J-45 loose brass truss rod nut issue

[cena1mojo]

I have a fairly new J45 and after some truss rod relief, the brass nut will only unloosen on the top of the truss rod instead of turning the truss rod slightly clockwise. How do I make the brass nut engage & turn the truss rod with out unthreading instead? Thanks

[slimt]

Send it to a dealer.

 Chances are you may have done something you shouldnt have    
 

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by slimt

[dhanners623]

What slimt said. I have been playing guitar for over half a century and never turned a truss rod. I figured if there was a way I could screw it up, I’d find it. Take it to a qualified repair person.

Yes, I know folks here do it on their own, usually with great results. And yes, I know there are YouTube videos galore showing how it is done. It’s just not something I want to mess with, though.

[gearbasher]

Unless I'm misinterpreting what you wrote, the truss rod is not supposed to turn. It is stationary. When you loosen or tighten the nut, it eases or adds pressure on the rod, thus changing the relief of the neck. If you loosened the nut and it is spinning off the rod and the relief didn't change, then there are other issues with the neck. Like others said, bring it in to someone more knowledgeable.

Edit. You loosen the nut to add relief and tighten it for less relief. Also, only turn it a max of 1/4 turn at any one time.

Edited March 29, 2023 by gearbasher

[fortyearspickn]

What everyone said before me: you don't turn the rod itself - just the nut.    TR is fixed at the south end - turning the NUT on the north end (above the nut) increases or lessens pressure on the neck to cause the fingerboard to bow slightly or straighten out. While the intent is to adjust the amount of curve or bow in the fingerboard - it is possible to put a 'back bow' on it. - so the hi point of the curve is not on the back of the neck, but on the front of the fingerboard.  String tension helps the neck move.   You should only move the nut 1/4 max as gear basher noted - to avoid damage.  So a slow process, that requires your measuring and recording string height at each step.  Since your nut its 'off' -  I'd agree with all the above -  bring it in. 

[duluthdan]

Perhaps its simply that you have reached maximum looseness.  If you tighten that nut does it start to resist and perhaps put a little straightness back in the neck?  Probably need to take it to someone who knows the geometry of a complete set-up - to get the neck/truss rod where it ought to be in relation to the nut and saddle.  Were you trying to lower the action? Loosening that nut will actually have the opposite effect.  Gibsons typically ship with a little "pride" in both the nut slots depth and saddle height.  Leaving room for the purchaser to dial in the action height they want.

[the other side]

I'd like to add.  Also, the truss rod adjustment IS NOT for trying to get your strings closer (overall action) to the fretboard. I cracked the neck on my very first brand new acoustic guitar by trying to tighten the truss rod to bring the strings down (like the picture showed with the instructions for neck relief). I had paid 3 months for that guitar on lay away. Needless to say, that ruined ( mildly saying ) my whole day and a few more.

Edited March 29, 2023 by the other side
Added txt.

[Jinder]

I’d definitely take your guitar to a tech who knows what they’re looking at. If you’re not 100% sure what a truss rod does and how it does it, don’t touch it.

When adjusting it, the rod should remain stationary and the nut should turn, not the other way around. How much relief you can dial in using rod adjustments is dependent on what the neck is made of (for example, Maple is a dense and heavy tonewood, Mahogany is lighter and more pliable, a 2/3/5 piece neck will be stiffer than a single piece) and what strings you are using. 
 

My SJ200 has a very stiff neck and, the first time I did a setup on it, I was surprised to track a slight but discernible buzz down to a loose truss rod nut. It was entirely slack, with the TR action having no effect on the neck whatsoever, yet the action was fine and entirely within spec tolerances when tuned to concert pitch with 12s! 
 

That said, I’ve had Hummingbirds which have required some significant TR tension to bring the relief into the correct window. 
It can all be down to the specific piece of timber-not even the genus thereof-as to how stiff a neck is and how much TR help it requires. 

If you’ve stripped the threads in the nut or on the rod itself, you’re into an entirely different world of problems, unfortunately. In theory, the choice of a brass nut is down to making it a sacrificial component-the nut should strip before the rod threads do, making it easy (again, in theory) to spin the damaged nut off and replace it with a fresh one. However, that’s not always the case, and often by the time the nut has been wailed on enough to strip the threads, it’s entirely possible that the rod will be damaged likewise. That usually leads to the fretboard having to come off and the rod replaced. Not major surgery, but significant surgery for sure, and not something you should need to do on a new instrument.
 

I would urge you to take it to a luthier who knows what they’re doing-or take it back to where you purchased it from. Either way, it can be sorted out. 

[kidblast]

Truss rod adjustments are fairly straight forward, however, you do need to understand the basics.

Truss rods are only for managing how much "bow" is set.   It is NOT how you set your action.

The truss rod will take a forward or back bow out of a neck, but it is done it's small changes

Normally you want as little relief as possible, but not to the point where the neck is in "back bow" state.

These adjustments are done in "SMALL" increments, where 1/4 - 1/2 turn is usually all that's needed,  you don't do "many turns"  not ever.

One needs to be familiar with how to sight down the neck to determine what it needs.  More relief, less relief.

There are tools that cna help, but eyeballing it using the "string" as the straight edge reference is all you need to understand

Last  but not least, if you have no previous experience Google "Adjusting Truss Rods"  before you do anything, it's all out there, and you can save yourself a lot of angst.,

Edited April 3, 2023 by kidblast

[Larsongs]

OP, What are you trying to accomplish? The Truss Rod serves one function.. To adjust the Relief of the Neck.. Which is the Bow in the Neck.. 

 

[Janglemore]

OP hasn’t been here since he posted the question on March 28

[Dave F]

I guess we need to be quicker with our response  😎

[J185cat]

Sounds like the damage is done. Feel bad for the guy.