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Post subject: Truss rod stuck/maxed -- should I worry?
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:58 am
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I changed strings this weekend on my new (2008) Fender CS '59 reissue to higher guage La Bella flats (from 760FL to 760FS), and in so doing decided I needed to adjust the truss rod to account for the added tension. The truss has never been adjusted before.

Sunday I did the first adjustment, giving it just a wee turn, maybe 1/8 to 1/4, put the neck back on and restrung it.

Monday it looked okay, but I thought maybe I'd give it a bit more relief so I took the neck off again and tried to give it just a nudge more, but it wouldn't budge. With the neck off I had plenty of leverage to crank it if needed, but didn't for fear of breaking or stripping it. Puzzled, I put the neck back on and restrung it again.

So now I'm wondering:

1. Is something wrong with the truss?

2. If I'm okay with the current relief, is it okay to just leave it as is? Or is that too much strain on the truss?

3. Should I turn the truss back where it was and put the lighter strings back on?

4. Should I take it to a luthier?

5. Should I take it back to Fender? (The CS is only about 30 minutes from my house.)

Any advice would be really appreciated!


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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:35 am
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I would take it to a pro!
If you are unsure about doing this kind of adjustment yourself dont do it!
Better safe than sorry!

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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:32 pm
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jlarocho wrote:
I would take it to a pro!
If you are unsure about doing this kind of adjustment yourself dont do it!
Better safe than sorry!


x2, and I know you know your stuff to begin with MM. Good luck, keep us posted.

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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:12 pm
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PowerJazzBass wrote:
jlarocho wrote:
I would take it to a pro!
If you are unsure about doing this kind of adjustment yourself dont do it!
Better safe than sorry!


x2, and I know you know your stuff to begin with MM. Good luck, keep us posted.

Me too.


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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:32 pm
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I wouldn't worry about it. Both my 08 P and 05 jazz are very close to maxed out to keep the neck straight. I think it's the way the modern american fender are. My 78P was loose and my mexican jazz isn't that tight but on both my american basses to have the neck as straigh as can be without fret noise mine are very close to maxed out. They play fine so for me it's not an issue. Maybe someone else here can shed some light as I wouldn't mind some reassurance.

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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 11:24 am
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PowerJazzBass wrote:
jlarocho wrote:
I would take it to a pro!
If you are unsure about doing this kind of adjustment yourself dont do it!
Better safe than sorry!


x2, and I know you know your stuff to begin with MM. Good luck, keep us posted.


Thanks Bro!

I emailed Fender customer service about it. After a long rehearsal last night it seems I still need a bit more straightening of the neck to get the relief I'm comfortable with, so since I can't seem to make it work I've asked Fender to tell me where to go for warranty work. And if all else fails, I've got a luthier close by I can take it to. It's too bad, I've never had a stuck truss rod on any of my other basses, even the cheap ones. I wouldn't expect this from a CS bass.


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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 2:33 pm
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the rod isn't stuck it's simply at the end of adjustment. Now if the neck is still not straight then bring it in the shop but if the neck is straight then I don't see what the problem is.

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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 3:31 pm
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sirbassalot wrote:
the rod isn't stuck it's simply at the end of adjustment. Now if the neck is still not straight then bring it in the shop but if the neck is straight then I don't see what the problem is.


Thing is, it's a brand new bass (March 2008) that's never been adjusted so it shouldn't be at the end. If it is, then something's wrong, truss rods are supposed to move.

Fender's having me take it to my luthier, he's one of their recommended guys anyway. He's going to examine it. If the truss is defective, he's going to send the neck to Fender and they'll replace it and pay his cost under warranty. But if it's not defective, he's fixing it for me anyway and I'm paying the cost. Seems fair to me.

(BTW -- Fender's customer service has been great each time I've had a question about a bass, they're very quick to reply and helpful. Which is one more reason I keep buying Fenders!)


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Post subject: Re: Truss rod stuck/maxed -- should I worry?
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 2:41 pm
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Mastermold wrote:
I changed strings this weekend on my new (2008) Fender CS '59 reissue to higher guage La Bella flats (from 760FL to 760FS), and in so doing decided I needed to adjust the truss rod to account for the added tension. The truss has never been adjusted before.

Sunday I did the first adjustment, giving it just a wee turn, maybe 1/8 to 1/4, put the neck back on and restrung it.

Monday it looked okay, but I thought maybe I'd give it a bit more relief so I took the neck off again and tried to give it just a nudge more, but it wouldn't budge. With the neck off I had plenty of leverage to crank it if needed, but didn't for fear of breaking or stripping it. Puzzled, I put the neck back on and restrung it again.

So now I'm wondering:

1. Is something wrong with the truss?

2. If I'm okay with the current relief, is it okay to just leave it as is? Or is that too much strain on the truss?

3. Should I turn the truss back where it was and put the lighter strings back on?

4. Should I take it to a luthier?

5. Should I take it back to Fender? (The CS is only about 30 minutes from my house.)

Any advice would be really appreciated!


You should not, under any circumstances, adjust the truss rod yourself unless you know what you are doing. Bring it to a guitar tech at your local music store.... He/She would be able to do it for ya! By the way, nice bass!

