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ES 339 Not Holding Truss Adjustment


Reverend Gib

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Hey everyone,

 

I've been lurking on this forum for awhile. I've always been a Frnder guys, mostly tele's but have always wanted a Gibson Semi-Hollow. Last week I purchased an ES 339 in Sunset Burst from zzounds. I took it to my normal guitar tech for my normal setup and she played great for a couple of hours. The next morning I checked the relief and it had shifted a bit (normal for any guitar I've had). Here is the frustrating thing: I have had to adjust that truss rod for proper relief every day. I like the smallest wisper of a gap over the 7th fret while fretting first and 15th. I probably have almost a turn and a quarter so far with no end in sight. Is this normal? For a $2500 guitar I will be pretty darn picky on having a neck be able to stay flat with 11's. There is a 45 day return policy so I'm thinking about waiting it out for a few more weeks. I LOVE the tone of this thing. What do you guys think?

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"I probably have almost a turn and a quarter so far with no end in sight. Is this normal?"

 

That's a LOT of adjustment!

 

At this point I guess I would stop making adjustments and just play the guitar for a few days or a week. Let it settle and see what happens.

 

If it doesn't settle down. Be thankful for a 45 day return policy.

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Thank you for the replies! I've bought dozens of guitars and have never had this issue, although I've never bought a set neck electric so this might be on par. I'll leave the truss rod alone for a week and try another adjustment at that time and see if it takes.

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Definitely something out of whack there. Sounds like the truss rod nut is not catching or something. It would be rare to go a turn and quarter over the life of a guitar leave alone a few days. Make sure to loosen the nut first before making your adjustment, but even so seems something is wrong. [cursing]

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  • 4 weeks later...

Good move! msp_thumbup.gif

 

Hope zzounds sends it back to Gibson (or fix it) and not resell it to another unsuspecting buyer.

 

It would be interesting to find out what Gibson has to say about this. Maybe too late by now but is there any way you can follow up on it? Like the other posters above I have always thought that when you tweak the truss rod it may take up to a week for it to stabilize. I had a PRS SE and the neck on it was moving but it was happening over maybe a year's time, not days. My guitar tech said he has seen this with Asian guitars because the wood is typically not dried properly and they use polyurethane coatings which seal in the moisture. He told me to buy an American made guitar with a nitrocellulose finish.

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My 335 was like that for the first year I had it. I've had the guitar for over 5 years now and the truss rod holds just fine. I guess it takes time for the wood to settle. I could be wrong but I think the one piece mahogany necks may be more susceptible to this versus a multi piece neck. Good luck on the next one.

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