Seven10Ashbury Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 I just bought a 1982 ES335 online at an auction site. It came completely out of whack. When I went to set it up, I noticed that the truss rod won't turn. The little knob on it seems to just tighten and loosen but not adjust the relief. (Sorry....I've been working all day and I can't think of what the little bugger is called.)My guess is that the truss rod is stuck inside, like it hadn't been adjusted for 20 years. Anyone have any ideas? J.P. Seven10Ashbury@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyGibson Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Do not touch it anymore. Repeat. Do not touch it anymore. Take it to an authorized Gibson repair tech. Call Gibson if you need to and ask them for the name of one near you. Let them deal with it and give it a complete set up while they're at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob R Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 My chest tightened up while reading your post. Do as Billy says. While you're at the shop, get the techie to show you what he's doing and how the truss rod works. Look up cutaways of a neck to see the mechanics behind the design of the neck and truss rod. Just how many turns did you give the threaded nut at the end of the threaded truss rod? Unless way out of whack, it should require no more than a half turn or so. I turn mine a sixth at a time and wait a day for the result of each adjustment. A sixth is an easy guideline as the nut is hexagonal. Hopefully you haven't done any damage. Oh yea...we like guitar pictures. Well, I do anyway. 335s are nice guits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaicho8888 Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 If you cannot turn it, it is probably at the end of its thread. The wood was compressed too much by previous owners. You can remove the nut and add more washers to be able to tighten the truss rod...snug the nut and adjust the nut to straighten the fretboard (generally half a turn max). As others said, do not force the nut if it won't turn, you might over torque and break the truss rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat-o-steve Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 If the nut is turning, but there is no adjustment, it could be 2 things. 1 : the rod is broken from it's anchor and is turning with the nut or 2: Maybe there was glue or finish that got on the truss rod during manufacturing, and the rod is prevented from moving due to the adhesion. You COULD try thumping on the fretboard with the bottom of your fist to see if you can free the rod if it is stuck. But if it were at all feasible, take it to a good repair shop. Sometimes there is only so much you can do on your own. Also, being that it has a one way, traditional type truss rod.....how far out of whack is the neck, and is it a back-bow or too much relief that it has? If it is back-bowed, then loosening the rod may not help if it has been in this state for too long, and the wood is stiff. You may just have to set this guitar up with heavier strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valriver40 Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 If you cannot turn it, it is probably at the end of its thread. The wood was compressed too much by previous owners. You can remove the nut and add more washers to be able to tighten the truss rod...snug the nut and adjust the nut to straighten the fretboard (generally half a turn max). As others said, do not force the nut if it won't turn, you might over torque and break the truss rod. i have done the same thing on a few of my guitars and it worked as kaich0888 had suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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