Trussrods...?

[Twisting Shadow]

Ok; I'm not a complete newb or anything, but I've got a few questions on truss rods.

1) Are they necessary? I understand the importance of thier function, but I've seen examples of guitars/basses with 5/7/9 piece necks, and they claim not to need truss rods... For example this site (found under tutorials section on the project-guitar main site)

2) Is there a reason you to get a double action over a single action (or vice-versa)?

3) Do you even need an action (could you instead use one or two reinforcement 'beams')?

4) Which kind is best suited to a neckthru (5 pc maple/ebony neck) 5 string bass?

Thanks in advance for any and all answers!

- Xander

[jay5]

I don't want to coma across like an a$$, but the answers to all your questions are easily found on this board if you do a search, but to get you started here you go;

1) No, they arent necessary but their is a reason why 99% of builders use one. It really deosnt matter if you have a 1-piece neck or a 100 piece, as long as its wood it is prone to warping and a method to correct that warp is advisable. Contrary to how it may appear a truss rod is not designed to re-enforce a neck.

2) A doble rod gives you the ability to correct front and/or backbow whereas a single rod only allows you to adjest one way, against the pull of the strings generally. Again, I suppose more options are better but a single rod should be fine IMO.

3) You could load your neck up with carbon rods or similar and hope you dont have any issues down the road. David Myka took this approach on a guitar but it wasnt a cost cutting or time saving decision but a weight issue. I bet if you ask him he will tell you it actually cost more, took more time and was more of a hassle than a regular truss rod.

4) I imagine that no one rod is better than the next for this application. Everyone has their preferences. Just look around and decide what works for you.

As a word of caution, a post that could most likely be answed by spending 5 minutes of searching past threads kind of opens you up to flaming a bit. Thats not my intention but it does get annoying to some of the people who have been around for a while to see the same questions asked over and over. Anyway, welcome to the board, and good luck with your project, there is a LOT to learn here.

[thedoctor]

Jay you would have been 100% correct about the repetetive posts on the same subject except I have a new recommendation for this project. For a 5-string bass, pitch the rein rods and put in two single-acting double-rods. A bass has never come in this shop that needed double-acting and the single/twin rod is as stout as they come. Put em 1.5" apart and adjust VERY carefully. Warmoth is now going to this and I believe you could make a neck out of concrete and it would work. Crap!! Almost forget IMHO!

[Twisting Shadow]

Jay; If you read my post a little more thoroughly, you'll see that it's not quite the same thing as all the other trussrod related threads on this board (which I did, in fact, investigate beforehand). For example, I asked if why/if to get a double action over a single action; not what a double action is. Also; I didn't see any threads about carbon rods, either. Thank you, though, for your response .

thedoctor; what's a rein rod? might you be reffering to a carbon rod (pardon my query)?

Anyway; I've got the whole guitar building thing down except for PU selection (not wiring), and Truss rods (they just perplex me).

I guess my only remaining question is about the double/single action; Is there any good reason to get a double action over a single? Obviously you could tweak it a little better, but is there any reason besides that?

- Xander

Edited April 19, 2005 by Twisting Shadow

[jay5]

I read your post thoroughly enough to answer your questions and I can guarentee you all the info I relayed is somewher on this site. I did answer your question about double rods as the reason to use one is determined by their added adjustability. You just need to decide if you want/need that extra ability.

[JimRayden]

rein=reinforcement

-----------

Jimbo

[frank falbo]

For me, I don't see any reason to build a neck without a truss rod. Most of the finest sounding and playing instruments have adjustable rods. So there's no "holy grail" tone that needs to be achieved without the use of an adjustable truss rod IMO.

Without jumping into the whole issue I'll say that I use double rods with an ebony board, or a multi-laminate neck that will probably be stiff enough on it's own without a rod. That's why you need a double rod. I have ebony boarded necks that need very slight forward bow for part of the year, and very slight backbow the other times. I could take the rod out and the neck would still play very well regardless, but to try to get a wooden item of any laminate/species to remain the same throughout seasonal changes is difficult to say the least. If you're making a 5-string bass or a "weak" style neck, like traditional Fender styles then a single action rod has always been fine. I hope that sheds a little light on a portion of your thread.

[fryovanni]

What Frank Said.

[erikbojerik]

Two things can make you want a double-action rod.

#1 - this can happend with any wood really, but especially if you're using figured woods, they can shift in the opposite direction as the string pull. This can be especially bad for 1-piece necks (I know, I have one that does this....).

#2 - when you install the frets, you introduce a stress that will also want to bend the neck in the direction opposite of the string pull.

In the end, if the string pull alone is not enough to correct these issues, then a double-acting rod will do it.

BTW, seems to me that dual truss rods in a big bass neck is a recipe for twist. I chose to laminate in some strips of some really stiff wood like purpleheart, wenge or (in my case) ebony, and just go with a single (dual-action) rod.