Official Luthiers Forum!

I hear a difference in my guitars with non adjustable rods versus adjustable and I like the sound better with a solid rod(s). I am willing to take the risk every time on guitars for myself but it would have to be a very educated customer where I would feel comfortable building a commissioned guitar like that. I could see it happening though. I supply saddle shims with all my guitars, even ones with adjustable rods. It is a quick and simple thing that anyone can do easily between seasons if they are not careful with the guitar's immediate environment.

To David though I would probably say that for your first guitars it would be a good idea to put an adjustable rod in. I did on my early ones and I am glad that I did.

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

I've heard a lot of builders and repairmen speak highly of the steel T bar truss rods (unadjustable) that Martin used from the mid 30's to the 60's, as they did an excellent job of keeping the necks from warping, and they also keep the neck very very stiff. The T bars were different than the square tube unadjustable truss rod that martin switched to in the 60's, which apparently didn't work very well.

Has anyone here used the the steel T bars? I'd love to hear how they worked for anyone who has used them.

I understand the objection to the lack of adjustability and if I sold anything (I give everything away at this point) I would go with the adjustable truss rod. But think of the forces and response of the wood when tightening the rod, then imagine a couple of CF rods close by fighting this. Seems weird to me. Fwiw I play with a low action and like a straight neck. My next project is a traditional acoustic (except for fanned frets) and will use the normal adjustable rod.

I gave it a go a few years ago. I guess it's too early to tell how it will turn out- so far it's fine. I used the runner from a flexible flyer sled, which is a bit (not much) smaller T than old Martin's had. It seemed plenty stiff and I was glad to save a bit of weight. I also used a chunky V neck.

If the goal is to build something old school, which is very educational, then a T bar is a fine choice.

John

What's weird about it? You're just making the neck stiffer. You still have adjustability via the truss rod...you'll just have a smaller window of adjustability. For what it's worth, I believe Collings adds 2 stainless steel reinforcing bars into their necks (1 on either side of the truss rod). The only real reason to use CF instead of metal is if you have a weight critical application. Otherwise, metals work really well...!

Trev

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

I was browsing through an old issue of guitarmaker and found some interesting measurements that Jim Rickard made of a 1939 D-45 (a T-bar guitar). The article is from 1992.

Among other things, Jim measured the state of the fingerboard without string tension and with string tension. I'll give some of the numbers here.

(inches)
Fret, Bottom of fingerboard with no string tension, Change at top surface of frets with medium strings

1 -0.1250 0.0629
2 -0.1100 0.0528
3 -0.0970 0.0449
4 -0.0850 0.0371
5 -0.0740 0.0307
6 -0.0630 0.2510
7 -0.0540 0.0207
8 -0.0440 0.0161
9 -0.0360 0.0127
10 -0.0280 0.0094
11 -0.0200 0.0066
12 -0.0130 0.0048
13 -0.0060 0.0023
14 0.0000 0.0008
15 0.0060 -0.0013
16 0.0130 -0.0019
17 0.0200 -0.0036
18 0.0260 -0.0050
19 0.0330 -0.0070
20 0.0390 -0.0082

John