In search of luthier who can replace/repair 4mm Dual Acting Truss Rod at Head

wheelsup247

wheelsup247

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#1
I’m in search of a luthier who can replace/repair 4mm Dual Acting Truss Rod at Head on Musikraft neck/ and based on price if it would be cost-effective. Musikraft does not replace truss rods.

Pictured us a Musikraft Jazz neck where a local guitar shop luthier has been the only one to ever adjust the truss rod and always been provided the right tool for the job with emphasis on using the right tool (tool prchased from Musikraft). To my horror while taking the bass to a new luthier it was discovered the local guitar shop did not listen to me and destroyed the truss rod. See picture.

Are there any luthiers experienced with replacing a truss rod like this, and what would be the ball park cost vs buying a new neck - this one is nice … 5A Flame Maple, Dark Indian Rosewood, 75 Jazz profile, 6105 Nickel Frets?. I’m in Huntsville, Alabama and the neck is off the bass and ready to ship.
 

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#2
wheelsup247 said:
I’m in search of a luthier who can replace/repair 4mm Dual Acting Truss Rod at Head on Musikraft neck/ and based on price if it would be cost-effective. Musikraft does not replace truss rods.

Pictured us a Musikraft Jazz neck where a local guitar shop luthier has been the only one to ever adjust the truss rod and always been provided the right tool for the job with emphasis on using the right tool (tool prchased from Musikraft). To my horror while taking the bass to a new luthier it was discovered the local guitar shop did not listen to me and destroyed the truss rod. See picture.

Are there any luthiers experienced with replacing a truss rod like this, and what would be the ball park cost vs buying a new neck - this one is nice … 5A Flame Maple, Dark Indian Rosewood, 75 Jazz profile, 6105 Nickel Frets?. I’m in Huntsville, Alabama and the neck is off the bass and ready to ship.
Click to expand...

Jeremy Kirsch, who is known here on TalkBass as @Freekmagnet, does truss rod replacements like that regularly. The cost will be in the range of $700. Most of that is for the new fingerboard and new fretwork. You can PM him for more info.

His regular thread on Luthier's Corner is:

I've done many truss rod replacements myself in years past, and documented them in the Scary Neck Repairs series here on TalkBass. But I don't do repair work like that any more.
 
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#3
Bruce Johnson said:
Jeremy Kirsch, who is known here on TalkBass as @Freekmagnet, does truss rod replacements like that regularly. The cost will be in the range of $700. Most of that is for the new fingerboard and new fretwork. You can PM him for more info.

His regular thread on Luthier's Corner is:

I've done many truss rod replacements myself in years past, and documented them in the Scary Neck Repairs series here on TalkBass. But I don't do repair work like that any more.
Click to expand...
Thank you!
 
#4
wheelsup247 said:
To my horror while taking the bass to a new luthier it was discovered the local guitar shop did not listen to me and destroyed the truss rod. See picture.
Click to expand...
destroyed how?

i see it's kind of off-center in the hole there, but you could probably still get a wrench in there; if the 4mm hex hole has been chewed up or rounded from the wrong size wrench they do make "gripper" tools that can still grab, assuming the truss rod itself still works and can be turned
 
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#6
My Peavey Grind5 is in the same boat, except it's a neck-through bass ...and worth substantially less than the cost to have the work done. I can, if I'm VERY careful, still adjust the truss rod, but getting it tight enough for higher tension strings is almost impossible. It's setup nice and low now with minimal relief by using thinner strings. I bought it because I thought I should learn to play frets (all my other bases are fretless ...and better bases) and I thought it'd be fun and easy to learn how to slap. I was wrong on all counts, at least for me ...;)

Since my investment in this bass is minimal, I'm considering removing the fingerboard and existing truss rod myself, replacing the truss rod (maybe with the DIY rod @Bruce Johnson has been kind enough to describe in detail in another thread?), and replacing the fretboard with a fingerboard blank and turning it into a fretless. I've built speaker cabinets from scratch that came out nice, I have a router and table, like to learn, willing to pickup more tools, and can follow directions.

Possible?
 
