Hi everybody!
I'm new to this forum and I'm desperate!
I left my 1998 American Std Stratocaster to a "professional" to have it set (the strings are very distant from the neck).
He called me saying that the truss rod might be gone.
But he is not sure about it.
He said that he has been to the point where a truss rod was gone.
But this time it's not like that.
It's not loose. But nothing happens to the neck when he tighten it up.
I bought the guitar in 2001. I have used it for 4 years.
Then I put it aside. And started using it again one year ago´.
I have never set it after the store setting in 2001.
Therefore I ask you: could it be because I have never set it before?
Or should I blame the guy?
He knows what he's doing, and I told him it was the first set in years (stupid me).
Please help...
Thanks.
Karl

Welcome.

A few flags:

1. The truss rod might be gone but he's not sure about it? A COMPETENT tech would know INSTANTLY.

2. "He said that he has been to the point where a truss rod was gone. But this time it's not like that." This statement makes no practical sense and to me at least, has no meaning.

3. "It's not loose. But nothing happens to the neck when he tighten it up." This implies to me that the truss rod is simply spinning around in it's channel and is not working.

The bottom line: A Stratocaster is a premium instrument. Truss rods on premium instruments do NOT break solely because they haven't been moved in 10 or even many more years. Consequently, there is only one of three culprits:

1. A factory defect? Do you know with 100% certainty that the rod worked correctly in 2001 thereby ruling a factory defect out?
2. Did the store you bought it from actually adjust it? This goes back to #1 or, the possibility of if someone at the store did in fact, work on it in 2001, they could have broken it then or realized it wasn't working to begin with and in either case, still wanted to unload the guitar. (It happens.)
3. Did this guy whom you seem to feel, "knows what he's doing" break it?

On the up side, if you are the original owner, have the receipt to prove you bought it from an Authorized Fender Dealership and take it to an authorized Fender Repair Center, if they feel the rod was not abused in any way, you MAY be covered under Fender's warranty.

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You dig?

karl,

Martian made some really good valid points, also he is 100% correct about taking it to an authorised dealer, I have had problems in the past with a few of my guitars and they even changed a few parts FOC !!! excellent service .... mind you proof of purchase is required.

One of mine is a 78 strat, the truss rod has never been adjusted until recently, worked perfect for the first time in many many years !!!! Fender quality ..

regards
UJ

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"To Infinity & Beyond"

The truss rod might be "gone"??? As in, broken, or missing altogether? The wording here is confusing. I recently had a somewhat similar experience with my '89 American Standard Strat though. The guy I took it to knows what he's doing; he's done some amazing work for a couple relatives on instruments I thought were beyond repair, and after looking at it he said he had seen "a million" of these, and the neck was pretty much screwed, because the dual-action truss rod design didn't have enough thread on the tightening side to straighten out the neck, even if the truss rod nut hadn't been stripped. Maybe that's what's happening with yours? FWIW I just went out and got a "new" Fender neck off the 'bay. Didn't feel like selling her, and it would've cost way more than the instrument is worth to replace the rod.

This guy should know whether the rod is broken or not. If it tightens but does nothing, he is compressing wood, and should have loosened the strings before trying to make the adjustment. Truss rods do not break from being "old", there are 60 year old Fender's that have perfectly fine truss rods, and some Gibsons with MUCH older truss rods. Something is not right, and it shouldn't be hard to determine what's wrong. If the rod turns and NEVER tightens or has no resistance, it is broke.....simple as that. If tightening does nothing, you are compressing wood, and should stop, loosen the strings and maybe even clamp the neck into a slight backbow then adjust the rod. If loosening the rod does not add relief, then you have (on a 1 way truss rod) a neck with a backbow that the truss rod will never help....time to plane the fretboard !

Hi everybody.
Thanks for your answers.
About the "unprofessional" general feeling... my fault.
I was and I still am disappointed and I don't wanna think about having to replace the neck, not for the money, but for the relation between me and this guitar. It was my first guitar.
The guy knows what he's doing.
He has been doing it for at least 10 years.
He has the best studio in town and collects very old guitars.
He also builds his own stuff.
I trust him.
He said he will take the guitar to a friend who has been doing this job for 40 years and hear his opinion.
Thanks again! You gave me hope.

