Truss rod sliding

[BatUtilityBelt]

This morning I wanted to play with attitude, so this pre-production PureSalem Billy Bo (ish) Thunderbird came out to play because these hot rails understand angst.

BillyInCase.jpg

It was working, but I started to notice high action in the middle frets, and yup, there was a ski slope. So I guess for the first time, I went to adjust the truss rod, and woah this thing is really not production. It looks like the truss rod access was carved out with a Sawzall.

Truss rod.jpg

I guess that's why this guitar really has a truss rod cover. But it was working...

Half a turn in, it just started to grab, and when I tried to pull the wrench out for another turn, the truss rod came out with it. But it slid right back into place, and tightened another quarter turn just fine, setting the relief I wanted. So the terror was short lived and it plays perfect now, but I had no idea a truss rod could just come out that way. I didn't experiment to see how far, but it moved a good inch before I got the wrench disengaged and I slid it back. Anyone else ever experience that? Is it a bad thing or just something I never saw before?

[toomanycats]

It looks like they sent a hamster in there to gnaw out that truss rod channel.

I've never had a truss rod pull out on me like that, but it would definitely cause one of those "Oh sh*t I broke it!" moments.

[andrewsrea]

The traditional truss rod has a bulkhead piece of steel in the body end of the neck, which has the die-cut to receive the thread from the rod. With that style, the nut or hex receiver side is welded in place. Accordingly, if you go leftie-loosie long enough, the rod will come out.

I have run into a few imports lately where the factory just missed the whole truss rod tightening. If that ever happens again, make sure to take the tension off the strings before tightening the truss rod, otherwise you'll strip the beginning threads of the rod which reduces the travel available for adjustment.

[BatUtilityBelt]

The traditional truss rod has a bulkhead piece of steel in the body end of the neck, which has the die-cut to receive the thread from the rod. With that style, the nut or hex receiver side is welded in place. Accordingly, if you go leftie-loosie long enough, the rod will come out.

I have run into a few imports lately where the factory just missed the whole truss rod tightening. If that ever happens again, make sure to take the tension off the strings before tightening the truss rod, otherwise you'll strip the beginning threads of the rod which reduces the travel available for adjustment.

That is good advice and I appreciate it. From an engineering perspective it makes perfect sense. As TMC caught on, I was a bit freaked out in the moment and wanted to immediately see the truss rod engage. If there is a next time, I will stop to loosen the string tension. I guarantee when the truss rod straightened the neck, I felt more relief than that neck ever had.

[Rollin Hand]

The traditional truss rod has a bulkhead piece of steel in the body end of the neck, which has the die-cut to receive the thread from the rod. With that style, the nut or hex receiver side is welded in place. Accordingly, if you go leftie-loosie long enough, the rod will come out.

I have run into a few imports lately where the factory just missed the whole truss rod tightening. If that ever happens again, make sure to take the tension off the strings before tightening the truss rod, otherwise you'll strip the beginning threads of the rod which reduces the travel available for adjustment.

Still beats some of the old copies that just didn't have truss rods. String tension was not their friend....

[tonebender]

That is a really cool guitar. Back in the day I would have owned one of those. I always wanted a Gretsch Billie Bo but just a little pricey for me. I notice now the Chinese are selling copies for $300 or less. For that kind of coin it would be worth a go. I am pretty much set these days though.

[BatUtilityBelt]

That is a really cool guitar. Back in the day I would have owned one of those. I always wanted a Gretsch Billie Bo but just a little pricey for me. I notice now the Chinese are selling copies for $300 or less. For that kind of coin it would be worth a go. I am pretty much set these days though.

It is a lot of fun to play, and it only seems to like rock. This one I bought directly from Rick Sell, he was working toward releasing a Billy Bo version for Pure Salem. It does have the Pure Salem logo on the headstock, but doesn't have a serial number and he told me it wasn't a production guitar. The big knob acts like a blend between the pickups, and I love that on a guitar. The Chinese knockoffs are slightly different shape, but I heard one YouTuber describe the upper knob as doing the blend thing too. I haven't bought any Chinese knockoffs so I can't opine on them, but I looked anyway.

I bought a real MIJ Gretsch Billy Bo used once, but it was badly treated by its previous owner. The pickups were great and I don't mind a guitar that's beaten but appreciated. This one was just abused... Dents in the neck, gouged areas of the body, drilled for pick guard upside down (to be played righty). All that was undisclosed and the seller was being a jerk about the return but ebay jumped in and facilitated it. During the process, I found out the seller was the father of the guitar's owner, a teenager who, with a couple friends, ended themselves by driving into a brick wall at high speed, probably intentionally. Sometimes it's better to not research the guitar's history, and that story put me off getting a real Billy Bo. But the Pure Salem is great, and if I encounter one of those Chinese knockoffs for ridiculously cheap, I might check that out too.