Truss Rod Choice

[Geo]

I'm building a bass with a 30" scale. My ideal truss rod would have a total length of 22", which is the length of my fingerboard. LMI and Stewmac have 18" and 23" rods, but nothing in between. I could order a custom rod from LMI, but that might take a while...

My guess is that it would not work to use an 18" rod, leaving 4" at the headstock end without a truss rod. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[tubab0y]

could you not do a 23" and chop off a bit?

[Southpa]

Thats the reason why I decided to start making my own truss rods. I just made one for a short scale bass (30") and figured it out at 21". Its a direct ratio from a 25.5 " scale truss rod and its respective fretboard length (22 frets). I'm trying to upload some pics to my "personal webspace" for making a little tutorial on making single action truss rods but I'm getting errors. Trying to get thru to my ISP (Telus) and resolve the problem.

[Masina]

I think if your'e going to leave a part of the neck without a truss rod, the heel end would be best, as this is quite a bit stronger than the headstock end, and less liable to warp. But 4 inches is quite alot.

www.touchstonetonewoods.co.uk sell truss rods which are just under 21", and, as well as ones just under 23", but I don't know if they post to wherever you are.

[Geo]

Thanks for the replies. I'm thinking I may have to order a custom length from LMI. They state that there's no extra charge for a custom length, but that it can take a while. It'll be a while before I need it, so that's okay.