When i look down the neck to see if the frets are uniformly spaced, I see the first fret sticking out noticeably. Would turning the truss 360 help to straighten that? I have good action on the guitar but after weeks of adjustments the high E string is just a tiny bit sharp at the overtone octave. I haven't seen any advice anywhere on this. Is it too radical an idea?
good to finally see an aussie luthier video too many American & British vids lol been trying to find the difference between a 2 way & a bi-flex truss rod as i have guitars with both but most content i find doesn't really explain, just that fender use them in many later model guitars ?
We're glad you like the video and a bit of Aussie representation on RUclips! The Bi-flex truss rod is a Fender design and seems to do the same as a 2-way truss rod (bend both ways). It only has one rod, as opposed to the standard 2-way truss rods, which have 2 rods. So the bi-flex must have a different type of anchor than a traditional truss rod at each end to allow this.
Great video! Thank you for sharing. I've been searching to find the best for weight & tone. I wondered what is your preference having experience of all - for a fender style guitar and regardless of the skill required to install? (curve v straight channel). I have the welded dual that you show (good size and not too bad weight), but I'm a little concerned at the cheapness of the welding (what if it breaks). I also am considering the traditional single action as they are much lighter and there is nothing wrong with the tone of vintage guitars - I don't mind the extra work/ skill involved if it means a better tone, weight and effectiveness. I share your passion for guitars and my aim is to preserve as much wood in the neck as possible whilst maintaining light weight and effectiveness. I use light strings 08--038, sometimes 09-046.
That's a good question, which truss rod gives the best tone, one that we don't have an answer to. After using all the types of truss rod I haven't personally found any to improve or detract from the sound but it is possible they do in a subtle way. The traditional single type actually compress the neck length-ways so that might have an effect on the tone, I've heard that keeping some tension on these improves the tone of an electric guitar.
Yes some manufacturers engineer the truss rod so it does not adjust in an even curve but more at one end of the neck. This might be what you are referring to?
For me the best solution is the single rod type, you can chose the best groove curve to follow the neck section, and flex defects ( elliptical for exemple), this is not passible whith the welded 2 rods or bar design. Added compression in the neck is maybe good for the sound , like in Fender guitars?
Those are both really great points, and worthy of a follow up at some stage! The way the compression of a single rod may be good for the sound is interesting and has been reported by a few people so seems to be significant!
We don't know much about them. They may be similar to the Welded two-way truss rods we sell, but installed in a way that allows them to be removed from the end.
Thanks for your comment. Do you mean that brand don't use any truss rod in their necks? That's interesting! How is the neck adjusted to the correct relief during setup?
@@AusLuthierSupplies Indeed Vigier do not use any truss rod at all. And indeed again it is possible thanks to the way they adjust from start their necks. There are at least 3 "secrets" they have to provide a good adjustment : - A very precise flatness, they say "to the hundredth of a millimeter". - A very deep mastering of the materials they use (for example they keep their woods 3 years in stock so it can move and stabilize), so they know how the neck will flex, and they are sure this flex wont change. - No nut but a replaceable zero fret, so the action is very low. Witch hides an other "secret" : people buy their guitars knowing they will get a pretty low fixed action. Vigier's selling point on this front could be summarize by "if you like how it plays, you'll like it forever as it wont ever change". It's not compelling for most people (until they got a Vigier in their hands...) and it surely contributes to the fact it is not a popular brand (witch is a viscious circle as because it is not popular it is hard to test, so people can't try it, and so they can't feel why it's great, making it less popular, ad lib). But their guitars are some of the very best on the market.
@@Bloodysugar It's great to hear of luthiers putting so much attention and love into how they build their guitars, and providing an alternate to the mainstream way. The feedback we usually get from our customers about installing truss rods is that they like the control a truss rod gives them, to adjust the amount of relief in the neck for different setups and for different tension strings.
We don't have an exact answer, but it seems a lot of modern Martin guitars have a type of double-action truss rod similar to the Welded truss rod shown here. Older models Martins have a truss rod very much like the Martin U-Channel truss rod shown.
Thank you Sean Hancock for the informative video
Glad you found the video informative Gerard!
Cheers m8.
When i look down the neck to see if the frets are uniformly spaced, I see the first fret sticking out noticeably. Would turning the truss 360 help to straighten that? I have good action on the guitar but after weeks of adjustments the high E string is just a tiny bit sharp at the overtone octave. I haven't seen any advice anywhere on this. Is it too radical an idea?
