Official Luthiers Forum!

What are the virtues/vices of building with a non adjustable truss rod. I have built a couple of instruments with the old style non adjustable rods and think they sound better but it is hard to tell with so many varibles in building a guitar. Each guitar I make sounds different.

   I can't say there is any adatage. ALot depends on what you are building. The non adjustable Trods are the Tee and square tube. I have seen ebony used also.
     I will admit the adjsutable is a better system. This allows relief to be added or adjusted anytime. If you hear a difference than you just keep doing it your way. This is the beauty of this art. If we all did it the same way then out guitars wouldn't be that much different
john hall

It is simply the ability to make adjustment to the angle of the neck.

Potentially the guitar will need a neck set sooner, as you have no adjustment.

For some reason it has been old Martin month in my shop, from 50's-70's. 3 setups and 2 refrets and what I noticed was a really cool stiffness to the non-adjustable necks. When you flex them to get an idea of their stiffness. Just a certain confidence in them. That being said from a future repair standpoint, when my customers ask me what my favorite type of guitar is I invariably say "one with an adjustable truss rod". As long as you have a good neck I think it is up to you how it is constructed. If you choose a non adjustable truss rod perhaps a couple of graphite reinforcement strips can be of help.

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Russel
   A truss rod has nothing to do with neck angle but with relief. The neck angle is determined by the joint of the neck.
   All the truss rod does is adjust the "bow" in the neck.
john hall
blues creek guitars

Thanks John you are right, but with a double action rod you can bow the neck the other way which effectively changes the angle ?
then re level everything.

I agree in truth you are not changing the main set angle, but you are changing the geometary to compensate for back bow.

Or am I completely off the mark ?RussellR38704.8205787037

I have tried some experiments with square tube and graphite renforcement combo and that worked well. I gues I will keep them on my personal guitars and customers instuments will have the adjustable kind.

[QUOTE=RussellR] Thanks John you are right, but with a double action rod you can bow the neck the other way which effectively changes the angle ?
then re level everything.

I agree in truth you are not changing the main set angle, but you are changing the geometary to compensate for back bow.

Or am I completely off the mark ?[/QUOTE]

Uh, yes.

You can change the curvature with a truss rod (single action: compensate for upbow, dual action will go both ways), but not the neck angle. You might be able to 'cheat' and level the playing surface differently (ie, just the frets) instead of doing a neck-reset, but it doesn't strike me as at all a good idea, or an effective idea. The amount of relief in the neck, minimal though it may be, should be fairly consistent. And you only go torquing the rod if it's not where you want it to be.

After all, no amount of futzing with the truss rod is going to do anything about the fingerboard extension/tounge glued to your guitar top (or bolted, whatever), and leveling flat a neck that's actually bent isn't the way to go.