skipclone 1 Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Hey folks- I have an acoustic guitar, which I bought in the Phillipines, brought back to Japan and then took back to the U.S. well between those three very different climates, the wood was affected and the neck, in particular, bowed so that the strings are now way off the fretbord. Other than that however it plays just fine. The problem is, it`s handmade and it doesn`t have a truss rod. I took it to my friendly neighborhood guitar tech and he said at first that he may be able to file down the nut, but apparently gave up on the idea and said it couldn`t be done. I`m looking for some other opinions-is this a doable project or should I abandon the idea? Same old surprises, brand new cliches- Skipsounds on Soundclick: www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandid=602491 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funk Jazz Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 nylon string or steel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Guitar Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Originally posted by skipclone 1: Hey folks- I have an acoustic guitar, which I bought in the Phillipines, brought back to Japan and then took back to the U.S. well between those three very different climates, the wood was affected and the neck, in particular, bowed so that the strings are now way off the fretbord. Other than that however it plays just fine. The problem is, it`s handmade and it doesn`t have a truss rod. I took it to my friendly neighborhood guitar tech and he said at first that he may be able to file down the nut, but apparently gave up on the idea and said it couldn`t be done. I`m looking for some other opinions-is this a doable project or should I abandon the idea?There is a trick I know that some techs use out of desperation for long Fender bass necks. THey literally clamp it in the middle and place the neck (sans body!) into a kiln at fairly low temperature. Since you can't detach the body, I guess the idea is rather moot. Maybe not? Have you recorded an MP3 today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipclone 1 Posted January 21, 2004 Author Share Posted January 21, 2004 Originally posted by funk_jazz: nylon string or steel?steel string. Can`t detatch the neck... Same old surprises, brand new cliches- Skipsounds on Soundclick: www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandid=602491 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Damn Skip, Probably an inane question but did you mirror inside to see if there was a truss rod adjustment inside rather than under a truss rod cover at the headstock? I remember when you bought that guitar. If the neck is bowed and doesn't have a truss rod you might try a humidifier in a case & leave the guitar in there for a couple of weeks. Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Guitar Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Originally posted by daklander: Damn Skip, Probably an inane question but did you mirror inside to see if there was a truss rod adjustment inside rather than under a truss rod cover at the headstock? Damn good question. I should have thought of that. Why does Fender put the truss rod nut under the pickguard rather than at the top of the neck on its basses, and even some older Strats? Have you recorded an MP3 today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Originally posted by Mr Nice Jazz Guitar Guy: Originally posted by daklander: Damn Skip, Probably an inane question but did you mirror inside to see if there was a truss rod adjustment inside rather than under a truss rod cover at the headstock? Damn good question. I should have thought of that. Why does Fender put the truss rod nut under the pickguard rather than at the top of the neck on its basses, and even some older Strats?Just another way of doing it I guess. Danelectro does it the same way, where as Harmony had the adjustment at the top, like Gibson. BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipclone 1 Posted January 21, 2004 Author Share Posted January 21, 2004 Originally posted by daklander: Damn Skip, Probably an inane question but did you mirror inside to see if there was a truss rod adjustment inside rather than under a truss rod cover at the headstock? I remember when you bought that guitar. If the neck is bowed and doesn't have a truss rod you might try a humidifier in a case & leave the guitar in there for a couple of weeks.not inane at all, Dak. It good to cover all the posibilities. Perfectly ane question -I am pretty sure the tech would have caught that & I sure didn`t see anything but I didn`t look carefully. I`ll try the humidifier thing this summer-that`s the next time I`ll have access to it, but I don`t think it will make enough difference. Same old surprises, brand new cliches- Skipsounds on Soundclick: www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandid=602491 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearnut Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Without a truss rod the only way to fix a bowed neck is to remove the frets in the high spots and sand the fingerboard. Sounds drastic but once the frets are replaced and the guitar set up you'll never know the difference. I've got an old Martin D18 that doesn't have a truss rod. Back when I was young and stupid the neck became warped to the point I couldn't play it. I thought it was finished. After sitting in the closet for a few years I found a good acoustic tech who knew what to do. Find out who the local pros use to keep their acoustics in shape. It can get expensive but if you've got a nice guitar a good tech is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipclone 1 Posted January 22, 2004 Author Share Posted January 22, 2004 Originally posted by gearnut: Without a truss rod the only way to fix a bowed neck is to remove the frets in the high spots and sand the fingerboard. Sounds drastic but once the frets are replaced and the guitar set up you'll never know the difference. I've got an old Martin D18 that doesn't have a truss rod. Back when I was young and stupid the neck became warped to the point I couldn't play it. I thought it was finished. After sitting in the closet for a few years I found a good acoustic tech who knew what to do. Find out who the local pros use to keep their acoustics in shape. It can get expensive but if you've got a nice guitar a good tech is worth it.actually it IS a nice guitar, and the original price was a whopping $150.00 I could see investing some dollars-that kind of person will take some searching tho... Same old surprises, brand new cliches- Skipsounds on Soundclick: www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandid=602491 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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