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#7
MuseChaser said:
My Peavey Grind5 is in the same boat, except it's a neck-through bass ...and worth substantially less than the cost to have the work done. I can, if I'm VERY careful, still adjust the truss rod, but getting it tight enough for higher tension strings is almost impossible. It's setup nice and low now with minimal relief by using thinner strings. I bought it because I thought I should learn to play frets (all my other bases are fretless ...and better bases) and I thought it'd be fun and easy to learn how to slap. I was wrong on all counts, at least for me ...;)

Since my investment in this bass is minimal, I'm considering removing the fingerboard and existing truss rod myself, replacing the truss rod (maybe with the DIY rod @Bruce Johnson has been kind enough to describe in detail in another thread?), and replacing the fretboard with a fingerboard blank and turning it into a fretless. I've built speaker cabinets from scratch that came out nice, I have a router and table, like to learn, willing to pickup more tools, and can follow directions.

Possible?
Click to expand...


Absolutely possible. Unless there’s a specific reason to save the fretboard and since you already said you were considering routing it off just build a router planing jig, there’s a router fixtures thread in the Luthier’s Corner, and remove it. Then glue on a new board and trim as needed. I believe Bruce has detailed similar operations in some of the scary repairs threads here.
 
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#8
Matt Liebenau said:
Absolutely possible. Unless there’s a specific reason to save the fretboard and since you already said you were considering routing it off just build a router planing jig, there’s a router fixtures thread in the Luthier’s Corner, and remove it. Then glue on a new board and trim as needed. I believe Bruce has detailed similar operations in some of the scary repairs threads here.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for the reply and the encouragement. Of course, now I have a couple more questions, and recognize that I've inadvertently hijacked this thread. I'm sorry to the OP. Not sure how to "flow" this into a new thread.... If someone DOES and can instruct me, please do. If a mod is reading and wishes to transfer this to a new thread, PLEASE feel free to do so.

Based upon some other readings throughout this forum and elsewhere, I had planned on removing the fingerboard with heat and careful use of thin blades to try and get it off in one piece; hadn't thought about just using a router to plane it down little by little until just the neck was left. Pros and cons of both methods?

Rather than build a jig, my router table has pretty wide wings on it. Could I not just hand guide the neck/bass over the router, or would the current radius of the fingerboard (whatever amount it is... I have no idea... it's pretty minimal or at least feels that way) render that impossible?

Favorite sources for a fingerboard blank? Dimensions equaling current neck width plus length plus... how much to allow for trimming, error, and waste? Thickness? Woods? As a violinist and upright bassist, I have the usual bias towards ebony, but not strong enough to obviate dissuasion.

Thanks again!
 
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#9
MuseChaser said:
My Peavey Grind5 is in the same boat, except it's a neck-through bass ...and worth substantially less than the cost to have the work done. I can, if I'm VERY careful, still adjust the truss rod, but getting it tight enough for higher tension strings is almost impossible. It's setup nice and low now with minimal relief by using thinner strings. I bought it because I thought I should learn to play frets (all my other bases are fretless ...and better bases) and I thought it'd be fun and easy to learn how to slap. I was wrong on all counts, at least for me ...;)

Since my investment in this bass is minimal, I'm considering removing the fingerboard and existing truss rod myself, replacing the truss rod (maybe with the DIY rod @Bruce Johnson has been kind enough to describe in detail in another thread?), and replacing the fretboard with a fingerboard blank and turning it into a fretless. I've built speaker cabinets from scratch that came out nice, I have a router and table, like to learn, willing to pickup more tools, and can follow directions.

Possible?
Click to expand...

Yes, that is possible and reasonable. You can do major surgery on a bass yourself, once you understand what needs to be done. It's not Rocket Surgery, as they say. That's why I've been posting all these detailed threads here on TalkBass, to show everyone how it's done. I assume you've seen my Scary Neck Repairs series? About ten threads showing the whole process of replacing truss rods and fingerboards on various exotic and expensive basses.

If, as you are describing, the neck has a mild forward bow but the truss rod is still working, you may not need to replace the truss rod or the fingerboard. You could pull the frets and resurface the fingerboard to flat. That's pretty easy. Then, you could refret it, or fill the slots with lines and convert it to fretless. Your choice.
 
