find a good quality narrow driver.
For some reason, in my case, Fender heel nuts are the easiest turning truss nuts EVER. Can’t explain why, it just is my experience.
For some reason, in my case, Fender heel nuts are the easiest turning truss nuts EVER. Can’t explain why, it just is my experience.
Mine is definitely no where near exposed. You need to loosen the neck plate and when I did this the varnish around the heel chipped. Great design Fender. Lol
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
If you're hell-bent on preserving the RI authenticity, ignore the following:
Remove the neck and carve an access with a Dremel micro drum sander. Needs to be just large enough to introduce a right angle screwdriver. The pickguard will hide the mod.
Riis
They should have simply never done a reissue like this - some things evolved for the better.
If they hadn't, it wouldn't be a re-issue. It would have been an "inspired by...".
Edit: I got taken to task years ago by simply suggesting the aforementioned modification.
Riis
Turnaround
Commercial User
There are a huge number of purists that would disagree. In their view a re-issue must be as close to the original as possible, warts and all. And you don't want to mess with those purists.
When Fender introduced the original Vintage Telecaster in 1980, they were specifically seeking to be able to counter the "they don't make them like they used to"complaint. That model was very successful so the introduced the Vintage Series with the same approach - to make the as close as they could to the original instruments. And that kind of locked them into certain aspects.
EB/MM and G&L seemingly learned from that and their homages to their pasts are specifically marketed with notice of a combination of features from the old stuff and improvements (or at least changes). Having gone from 7.25"radius to 9.5 on the latest revamp of the reissues, Fender could have changed the TR access. But in the Vintage Series they pretty much had to retain the heel access.
EB/MM and G&L seemingly learned from that and their homages to their pasts are specifically marketed with notice of a combination of features from the old stuff and improvements (or at least changes). Having gone from 7.25"radius to 9.5 on the latest revamp of the reissues, Fender could have changed the TR access. But in the Vintage Series they pretty much had to retain the heel access.
You only need half (or nearly half) of one of the insert areas exposed to use the narrow flat head screw driver method. It's really easy to adjust in my opinion.
It's either that or have that ugly truss rod access in the headstock
.Believe it or not many people prefer the Heel adjust location. Plus that way you are forced to take the string tension off of the neck before adjusting.
All these stories you hear about maxed out truss rods are actually caused by abuse. Cranking down on the nut with massive tension fighting against you.
Turnaround
Commercial User
I prefer heel adjust. I've seen too many cases where the fingerboard was cracked between the nut and first fret on instruments with the adjuster at the headstock. Compression of the wood under the truss rod nut can cause the pressure to crack the fingerboard. Though it's not an issue with non-compression types, there is still a difference in most cases as to the profile of the relief curve between heel and headstock adjust. IMO the heel adjust gives a better relief profile.
Since the 1972 neck on my '63 P-bass has not needed an adjustment since it was originally installed in 1972, I don't think it's a big deal. Most basses I've owned have stable necks and the need for truss rod adjustment is very rare after it's set the first time. This has been true for Fender, Squier, Dean, Gretsch, Kay and Univox basses.
But I don't whip out a pocket scale and start measuring whether the string relief has shifted 1/64" every time I pick up my basses. I just play them.
But I don't whip out a pocket scale and start measuring whether the string relief has shifted 1/64" every time I pick up my basses. I just play them.
Turnaround
Commercial User
You are lucky. When the relief on any of my basses changes by as little as a couple of thousandths of an inch, I feel it, and it bugs me.
Relief profile. Exactly. One of the details that affects what a old style Fender feels like in the hands methinks. To me really, really good. Putting up with occasional acrobatics to tweak the rod is pretty low on the list of agravations in life. Messing about with instruments is a pleasure to me.
