I promise if you place an “L” in a vice and pop it a few times with a 5lb sledge hammer you can change the angle just enough to avoid scratches and clearance issues. 
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Truss Rod Adjustments Suck
- Thread starter Jack Deth
- Start date
All my necks are Warmoth necks. Although they don't need truss rod adjustments too often, they are the easiest things in the world to adjust - great access, and you don't need much torque at all, so the mechanism works very smoothly.
If you want to talk about vintage Fender types, where you have to take the stinkin' neck off the body to adjust the truss rod? Leo got a few things very wrong the first time. That one should have been obvious.
If you want to talk about vintage Fender types, where you have to take the stinkin' neck off the body to adjust the truss rod? Leo got a few things very wrong the first time. That one should have been obvious.
songwriter21
I have an obsession for wood. The musical kind.
I promise if you place an “L” in a vice and pop it a few times with a 5lb sledge hammer you can change the angle just enough to avoid scratches and clearance issues.
I've used an "L" in a vice and used a dremel tool w/metal cutting bit attached. A few sparks later, viola! Clearance issue gone.
That said, spoke wheels at the heel should be made mandatory - someone needs to start a signature petition or something.
Last edited:
Wishbass! Although the neck on mine is a literal baseball bat it's still comfy to play
The hex end of this tool is rounded so it can go in at an angle which is nice if the truss rod nut is lower than the pickguard, very nice design. You don't have to bang this thing with a sledge hammer.
I can do my three Fenders with this one tool without touching anything, makes it a breeze.
Last edited:
drumvsbass
Commercial User
- Aug 20, 2011
- 1,985
- 4,325
- Disclosures
- I work for Long and McQuade Musical Instruments Canada in Sales.
I agree with Jack deth,it sucks and it’s an old ancient design if you have to take the neck off to adjust the truss rod ….plus you take it off ,make an adjustment, put it back on, string it up just to find it needs a little more tweaking so do the whole thing all over again? Patience has nothing to do with it…It wastes a lot of needless time
Why any manufacture doesn't use the wheel adjustment at the heel of the neck is a mystery to me.
You can agree with whomever you like. When I have to adjust my truss rod like once every two years, I don’t really mind it at all. So whatever - I don’t have to defend why I am not all wrapped around the axle about such a rare adjustment.
As had been said... the truss wheel is the way to go... I've had some Foundations that not only did I have to machine down the walls of a socket, but I also had to take a dremel tool to the access hole on the headstock to create enough clearance to get on the head of the nut.
devnulljp
Supporting Member
Now try it on an old Rickenbacker ... that is the definition of suck.
Everyone should adopt the Music Man wheel version. So much easier.
Everyone should adopt the Music Man wheel version. So much easier.
By the way I agree with you, it just doesn’t affect my life enough to put enough energy on it to say it “sucks.” You should try draining the oil from my generator. That would also suck if I had to do it more frequently. But…meh.
Quoted for truth. None of my basses have a truss wheel at the heel, but I do have a couple of guitars with that feature.
Of course, the next generation of their high end instruments had this feature deleted. Idiots.
I agree about spoke wheels as best all round solution. Not surprised they were discontinued by the big F, just like the bullet nut at the headstock, which worked pretty well too. The only downside was that back in the day some people used to use long flat head screwdrivers jammed in to the allen key slot to adjust the rod. Result stripped allen key socket...
Like some others have said, it would suck if you had to adjust it weekly or something like that. Personally I dont mind the extra couple minutes it takes to take the neck off on the basses that are designed that way. I loosen the strings all the way every time I adjust the truss rod anyway so it’s not that much different.
I never had any problems with those early 4003's, the only pain was taking that half of the pickguard off.