I forwarded your posts to the guy... This is his answer:

That's actually pretty useful. The thing he describes with the dual action trussrod might actually be the issue here. It is not broken, just not doing anything with the bow of the neck and is extremely hard to tighten. I turnes it ca one whole turn but as it became even more hard and gave no effect to the neck I stopped. I've broken trussrodd in my early years... Been working with guitars on and of for ca 10 years
The relief is ca 4mm and adjusting the truss has no effect. I suspect that theres simply not enough threading for the trussrod to have any effect.
Please send this to your american friend Karl.
He seems to be a man of knowledge, and might consider it useful in solving this.

So... what do you guys think?!
Karl.

Hello Karl. With no disrespect to your guy I think it is time to take the guitar to someone with more experience in this area. There are things to try involving cramping that a luthier will know about - but you want it done by someone who has done it plenty of times before.

Can't be sure without the guitar in front of us, but I strongly suspect it is not the end of the line for this neck.

Good luck - C

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Whatever the issue I wouldn't panic; truss rods can be repaired and/or changed. It's just a question of getting the right person to do it.
Just to give you an example of what tools are on the market to recover truss rods, take a look here:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Truss_rods/ ... e_Kit.html

So relax, your guitar can return to be playable as if new

For sure, nothing is impossible with enough money and a person with the skills to do it. Replacing a truss rod just seems like a very labor-intensive option for this guitar. My brother had a '75 Jazz Bass with a broken truss rod, and I forget how much it cost to FINALLY have a competent guy repair it. It was a lot, but not more than the replacement cost of the instrument, know what I mean? '90s American Strats are going for what, $6-800 these days? Even that Stew Mac kit, which I thought about getting for mine, is almost as much as a used USA neck. Also, it says in description that it's not for use on double-action truss rods, although it doesn't specify why.

I have a similar problem - I have a 1977 jazz bass with a broken truss rod. I was trying to improve the action and get rid of some fret buzz but overtightened the rod and it snapped. I think the truss rod was innefectual and the bullet screw had reached the end of its travel, so tightening it was making no difference and it snapped, (about 1" from the end at the neck.) The Stewmac 'rescue kit' isn't intended for breaks like this, and anyway I don't want to spend $240 for a wrench, a threading die and a wood routing bit. I believe that even if you can get the adjustment nut to fit again, the rod may still not work.
So, I'm going to replace the truss rod with a new 5mm single rod very similar to the original, which costs about $15 complete. To do this I've gained access by removing the fingerboard on the first fret, and a short piece of the skunk fillet next to the barrel plug on the heel. I'm intending to make a cut in the old rod at the heel end, and draw it through, then slot the new on in. If I am successful I'll post some more info. Cheers, keith (UK)

There was a thread I read recently where someone had a neck that needed to be adjusted and the rod had no threads left. He described a heat treatment done by a company. He shipped the neck to them and I think he had it back the next week and it was fixed. But, I recall it only worked for necks with rose wood fret boards. This might be an option. It cost him $75 plus some shipping but I think he loved the end result.
http://www.warpedneck.com/testimonials.html

One of you thread posters was the one that had it done.
Main St, is it still holding up?

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TOO MANY GUITARS, TOO LITTLE TIME!

Current Stable:
Fender Stratocaster MIM 07
Squire II Stratocaster MIK 89?
ESP LTD MH-100QM
Jackson KE3 Kelly MIJ

Did anyone ask the billion dollar question? That is "where did you store your guitar, when it was aside?"

Normally, stored indoors, time doesn't effect in fit thruss rod. But for example basement, little damp - even if warm - may produce light corrosion etc. The bending in neck doesn't happen without reason. What happened before trying to adjust it may help to resolve this mystery.

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SRV should really be sold under "drums, hammers and explosives" cathegory

Yes you are right of course, bad storage is clearly an issue, and in my case probably the cause - although the broken rod shows no sign of corrosion. I have contacted several luthiers, most of whom are NOT optimistic about replacing truss rods on a neck which may only be worth about $300. (if its a pre CBS or '60s neck, thats a different story)
This guy http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/ is happy to do the job and at a reasonable price and has done many before.
My bass neck is a 1977 bound neck with pearl block inlays and a nice dark rosewood board.
It does seem like a daunting task when you start thinking about removing fretboards etc, but if you can gain acess to the truss rod, cut the end off and draw it out, it is possible to fit a new one of the same size without chewing the neck up too much. My Fender Bass neck has a single 5mm rod for which Stewmac (and others) do an exact replacement for a few pounds/dollars. Keith

Karl, I guess you're German. Dein Tech hat offenbar keine Ahnung wovon er redet. Wer ist das? Bring die Gitarre zu jemandem, der sowas kann. Einem richtigen Gitarrenbauer, keinem Sammler.

Good luck!

David

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"Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc...and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons."