malmsteen Posted October 15, 2003 Report Share Posted October 15, 2003 Im building a les paul junior, and im not sure what truss rod to get. should i get the hot rod or the traditional truss rud from stewmac? also what length should i get? the fret board is just over 18 inches. (im new at this) also, the design i have has only one pickup. should i stick with this or should i put in a second one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted October 15, 2003 Report Share Posted October 15, 2003 the hot rod is usualy a good safe way to go unless you've made a couple of necks and you know what you're doing with a single action one, and you have confidence that you're neck blank won't bow out on you. the standard length for guitar truss rods is 18", but if your neck is a tad short, you may look into trying to find a 17½" or 17" double rod if you want a neck pickup then put one in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted October 15, 2003 Report Share Posted October 15, 2003 If you're building a singlecut LP junior, by all means add a neck pickup. If you're building the doublecut, be aware that you risk weakening the neck joint by adding a neck Pickup. On the current guitar I'm building I used the LP doublecut Junior body shape, but I shifted the neck so it joined the body 2 frets lower down - this gave me extra surface area on the tennon, and allowed for a neck pickup route without compromising strength and stability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted October 15, 2003 Report Share Posted October 15, 2003 That's a great idea Setch, but won't you lose access to some of the higher frets? Just curious.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malmsteen Posted October 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2003 where can i get a detailed description of how to put in the hot rod? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted October 16, 2003 Report Share Posted October 16, 2003 Check out this previous post, I would retype it but there's not a need to. Stew Mac Hot Rod Routing Discussion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malmsteen Posted October 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2003 now should i get the Slotted Nut Hot Rod, 1/8" Allen Nut Hot Rod, 1/4" Hex Nut Hot Rod, Spoke Nut Hot Rod? i found a good explanation at the stewmac site on how to put it in so i dont need help with that anymore. for now anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malmsteen Posted October 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2003 i noticed a flaw with the plan i have for the les paul. for the neck there's another 2.25 inches past the fret board that is used to bolt the neck onto the guitar. how would i install the truss rod with the extra 2.25 inches? ive already cut out the neck and the body so i can change anything now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted October 16, 2003 Report Share Posted October 16, 2003 You don't need trussrod in the area of neck which is glued into the body - this area is too rigid to flex, either from string pull, or from trussrod adjustment, so extending the trussrod that far would be overkill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted October 16, 2003 Report Share Posted October 16, 2003 Listen to Setch, he knows what he's talking about. You don't need the truss rod to go that far. Just install it like the Stew Mac instructions tell you and it'll be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malmsteen Posted October 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2003 Listen to Setch, he knows what he's talking about. You don't need the truss rod to go that far. Just install it like the Stew Mac instructions tell you and it'll be ok. how would i be able to adjust it though? because if its only 18 inches there will still be the extra 2 1/4 inches of wood in the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted October 17, 2003 Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 We'll if your building that style of guitar, your truss rod adjustment should be on the peghead. Some bolt-in guitars have the truss rod adjustment at the end of the neck which I personally hate. That's only because most of them have to be unbolted to be adjusted. So, on the Les Paul Jr your gonna want to put the truss rod adjustment at the peghead end, which will be hidden by a truss rod cover. If you reread the discussion link I gave it will make it alot clearer. Hope this helps. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckguitarist Posted October 17, 2003 Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 We'll if your building that style of guitar, your truss rod adjustment should be on the peghead. Some bolt-in guitars have the truss rod adjustment at the end of the neck which I personally hate. That's only because most of them have to be unbolted to be adjusted. So, on the Les Paul Jr your gonna want to put the truss rod adjustment at the peghead end, which will be hidden by a truss rod cover. If you reread the discussion link I gave it will make it alot clearer. Hope this helps. Matt Yup, Guitarfrenzy is right. Since the neck will be set in. You won't be able to access a heel adjustable truss rod. Also, I would plan on carving a volute in the neck. Since the recessed area for the truss rod nut and the angled headstock will be a huge loss to the rigidity of the headstock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malmsteen Posted October 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 We'll if your building that style of guitar, your truss rod adjustment should be on the peghead. Some bolt-in guitars have the truss rod adjustment at the end of the neck which I personally hate. That's only because most of them have to be unbolted to be adjusted. So, on the Les Paul Jr your gonna want to put the truss rod adjustment at the peghead end, which will be hidden by a truss rod cover. If you reread the discussion link I gave it will make it alot clearer. Hope this helps. Matt Yup, Guitarfrenzy is right. Since the neck will be set in. You won't be able to access a heel adjustable truss rod. Also, I would plan on carving a volute in the neck. Since the recessed area for the truss rod nut and the angled headstock will be a huge loss to the rigidity of the headstock. alright. thanx for the help guys. i got really scared last night when i was thinking about what i need to do next with the guitar. so ya, thanx for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted October 17, 2003 Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 No problem, but don't forget to take pictures of your guitar!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malmsteen Posted October 18, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2003 now which hot rod truss rod should i get? theres a few too choose from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malmsteen Posted October 20, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 anyone? i really need to know which one to get so i can order it as soon as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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