First, you need to explain to your customers that action shouldn't be adjusted with
the truss rod. The rod os for adjusting neck relief and, even though action can be
slightly affected by truss rod adjustments, it should not be the primary adjustment
used to achieve the action a player is looking for.
It sounds like the customer was trying to avoid doing the proper things to adjust his
action which would be working the saddle and then possibly the nut to achieve what he
was looking for.
I use a very high quality rod assembly that I have made for me from the materials
and to the standards that I specify to the manufacturer and I've never had a rod fail
yet. I know that the rods sold by Allied are a good rod and shouldn't fail under
correct tension and use.
It's pretty easy to see whether a rod was turned too tight or not and I base the repair
on what I see when I get to inspect the guitar. I had a rod that was cranked pretty tight
by a tech who was local to the guitar's owner last year. Once he had really pulled the rod
tighter than any truss rod should ever be cranked, he was afraid to move it anymore and
told the owner that the rod was defective and that it had bound up.
Th owner contacted me telling me that his newish guitar had a bad truss rod in it and
that it was going to have to be replaced under the warranty. I explained that I would have
to see the guitar to determine whether or not it would be covered under the warranty
since I had no idea what the tech had done to it.
It ended up that the tech was trying to achieve what your customer was trying to...
lower action without doing the actual work that is necessary and correct to achieve it. Had
it ended up needing to be replaced by removing the fingerboard and then refinishing the
neck, it would have ended up being an expensive repair for the owner that he could have
asked the tech who had broken it to cover for him. I tell my customers to check with me
before they have work done on their guitars so that I can recommend a tech who actually
knows what they're doing to take it to. I then contact that tech and let him know exactly
what size the rod adjuster is and other pertinent things that have to do with the set up
and adjustment of the guitar. It's always worked out well.
It ended up that the guy was using the wrong or a worn out size hex wrench to try to adjust
it and had stripped out the adjustment nut on the rod. Once it was on my bench, it was a
matter of about three minutes and I had the old adjuster off and out, a new one on and
was giving the guitar a fresh set up to be sure that the action was just where the owner
wanted it.
This bumble had cost the owner over a hundred bucks and the tech tried to blame everyone
and everything but himself and his lack of skill and good tools for the trouble....not an
uncommon thing.
Your customer probably twisted the rod beyond its capabilities just because he doesn't
understand the limits and actual purpose of the rod.
Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars
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![[headinwall]](./images/smilies/headbangwalluf8.gif "Mad")
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