AndrewM Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 Hi all... Let me tell you my tale of woe.. I have a Pearl Les Paul knockoff that is near & dear to my heart. A week ago, I was at a band practice, and noticed how much it was buzzing. Looking at the neck, it looked flat - no bow at all. Well, having done guitar setups for a while now, I thought it was simply a matter of slacking off the truss rod... So when I popped the plate off to adjust, I saw that the nut was loose. Slightly panicked, I reasoned that perhaps the rod was ceased, so I tapped the end of it with a screwdriver... That caused the rod to push inside the neck. Having a mild stroke, I looked for a way to get it out.. but to no avail... So, after receiving numerous quotes from repair shops, I wasn't going to get this fixed for under $300, however, the guitar wasn't worth that. So I came here and followed the tutorial on fret board removal. It Worked REALLY WELL BTW! Now, I have the fret board off, and I see that I am right that the rod just pushed in on me. I remedied that problem, however, my original problem still prevails: How (besides heavier strings) do I get more bow in my neck when the truss rod was already slacked off? Thanks Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 i dont understand what your saying? get more bow on the neck, whats wrong with the other truss rod? you can pick up truss rods for like 20 bucks so it might be worth the 2 bucks to get a new one and you wont have the problem again if it dont need a new truss rod, then i can suggest heavier strings like you mentioned Good luck! let us know how it turns out Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cr_XD Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 maybe a two-way truss rod is what you need, if you want to make it bow in the direction of the string's tension?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truerussian558 Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 the problem for the two is that it requires a deeper route. so if you have confidence in your wood working skills then you can deepen the truss rod channel, a bit deeper. and install a new double action trus rod. which is about 24 bucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Jabsco Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 buy a new neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litchfield Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 if it is a set neck, fill and re route the truss rod channel, then put in a 2 way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 pull frets, tighten truss-rod (amount depends--can't say on a neck I ain't looking at), level board, fret, level frets (with rod still tight). Then USUALLY, you can loosen the nut a bit, to give you slight relief, as needed (dead flat to .012" at 7th fret-- I usually like .004") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 buy a new neck on a set neck guitar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewM Posted November 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Update! Finally got some money together and I have ordered a stewart-macdonald "hot Rod" truss rod. It is a bit narrower than my current one. Silly question for all of ya..... Do I HAVE to fill & re-route the truss rod channel, or can I shim the rod in there? (put wood braces to fill the cavity in certain parts) Its mostly a matter of not trusting myself with a router. I have used one before, but I dont have the proverbial cohones to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted November 15, 2004 Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 You don't need a new rod, but you can still use the Hotrod is you want. However, it is easy to fix insufficient relief on a new by heating the fretboard with a iron or heating blanket, then clamping it to a straight metal bar, with a shim in the middle to force a forwards bow (a little more than you want to allow for some spring back). Allow the neck to cool for 24 hours with the clamps in place, and when they are removed you'll have a neck with built in relief. If there is a little too much you can use the trussrod to correct it. I have successfully used this technique to correct necks which backbowed during glueup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewM Posted September 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 Further Update! Ok, in nothing short of something miraculous, I got my Stew-Mac Hotrod, and it fit with no routing (it just happen to fit w/o.. So I shimmed it on either side to keep it straight (up & down that is) and glued the fretboard back on. I put about a dozen or so clamps on it and it seems straight.. After that I tacked on some ebony binding to the sides. Of course because I am no less than nuts, I couldn't leave well enough alone and I went ahead and pulled the old frets. They were worn to hell anyway so why not right? I have on had problems with 1 fret slot so far... Does anyone know of a GOOD tool to clean out a fret slot. Bear in mind that the binding is already on, so a saw wont work As soon as its done and provided it doesn't turn out a miserable & glorious failure, I will post pictures.. Regards, Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted September 23, 2005 Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 Dental pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemleggat Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 I use an artist scapel to clean slots, you can get so many different shaped blades for them. Please do not cut your finger off with it though, its very easy to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
river Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 Hello, this is my first time posting on Project Guitar. I found a post about your truss-rod problem with the Pearl LPCC, well it's de ja vu cause my 1980 Pearl Les Paul CC has the exact same issue with a loose truss rod nut and a flat slightly back-bowed neck. The clearance at the 7th fret is barley .003-.004". It happened the exact same way everything was cool with the neck then I noticed some buzzing at the 2-5th frets and so on and so forth. My truss-rod is fully functioning not pushed in or anything so clue me into the neck heating/clamping work-around. How long do you heat the neck with the clothes iron, obviously you covered the neck with a thin cloth, sheet etc.., what kind of straight edge or rod did you use as a straightener to clamp to, how much did you shim the middle and did you totally loosen up the truss nut/rod before you heated up the neck. Sorry about the excessive verbage, I just have put a lot of work into this guitar and it's so close to being "There". I guess it's driving me nuts just seeing it sitting there jacked up like that. Thanks for any input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racer X Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 Unless you plan on shooting arrow with the thing, too, you better put in a truss rod! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NamelessOne Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 sorry to keep this thread going, but am i the only newbie on here that actually pays attention to the date on the post? I understand the use of going back through the old posts to pick up info, but i can at least resist the temptation to post on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
river Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 Is that supposed to mean something friend, sorry if I didn't follow the time honored rules of how, when and where to post, scuse me on that one sir, just looking for a little expierienced opinion on something very frustrating. Rules shouldn't override an honest request for advice, V/R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 The post is only a few months old. Now, if he had resurrected a 3 year old post, that would be different. Otherwise, chill out man. If anything, its better that he did resurrect this post since he is having the EXACT same issues with a (nearly) EXACT same guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NamelessOne Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 (edited) alright, point taken though it is more than a year old from the first post, it is relevent info. Edited February 12, 2006 by NamelessOne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 I'd much rather see old post brought back and added to , rather than the same question repeated in a new thread. That way, what some of us had replied, doesn't have to get repeated as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
river Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 Thanks for the understanding, I'm just in a place where there's only one luthier in town and he's hard to even reach by phone on a good day. I'm stationed outside Fairbanks, Alaska actually, not exactly a hotbed for guitar repair. I've done a fair amount of work on my own guitars, just not anything as critical as heating a neck for reshaping. Finding the post on this member with the same LPCC, who is familiar with a LP style guitar with an Alder neck wood, (near every Pearl is, they're were Japanese made in late 70's early 80's), was a stroke of incredible luck. Harmony central has few posts on Pearls with the same recurring backbow/loose truss rod issue. Hopefully the original poster of this thread or anyone with a clue will give some good info on this problem and how to rectify it. Thanks for any inputs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanb Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 If you have the cash, Dan Erlewine demonstrates that procedure on his Advanced Fretting 1 DVD (at Stew-Mac). Those are good DVDs, though expensive. His videos also address the common LP loose truss rod issues. The info is probably in his books too, if you can't afford the DVDs. The tutorial section should have some relavant info too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
river Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 If you have the cash, Dan Erlewine demonstrates that procedure on his Advanced Fretting 1 DVD (at Stew-Mac). Those are good DVDs, though expensive. His videos also address the common LP loose truss rod issues. The info is probably in his books too, if you can't afford the DVDs. The tutorial section should have some relavant info too. Thanks for the info man, I guess that will be my first plan of attack to get it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 Well, the problem necks on Advanced Fretting Vol 1, are necks that have too much relief. I wouldn't consider it to be a step-by-step walk through of what needs to be done to his neck, at least if he's totally green about fret-work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
river Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 Well, the problem necks on Advanced Fretting Vol 1, are necks that have too much relief. I wouldn't consider it to be a step-by-step walk through of what needs to be done to his neck, at least if he's totally green about fret-work. Hello, initially I had 10-52 strings on her, and the action was @.006", recently I switched to 9-46's, and that's when the backbow really manifested, yeah I realize lighter strings provide less relief so there it is. I guess alot of Pearl's are inherently backbowish by nature, maybe its the Alder necks who knows 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.