Truss rod problem
Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 11:56 am
Put this in acoustic guitars, but it probably goes here.
I have two Greek bouzoukis that I made with Allied truss rods with the Allen head adjusters. On both of these instruments, the Allen head wrench opening has become stripped out. They are only four years old. I purchased the Stew Mac Gripper wrench with the tapered Allen head to try to adjust these instruments, but they are not working. I did carefully check the rods before installation. I don't think it is a problem with the adjustment of the truss rod itself not working, but is a problem with the adjuster head wrench opening being stripped. I thought these were touted by everybody as the "best" out there. The problem is there are 8 steel strings on a bouzouki, and playing the instrument involves a lot of very fast and intricate runs, so players like very very low action. As a result, the neck sometimes moves, and the player wants to constantly adjust the action to be as low as possible.
My questions are:
1. Is there anything to be done to fix this issue, other than tear off the fret board and pull out the truss rod, and
2. Would it be better to put in a rod with a hex nut, or slotted nut or spoke nut so that if it gets stripped it can be removed or is less likely to get stripped (a bouzouki neck is pretty narrow though, like a banjo (usually about 1 5/16th at the nut), so I like the Allen head adjusters since you don't have to remove more than a 1/4 inch channel for the rod and adjuster.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance everybody.
I have two Greek bouzoukis that I made with Allied truss rods with the Allen head adjusters. On both of these instruments, the Allen head wrench opening has become stripped out. They are only four years old. I purchased the Stew Mac Gripper wrench with the tapered Allen head to try to adjust these instruments, but they are not working. I did carefully check the rods before installation. I don't think it is a problem with the adjustment of the truss rod itself not working, but is a problem with the adjuster head wrench opening being stripped. I thought these were touted by everybody as the "best" out there. The problem is there are 8 steel strings on a bouzouki, and playing the instrument involves a lot of very fast and intricate runs, so players like very very low action. As a result, the neck sometimes moves, and the player wants to constantly adjust the action to be as low as possible.
My questions are:
1. Is there anything to be done to fix this issue, other than tear off the fret board and pull out the truss rod, and
2. Would it be better to put in a rod with a hex nut, or slotted nut or spoke nut so that if it gets stripped it can be removed or is less likely to get stripped (a bouzouki neck is pretty narrow though, like a banjo (usually about 1 5/16th at the nut), so I like the Allen head adjusters since you don't have to remove more than a 1/4 inch channel for the rod and adjuster.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance everybody.
