Adjusting Vintage style truss rod: i.e from the heel

[kingsxman]

Whats the trick to adjusting a vintage style truss rod that has the adjustment at the heel of the neck? My Vintage Player has this kind of setup and I want to tweak it a bit. Do you simply loosen the neck bolts and tilt the neck back...or do you have to remove the neck completely?

[Clearspider]

I've read that you can do either. A professional luthier would probably remove the neck and adjust accordingly, knowing from experience how much to turn to get where he wants it. If you don't have a channel from the neck pickup to the truss rod nut, you may have to remove it completely anyway.
If you have the channel, remove the pickguard and loosen the neck bolts enough to get a good grip on the nut with the screwdriver (this is important as you don't want a stripped nut.) Go slow and studiously check your work. If you have the time, let it sit overnight after each adjustment so the neck can sit around the rod. Adjust accordingly.

[mc5nrg]

Sometimes a small flathead screwdriver can be used to make the adjustment.Otherwise if you unscrew the inner pair of neck screws some and the far pair less(all measures approximate;) ),you can tilt the neck back enough to make the adjustment.Probably want to loosen the strings first.

[michaelprice83]

How about............you take the neck off once, and dremel out a truss rod route???!!! I don't see why more people don't do this.........

[EADGBE]

Well, Leo Fender would loosen the strings. Take off the neck and adjust the rod. Then he'd restring and retune. If it wasn't the way he wanted it he'd repeat the process. It's tedious. But's it's the only way.

[mc5nrg]

Perhaps that is correct,however...
My take on that is that taking the neck off in a high volume production line setting seemed unlikely.Also its a lot easier to adjust the neck when it is attatched to the body rather than in hand.Thus I discovered tilting the neck.

[woof*]

a little trick i use is to capo the guitar at the 2nd or third fret..then loosen the strings, then unscrew to four neck bolts with a cordless. adjust the truss rod..put the neck back on and retune. the capo keeps the strings from flying off all over the place and the cordless...well just makes it fast!

[Mike9]

I capo mine at the nut - especially with Klusons - then use strips of velcro to capture the strings around the 12th fret. When I'm building a guitar with a heel adjust I make a channel between the neck pocket and pickup rout. Then I set the guitar up before installing the electronics - that way I can adjust the neck under string tension, or close to it. Then I take off the neck, drop in the pickguard and wire it up.

[daddyo]

a little trick i use is to capo the guitar at the 2nd or third fret..then loosen the strings, then unscrew to four neck bolts with a cordless. adjust the truss rod..put the neck back on and retune. the capo keeps the strings from flying off all over the place and the cordless...well just makes it fast!

Bingo. It is actually pretty easy.

[gkoelling]

a little trick i use is to capo the guitar at the 2nd or third fret..then loosen the strings, then unscrew to four neck bolts with a cordless. adjust the truss rod..put the neck back on and retune. the capo keeps the strings from flying off all over the place and the cordless...well just makes it fast!


Great idea! Thanks. I don't have a cordless and won't buy one just for this but the capo is a great idea.

EDIT: Wouldn't you have to loosen the strings before using the capo? If you don't, don't the strings just slack between the capo & tuners?

[The Everlove]

well, I prefer not to mess up my pickguard, so I put a capo on the 1st fret, loosen the strings, take the neck off, turn it a quarter in the direction that I need to, and thats it. its not that bad, really.

[woof*]

Great idea! Thanks. I don't have a cordless and won't buy one just for this but the capo is a great idea.

EDIT: Wouldn't you have to loosen the strings before using the capo? If you don't, don't the strings just slack between the capo & tuners?
no. you want the capo to try(at least) to capture and hold the tension between the nut and the tuner posts..also...the idea above... with the velcro around the 12th fret is a good one too.