Bullet truss rod maxed out. Need help

[rbpicker]

I posted this in the Telecaster section by mistake…should go here I guess.

Greetings,
I picked up a new Bullet Tele and am really loving it. I dressed the fret ends, polished the frets, rolled the fretboard, oiled it, and set the action. This guitar is astounding. A great value. I got the Lake Placid blue with a Laurel board. It’s really a beauty.

Only issue is that the truss rod is maxed out and the relief is still just a bit too much for my playing style. Not bad, but I’d like to flatten the board just a tad more.

Is there a way to free up the truss rod? It is really as tight as it will go…dont want to force it and break it. Any help will be appreciated.
Rb

 

[SoundDesign]

I posted this in the Telecaster section by mistake…should go here I guess.

Greetings,
I picked up a new Bullet Tele and am really loving it. I dressed the fret ends, polished the frets, rolled the fretboard, oiled it, and set the action. This guitar is astounding. A great value. I got the Lake Placid blue with a Laurel board. It’s really a beauty.

Only issue is that the truss rod is maxed out and the relief is still just a bit too much for my playing style. Not bad, but I’d like to flatten the board just a tad more.

Is there a way to free up the truss rod? It is really as tight as it will go…dont want to force it and break it. Any help will be appreciated.
Rb

Given it is new, I would suggest exchanging it. We all likely have (or have had) guitars with temperamental necks but I wouldn't wish it on anyone where it could be avoided.

It's great you love the guitar but you're very early in the relationship and should back away if you're having an issue like that early on.

 

[surf green]

Where you've done a considerable amount of work on the neck already, and before exchanging it, try a shot or more of WD40 or silicone spray down the truss rod. Let it sit over night and the next day try adjusting again. You may get just enough of a turn to get your desired results.

@rbpicker I should mention that if you try the this, be sure to leave the guitar in a standing position, allowing the lube to penetrate down the truss rod. Good luck

 

[dpang2836]

That SUXS! Maxed out right off the bat? I have had over 50 Partscaster's and Squier's and never messed with a Truss Rod? I don't keep them long enough! I was able to fix a big Bow with the 3 Brick Method. I wrapped a moist washcloth and taped Heating Pad around the middle, One Brick under center and a Brick by Nut and one down by Heel. Overnight I bet I got 5 Degrees out of it! Almost too much, but after Stringing, I had just a little Relief!

 

[Triple Jim]

Can you get the rod's nut off? If so you can add a couple washers and get more range.

 

[kdm1218]

Agreed on exchanging, bummer you already did everything else to it but I wouldn’t mess with that further and ruin a guitar that’s brand new versus start again.

 

[brians]

I posted this in the Telecaster section by mistake…should go here I guess.

Greetings,
I picked up a new Bullet Tele and am really loving it. I dressed the fret ends, polished the frets, rolled the fretboard, oiled it, and set the action. This guitar is astounding. A great value. I got the Lake Placid blue with a Laurel board. It’s really a beauty.

Only issue is that the truss rod is maxed out and the relief is still just a bit too much for my playing style. Not bad, but I’d like to flatten the board just a tad more.

Is there a way to free up the truss rod? It is really as tight as it will go…dont want to force it and break it. Any help will be appreciated.
Rb

I don't know if you are brand new to truss rod adjustment or not .

If so, I would get a guitar tech to check it out. A lot of people who don't know about truss rods are scared to push , and quite rightly so. So someone with more experience will be able to assess it for you.

If this doesn't apply to you , then I would agree that an exchange is in order because if it is really maxed and there is too much relief, it's pretty much unfixable, outside of perhaps replacing the truss rod and some expensive charges from a tech.

For future, and I'm sure you got this now, check the rod before you do anything. Even on expensive guitars, it's the first thing to check, everything else comes after.

Best of luck in sorting this.