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Post subject: Re: Truss rod stuck/maxed -- should I worry?
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 2:55 pm
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EddieVanHelen wrote:
Mastermold wrote:
I changed strings this weekend on my new (2008) Fender CS '59 reissue to higher guage La Bella flats (from 760FL to 760FS), and in so doing decided I needed to adjust the truss rod to account for the added tension. The truss has never been adjusted before.

Sunday I did the first adjustment, giving it just a wee turn, maybe 1/8 to 1/4, put the neck back on and restrung it.

Monday it looked okay, but I thought maybe I'd give it a bit more relief so I took the neck off again and tried to give it just a nudge more, but it wouldn't budge. With the neck off I had plenty of leverage to crank it if needed, but didn't for fear of breaking or stripping it. Puzzled, I put the neck back on and restrung it again.

So now I'm wondering:

1. Is something wrong with the truss?

2. If I'm okay with the current relief, is it okay to just leave it as is? Or is that too much strain on the truss?

3. Should I turn the truss back where it was and put the lighter strings back on?

4. Should I take it to a luthier?

5. Should I take it back to Fender? (The CS is only about 30 minutes from my house.)

Any advice would be really appreciated!


You should not, under any circumstances, adjust the truss rod yourself unless you know what you are doing. Bring it to a guitar tech at your local music store.... He/She would be able to do it for ya! By the way, nice bass!


Oh I know what I'm doing, been doing it myself for over 25 years. This one's just stuck.


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Post subject: Hmmm
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:05 pm
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Most truss rod adjustments go badly when the tension isn't relieved some first by either bracing the bass and pulling back on the neck (the common method with modern bases with the truss rod nut slot on the headstock) or by loosening the strings. Not relieving some of the tension can result in cross threading which makes it appear "stuck" or in stripping of the nut which makes it turn very easily but actually does nothing.

In your case however you probably had to take the neck completely off to adjust it, so I don't think undue tension during adjustment the cause. If you only turned a quarter to half turn total it shouldn't be maxed out though.

If you bought it new then you are covered with service through Fender.

I would not let just any tech work on it either. I'd contact them and ask how to get it in for repair because it probably needs to at least be checked.

I'm 3,000 miles from the custom shop so you really have an advantage living so close to Corona.

I always loved the way the Labella 760's sound, but abandoned them about 1978 or so because of the high tension. I switched to rounds for a great while but now use both medium tension GHS 3025 Precision & low tension TI JF344 flats. I've had much fewer neck issues since bailing on the Labella flats.

Labella 760's also trashed the neck on James Jamerson's "Funk Machine" P-bass That neck was so badly bowed that only he could play it because he was so strong. With the death of Levi Stubbs today, I loaded up a bunch of Four Tops songs. "Bernadette" was a masterpiece of bass playing for sure. What a great bass line! Unlike today when everybody has a backup, James Jamerson only owned 2 electric basses in his life! Both were Fender Precisions and both were stolen!


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Post subject: Re: Hmmm
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 9:19 am
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brotherdave wrote:
Most truss rod adjustments go badly when the tension isn't relieved some first by either bracing the bass and pulling back on the neck (the common method with modern bases with the truss rod nut slot on the headstock) or by loosening the strings. Not relieving some of the tension can result in cross threading which makes it appear "stuck" or in stripping of the nut which makes it turn very easily but actually does nothing.

In your case however you probably had to take the neck completely off to adjust it, so I don't think undue tension during adjustment the cause. If you only turned a quarter to half turn total it shouldn't be maxed out though.

If you bought it new then you are covered with service through Fender.

I would not let just any tech work on it either. I'd contact them and ask how to get it in for repair because it probably needs to at least be checked.

I'm 3,000 miles from the custom shop so you really have an advantage living so close to Corona.

I always loved the way the Labella 760's sound, but abandoned them about 1978 or so because of the high tension. I switched to rounds for a great while but now use both medium tension GHS 3025 Precision & low tension TI JF344 flats. I've had much fewer neck issues since bailing on the Labella flats.

Labella 760's also trashed the neck on James Jamerson's "Funk Machine" P-bass That neck was so badly bowed that only he could play it because he was so strong. With the death of Levi Stubbs today, I loaded up a bunch of Four Tops songs. "Bernadette" was a masterpiece of bass playing for sure. What a great bass line! Unlike today when everybody has a backup, James Jamerson only owned 2 electric basses in his life! Both were Fender Precisions and both were stolen!


I'm going to try TI flats again too. The La Bella 760 FL set is fine tension-wise, it was the FS set that moved the neck but it still should be able to handle it just fine -- if the truss can adjust! The tech I've got it at was approved by Fender. He's my regular luthier but also on Fender's "gold list" they said, and he's worked on Custom Shop projects too, and is well known and respected by them. I'll find out what he says next week, whether the neck is bad or he can ajust it. (FYI he said it's not an uncommon problem given how many instruments Fender manufacturers.)


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Post subject: Re: Truss rod stuck/maxed -- should I worry?
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 2:25 pm
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Mastermold wrote:
Oh I know what I'm doing, been doing it myself for over 25 years. This one's just stuck.

I know that you know what you are doing. I hope that it all gets worked out for you. And like you said "it's not an uncommon problem given how many instruments Fender manufacturers."


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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 1:29 pm
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not to worry u, but i would seriously take it to a person that could fix that. if a bass even has the slightest bow in the neck, it will sound off.


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Post subject: pro...
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 2:17 pm
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I do my own neck adjustments. Though, if the neck is maxed, I would take it to a professional.


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