Official Luthiers Forum!

I got the 10 1/4" truss rod from Bitteroot for my Terz neck. It is shorter than I thought. I thought that it was 10 1/4", plus the length of the adjustment nut. I tightened the nut to see where the bend would be when I am trying to adjust after installation. I have a picture of 3 different ways that I can install it. I am not sure I like any of these options. I think I need one that is about 1" longer, since I prefer to have the adjustment at the heel rather than under the nut.

Opinions?

guitarjtb,
I am the other guy with the post about truss rods...

I am building a 28.6 ultra short bass and was faced with the exact same issue as you are, The rod I chose was 18" and it could have been 1" longer. I did the same thing you are and I adjusted the rod to see where it was most effective. Much like your pictures I found that putting the adjustment under the nut looked to put the bend right in the middle of the fretboard.

Not that I know what I am talking about... This is the first electric guitar neck I have made from scratch and only the second neck I have made (the acoustic neck I made before was already spec'd out in drawings so I just followed the directions...

I would choose to put it in with the adjustment at the nut looking at your pictures.. But I would wait for someone who knows more about it than I do.

Cheers,
Bob

I just did the same sort of thing! I chose option 3. It looks more right.

_________________
Why be normal?

Or get a longer rod. What is your scale length? My size 5 was about 21.25"


Steve

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

That is the same scale length as mine.

That was also my opinion: " I think I need one that is about 1" longer, since I prefer to have the adjustment at the heel rather than under the nut."

If you want to adjust the rod through the soundhole you could recess the end of the rod back to the heel/body joint and drill an access hole through the tapered dovetail and neck block. It might put the rod in a better spot, and provided the access hole is reasonably large should not pose an undue problem for adjusting the rod.

I thought about Clay’s suggestion before he made it, because I always prefer soundhole adjustment. My concern is whether you can maneuver an adjustment tool through the soundhole when it needs to be long enough to reach that deep. I’m not saying it won’t work; I just think it is worth drawing out on paper and making sure it will work before you build with that expectation. The adjustment tools that come with my Martin truss rods have long legs for both legs, and just barely fit into the soundhole. Maybe a more traditional Allen wrench would be easier, with a long leg and a very short leg. Less leverage that way, obviously.

Right. I have the truss rod laying in the wrong place in the first picture. I actually cut a channel thru the top of the neck block, and the adjustment nut is flush with the inside of the neck block. I use a long ball-end Allen wrench to reach it.
So, I am definitely ordering a longer truss rod for this one, and mount it the same as I do in my full scale necks.

Thanks for the replies.

James