jmoguitar Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 I've got a new ES-339 that I bought a few months ago. I played it once, put it away in the case and didn't get it back out until this morning. All of the string pitches were down at least a minor third. I checked the relief and it looked like about maybe 1/16" so I thought I'd try to adjust the neck a bit. I took the cover off the truss rod cavity and it sort of appears that the truss rod nut is maybe cracked or partially missing. It is hard to tell because there is a lot of epoxy looking material covering the truss rod nut so I'm not sure I could get the wrench on it in any case. Would the large change in pitch and large relief be commensurate with what would happen if the truss rod nut broke? There were no extra pieces in the truss rod nut cavity when I opened it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaicho8888 Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 I don't know about the new guitars from Memphis. Hopefully the rod is not stripped. But the crud you see might just be dried up polishing compound or the excess headstock material. You can use a small flat head screw driver or something to clean it. That's the only crud that could be there; unless somebody stupidly put epoxy. 1/16" relief is quite a gap for an overnight change assumming no drastic temperature change. FYI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singlecoil Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 I've never seen a nut cracked. Stripped ya, but not cracked. Is your home really dry. I'd try cleaning thing up as mentioned. It's not unusual for strings to loosen especially new strings. Did you stretch the strings out? Also if the relief gap grew that much in 1 week. That means the guitar probably got used to it's surroundings. If your humidity is in the 20's that's a very dry environment for a guitar. Perfect humidity is 47% I think in the winter at least in states like Michigan where we get down into single digit temps. low 40's high 30's is still pretty good. If you do tighten the nut. Do so only 1/4 of a full turn and let it set for a few days. It doesn't take much to get it right. I would check my furnace as well. Do you have a humidifier on the furnace? If not you should put a damp ( Not Wet ) sponge in the case when storing. Personally I don't own a bunch of guitars. I've bought a bunch -but like to only keep 4-5 for ownership. None of them see a case unless I'm on the way to a gig. When they are home they are on hangers and stands ready to be played. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmoguitar Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 I've never seen a nut cracked. Stripped ya, but not cracked. Is your home really dry. I'd try cleaning thing up as mentioned. It's not unusual for strings to loosen especially new strings. Did you stretch the strings out? Also if the relief gap grew that much in 1 week. That means the guitar probably got used to it's surroundings. If your humidity is in the 20's that's a very dry environment for a guitar. Perfect humidity is 47% I think in the winter at least in states like Michigan where we get down into single digit temps. low 40's high 30's is still pretty good. If you do tighten the nut. Do so only 1/4 of a full turn and let it set for a few days. It doesn't take much to get it right. I would check my furnace as well. Do you have a humidifier on the furnace? If not you should put a damp ( Not Wet ) sponge in the case when storing. Personally I don't own a bunch of guitars. I've bought a bunch -but like to only keep 4-5 for ownership. None of them see a case unless I'm on the way to a gig. When they are home they are on hangers and stands ready to be played. Good luck Thanks for the tips folks. Actually I maybe was not real clear in my first post. It was shipped to GC in Cincy from the factory in about November and I played it once and put it in the case due to time restrictions and got it back out today. The total relief was 1/16" when I measured it today after bringing the strings back into intonation. I do live in western Ohio and the humidity has been about 20% for several weeks. I set the intonation this morning and it is holding. There is about 1/16" total relief at about the 6th fret. The intonation has held well today. I think I'll take a closer look at the truss nut in the morning and see if what looks like a crack isn't just finish materials and or residual polishing compound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 You can clean out the excess material around the nut by carefully dislodging it and picking it out of there with xacto knife and a pointed tool or some tweezers. Then you can see what's up with the nut on the trussrod. I recall one time when my 339 - all of a sudden one day - had a bunch more relief that it did before. I cleaned up the nut - it had a lot of gunk on it - and cranked down the nut a little to readjust it and its been solid ever since. You should be able to clean up the nut and adjust it. Keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmoguitar Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 Well, I cleaned up the nut this morning and it definitely is a chip in the truss rod nut. It does appear to be holding tension. I called Guitar Center in Cincy where I bought it a few months ago and they explained I should call a Gibson certified repair person in the Dayton area. They said I could probably find one on the Gibson web site. See attached picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat-o-steve Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 How would this even happen !?!?! A brass nut should not just sheer a portion off, even if it were turned with a tool.....you would think the nut would have stripped or rounded off first..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 For sure, get the nut replaced under warranty. Very interesting, I too found my 339's relief suddenly changed after a bit of a layoff in the case. Adjusted it up and it's held just fine, but at the time I was rather surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 The nut looks pretty bad but it might work o.k. If you can get the wrench on there you can try to turn it a little to see if it will turn. If it will turn, it'll probably be o.k. Then you can adjust it and see how it does. You can but a new nut for $6.95. The other option, if you're not comfortable with messing around with it, is to take it somewhere and get it fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmoguitar Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 Good news! I ordered one of the thin wall long handle 5/16" nut drivers from Stew-Mac and 6 brass nuts and they arrived today. The original brass nut with the sheared chunk out of it was removed effortlessly. The TR threads were in perfect condition and the new nut went on effortlessly and the neck adjusted with no problem. Thanks for the tips folks. I'm up and jammin' again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mule 1 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57classic Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 that must have been a relief (no pun intended, well maybe a little) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 that must have been a relief (no pun intended, well maybe a little) Rim Shot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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