 

[AxelMorisson]

One thing that you might want to do to decide what's the proper course of action: loosen- yeah, loosen the trussrod totally. And the strings too. Leave it a bit without any truss nut OR strings... and see how it looks like. Did the bend fix itself? Some recent Bullets had really raw not properly dried necks- I saw one a friend got and it really really was both bendy and heavier , and as we disassembled the body and neck we saw green and moist wood with ovalized holes. He did fix it though, by letting the neck off the guitar, with trussrod unscrewed and clamped down to a table face for about a week. Then we restringed very carefully with 8s,....now it sits ok and seems to keep its shape.
If when taking the nut off the truss the screw looks damaged or has really bad burrs that you won't like to fix, do change it...return etc. If not, it's possible that a bit of debree or glue, lacquer, paint what have you got on the threads and is actively stopping the nut from going lower _but NOT by design, therefore the truss is not really maxed out but it feels like it is. In this case, with a sharp blade or something just remove the said gunk , re-assemble the nut and maybe add a little grease (not too much!) or oil..then see if it does correct the thing. Good luck!

 

[DrBeGood]

Sorry but I have to ask. Maxed out in what direction ? Clockwise as you look down the hole at the nut or counterclockwise ? I ask because in a thread somewhere else, a guy was arguing with everybody that was telling him he was doing it the wrong way, only to finally realize that he was evaluating the direction by looking down the neck from the body. So everything he was arguing about was in reverse.

 

[rbpicker]

A sincere thanks to everyone for your input.
I’m a bit ashamed of myself that I didn’t check the TR before I started the fret work, etc. I know better than that. I was so excited to get this little beauty up and running that I neglected that issue. Given the work I did, I wouldn’t feel right trying to exchange. My bad, not GCs.
Frankly, the way it sits now, it’s very, very playable…must have settled in a bit. I put new 9s on it and adjusted the saddles, lowered a couple nut slots.
I still can’t get over how beautiful this little guitar is and how nice it plays and sounds. The Lake Placid blue is great next to my Fiesta red CV Strat. Hmmmm, now I need a white Jaguar….. 4th of July coming up….
Again, thank you all for the discussion. This is a great forum.
roger

 

[DrBeGood]

Sorry but I have to ask. Maxed out in what direction ? Clockwise as you look down the hole at the nut or counterclockwise ? I ask because in a thread somewhere else, a guy was arguing with everybody that was telling him he was doing it the wrong way, only to finally realize that he was evaluating the direction by looking down the neck from the body. So everything he was arguing about was in reverse.

Sometime I do wonder why I bother trying to help ...

 

[Faith Nicole]

Sometime I do wonder why I bother trying to help ...

well, you know, clockwise from the back is counterclockwise and the reverse is also true, unless it's forward but forward can be reverse if you turn around .. I'll leave this topic now ...

 

[Shine]

Congrats on your new guitar and being able to sort the issues.

I think we’ve all learned over time to check on some things. For me it was not paying attention to fret wear.

I was watching a Dave’s World of Fun Stuff video the other night and he reminded us that he always checks the TR and frets first to determine whether it’s a good project or not.

Good save!

 

[rbpicker]

Thanks. I may do the spacer thing in the future if the condition worsens. I’ve seen a couple of YT vids on how it is done. I wouldn’t be afraid to try it.
But for now, I am resting it face down between a couple of couch pillows when I’m not playing it. Putting a little gentle downward pressure on the neck.
we’ll see.

 

[Faith Nicole]

I know I said I was leaving the topic but I come with a warning. I've seen the neck wood swell under the nut due to the pressure. watch for bulging when you adjust. Might not be discernable to the eye under the fingerboard. Trust the feel not just your eyes

 

[M T Poteet]

A sincere thanks to everyone for your input.
I’m a bit ashamed of myself that I didn’t check the TR before I started the fret work, etc. I know better than that. I was so excited to get this little beauty up and running that I neglected that issue. Given the work I did, I wouldn’t feel right trying to exchange. My bad, not GCs.
Frankly, the way it sits now, it’s very, very playable…must have settled in a bit. I put new 9s on it and adjusted the saddles, lowered a couple nut slots.
I still can’t get over how beautiful this little guitar is and how nice it plays and sounds. The Lake Placid blue is great next to my Fiesta red CV Strat. Hmmmm, now I need a white Jaguar….. 4th of July coming up….
Again, thank you all for the discussion. This is a great forum.
roger

Glad you got it sorted out!

 

[dpang2836]

I know I said I was leaving the topic but I come with a warning. I've seen the neck wood swell under the nut due to the pressure. watch for bulging when you adjust. Might not be discernable to the eye under the fingerboard. Trust the feel not just your eyes

Yes, I have "Popped" a Nut right out of Rout a few times.