psw Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 Most things have been covered here... The fender story was kind of right, but in the bio I read that Leo had the idea that if the frets wore or something went wrong he'd have a side line and easier to simply unbolt the neck and put on a new one. The very first ones didn't have a truss, but alas, they failed and at least once at their showing, so truss rods were included... They are an adjustment mechanism, yeah, steinbergers are made from super strong non-organic stiff material and molded to exacting specs. Parkers too are pretty stiff and have a kind of wire rod I believe. Truss rods are necessary for adjustment. Classical's, sure some have reinforcement, but low tension strings and a substanial neck profile there...my classical is very good (Yari) but even that once needed "adjustment' requiring the heating up of the fretboard and regluing under a special press, so don't underestimate things there. I think the whole "metallic thing' is a bit of mojo/superstition...maybe a bit of laziness at the thought of having to install the things. Most truss rods are not typically adjusted much after set up, many don't even know how to set up guitars, but it is important. Even if wood is dried and true, once you start cutting and shaping thing it releases all kinds of unknown pressures. There are guitars like martins that might appear to have no truss rods, but in fact have substantial reinforcement and can be quite tricky to work with when they move... So, sounds like a bad idea based on a fallacy or supposition that isn't borne out in the number of instruments that do have them and sound great...and possibly motivated by something else entirely. Making a neck with the right kind of curve in it under tension is an exact science, steinbergers might be able to do it, but the inconsistency of would is likely to make it impossible to predict and without a truss, no way to adjust for it. Then there is the changes in temperatures and moisture to contend with. Those old kramer aluminium necks were super strong, but once the stage lights heated them up they went all over the place and out of tune! There is something to be said for a thick neck and certainly stiffness and mass play an important role, but you can go a little far with these things I suspect and there are plenty of other ways to add strength and stiffness to a neck regardless. Huge neck is likely to be hugely neck heavy and need more weight in the body to compensate...these things are not necessarily 'desirable' or 'natural' or 'better' you know... So all in all, even if you are going to stick with some notion that a truss rod is 'tone sucking' then you will likely need to deal with the consequences of that decision. I have never had a guitar that didn't move to some extent in it's lifetime or didn't need a truss rod to get a good set up even with a very stable neck and super stiff ebony boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrValentine Posted July 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 ive decided to add a 1/4" steel rectangle tube with a solid steel rod through it for reinforcement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 If you're gonna do that, why not an adjustable truss rod? It'll suck the tone no more than a steel rod. Just my opinion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 I would go single action adjustable on an electric. But if you insist on hollow tube, you could leave it hollow and see how the neck holds up that way and if it doesn't, you can do that trick they do on hollow tube Martins, where they clamp the neck into a back-bow (neck removed from body) and put a heavy coat of high quality epoxy on a graphite bar and shove that all the way into the hollow tube. Leave neck back-bow clamped over-night while epoxy cures. I have an old electric with a non adjustable T-rod. Damn thing has way too much relief, and I never feel like dealing with all the extra hassle in trying to fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrValentine Posted July 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 the reason i dont/cant add an adjustable rod is that the build needs to be finished faster than i can aquire one and plus i am weird and want to do this as an experiment mostly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 ...where do you live that a truss rod can't be there by monday if you order now? I mean, seriously? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 A side question; I'm making my first mahogany neck this summer, with an ebony fretboard; non-angled. Will there be any strength issues that I should be aware of? with a truss rod it will be fine - preferably quatersawn mahogany though, or my preference would be to laminate it. there may be some natural movement anyway but it can be controlled easily with a tone sucking truss rod I think it's flatsawn. If I cut it into three pieces and flip the middle piece; will this resolver my issue? I don't want to add any different species of wood. flatsawn can be fine with many woods but mahogany is definately one i would go quartered on flipping the middle to quartered will help, but why not turn all 3 - although this makes it more likely you will need to add headstock ears. Some builders would also put the middle lam in the opposite direction to the outer two.... attempting to balance out a lot of the natural movement in the wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Untitled_Project Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 Sorry thats what I meant by flipping the middle on; middle lam in the opposite direction to the outer two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted July 24, 2010 Report Share Posted July 24, 2010 flatsawn can be fine with many woods but mahogany is definately one i would go quartered on I gotta ask...why? The african species are a little more finicky in terms of moving than honduran, but like most tropical woods they´re pretty damn stable dimensionally in both quartered and flatsawn directions. Can´t find any data on whether one direction is stiffer than the other (maple is stiffer flatsawn in most cases. Less stable, but stiffer). I mean, flatsawn mahogany necks look kind of nasty and I would rather do a two piece quartered any day of the week, but still... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted July 24, 2010 Report Share Posted July 24, 2010 i dunno really - but it works for me and you seem to agree that it would be your preference too! tbh i have not always been happy with the stability of the mahogany necks i have made, so anything that might help is worth doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted July 24, 2010 Report Share Posted July 24, 2010 It's always my choice to do quartered necks, but I always feel more 'iffy' with flatsawn maple than with flatsawn mahogany in terms of long-term stability... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.