This is really helpful. 👍 to my Aussie brothers. All the best from a Pommy in Devon. 😊❤️
Happy to be of help :) All the best from Downunder!
good to finally see an aussie luthier video too many American & British vids lol been trying to find the difference between a 2 way & a bi-flex truss rod as i have guitars with both but most content i find doesn't really explain, just that fender use them in many later model guitars ?
We're glad you like the video and a bit of Aussie representation on RUclips! The Bi-flex truss rod is a Fender design and seems to do the same as a 2-way truss rod (bend both ways). It only has one rod, as opposed to the standard 2-way truss rods, which have 2 rods. So the bi-flex must have a different type of anchor than a traditional truss rod at each end to allow this.
Great video! Thank you for sharing. I've been searching to find the best for weight & tone. I wondered what is your preference having experience of all - for a fender style guitar and regardless of the skill required to install? (curve v straight channel).
I have the welded dual that you show (good size and not too bad weight), but I'm a little concerned at the cheapness of the welding (what if it breaks). I also am considering the traditional single action as they are much lighter and there is nothing wrong with the tone of vintage guitars - I don't mind the extra work/ skill involved if it means a better tone, weight and effectiveness.
I share your passion for guitars and my aim is to preserve as much wood in the neck as possible whilst maintaining light weight and effectiveness. I use light strings 08--038, sometimes 09-046.
That's a good question, which truss rod gives the best tone, one that we don't have an answer to. After using all the types of truss rod I haven't personally found any to improve or detract from the sound but it is possible they do in a subtle way. The traditional single type actually compress the neck length-ways so that might have an effect on the tone, I've heard that keeping some tension on these improves the tone of an electric guitar.
! The straight/curved channel aspect -- seems like They'd flex in different places -- something about the 6th or 7th fret...
Yes some manufacturers engineer the truss rod so it does not adjust in an even curve but more at one end of the neck. This might be what you are referring to?
How does one determine the truss rod type on an already installed truss? Or, how do you determine the truss rod type on any guitar?
For me the best solution is the single rod type, you can chose the best groove curve to follow the neck section, and flex defects ( elliptical for exemple), this is not passible whith the welded 2 rods or bar design. Added compression in the neck is maybe good for the sound , like in Fender guitars?
Those are both really great points, and worthy of a follow up at some stage! The way the compression of a single rod may be good for the sound is interesting and has been reported by a few people so seems to be significant!
Great video, Sean.
Thank you Christos, glad you liked it!
What do you know about removable rods like Fodera's? Thank you. Are they easy to find/buy?
We don't know much about them. They may be similar to the Welded two-way truss rods we sell, but installed in a way that allows them to be removed from the end.
IMO we got enough feedback on builds like Vigier guitars to be pretty sure that the best truss rod solution is to not have any truss rod at all. ^^
Thanks for your comment. Do you mean that brand don't use any truss rod in their necks? That's interesting! How is the neck adjusted to the correct relief during setup?
@@AusLuthierSupplies Indeed Vigier do not use any truss rod at all. And indeed again it is possible thanks to the way they adjust from start their necks.
There are at least 3 "secrets" they have to provide a good adjustment :
- A very precise flatness, they say "to the hundredth of a millimeter".
- A very deep mastering of the materials they use (for example they keep their woods 3 years in stock so it can move and stabilize), so they know how the neck will flex, and they are sure this flex wont change.
- No nut but a replaceable zero fret, so the action is very low. Witch hides an other "secret" : people buy their guitars knowing they will get a pretty low fixed action.
Vigier's selling point on this front could be summarize by "if you like how it plays, you'll like it forever as it wont ever change". It's not compelling for most people (until they got a Vigier in their hands...) and it surely contributes to the fact it is not a popular brand (witch is a viscious circle as because it is not popular it is hard to test, so people can't try it, and so they can't feel why it's great, making it less popular, ad lib). But their guitars are some of the very best on the market.
@@Bloodysugar It's great to hear of luthiers putting so much attention and love into how they build their guitars, and providing an alternate to the mainstream way. The feedback we usually get from our customers about installing truss rods is that they like the control a truss rod gives them, to adjust the amount of relief in the neck for different setups and for different tension strings.
do Martin use this kind of truss rod in of their guitars???
We don't have an exact answer, but it seems a lot of modern Martin guitars have a type of double-action truss rod similar to the Welded truss rod shown here. Older models Martins have a truss rod very much like the Martin U-Channel truss rod shown.
The double acting rod is for back bow NOT more neck relief