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#10
Thank you, Bruce! Yes, I've read a ton of your threads... and it's your fault I'm even considering this! :) As far as the rod goes.... the adjusting nut is almost completely stripped, and there'll come a time when it just can't be used, probably in the near future. I had communicated with you via PM a few months ago about the issue and you replied, in your usual helpful manner, with what the repair would entail and the cost. Hence..... today's thoughts. At some point, that truss rod will need to be replaced, so putting work into the current fingerboard would be kind of like painting over major rust spots on a car frame....
 
#11
MuseChaser said:
Thank you, Bruce! Yes, I've read a ton of your threads... and it's your fault I'm even considering this! :) As far as the rod goes.... the adjusting nut is almost completely stripped, and there'll come a time when it just can't be used, probably in the near future. I had communicated with you via PM a few months ago about the issue and you replied, in your usual helpful manner, with what the repair would entail and the cost. Hence..... today's thoughts. At some point, that truss rod will need to be replaced, so putting work into the current fingerboard would be kind of like painting over major rust spots on a car frame....
Click to expand...

Okay, that's a good reason to replace the truss rod. You could buy a decent aftermarket one, or make your own following my instructions.

Yes, you can remove the fingerboard by heat. With some care and patience. I usually rout it off, because it's a lot faster (if you have the machines) and the fingerboard is usually damaged too much by the heat removal to use again. But if you are planning on replacing the fingerboard anyway, go ahead and try the heat removal. It may be less work than setting up to rout it off.

If you want to rout it off, I wouldn't recommend trying it with the bass face down over your router table. That would be tricky to set up the fixture, and you couldn't see what you are doing. It could be done, but it would be awkward.

I recommend that you remove your router from the table and mount it on a rectangular flat base. Mount the bass to a board with a pair of parallel wood rails on either side of the neck. Shim and adjust the bass to get the fingerboard glue line parallel to the tops of the rails. Rout the fingerboard off in shallow passes, sliding the router down the rails. Same general technique as I've used in my Scary threads.
 
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#12
MuseChaser said:
Thanks so much for the reply and the encouragement. Of course, now I have a couple more questions, and recognize that I've inadvertently hijacked this thread. I'm sorry to the OP. Not sure how to "flow" this into a new thread.... If someone DOES and can instruct me, please do. If a mod is reading and wishes to transfer this to a new thread, PLEASE feel free to do so.

Based upon some other readings throughout this forum and elsewhere, I had planned on removing the fingerboard with heat and careful use of thin blades to try and get it off in one piece; hadn't thought about just using a router to plane it down little by little until just the neck was left. Pros and cons of both methods?

Rather than build a jig, my router table has pretty wide wings on it. Could I not just hand guide the neck/bass over the router, or would the current radius of the fingerboard (whatever amount it is... I have no idea... it's pretty minimal or at least feels that way) render that impossible?

Favorite sources for a fingerboard blank? Dimensions equaling current neck width plus length plus... how much to allow for trimming, error, and waste? Thickness? Woods? As a violinist and upright bassist, I have the usual bias towards ebony, but not strong enough to obviate dissuasion.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...


I think Bruce covered the whys, or more correctly why nots, but I can’t really picture a great way to have the neck fretboard side down on a router table and have it be stable and easily controllable but I have a router planing jig and a pin router so I haven’t really thought about it.

Start a thread here or in the LC for the repairs.
 
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#15
wheelsup247 said:
I’m in search of a luthier who can replace/repair 4mm Dual Acting Truss Rod at Head on Musikraft neck/ and based on price if it would be cost-effective. Musikraft does not replace truss rods.

Pictured us a Musikraft Jazz neck where a local guitar shop luthier has been the only one to ever adjust the truss rod and always been provided the right tool for the job with emphasis on using the right tool (tool prchased from Musikraft). To my horror while taking the bass to a new luthier it was discovered the local guitar shop did not listen to me and destroyed the truss rod. See picture.

Are there any luthiers experienced with replacing a truss rod like this, and what would be the ball park cost vs buying a new neck - this one is nice … 5A Flame Maple, Dark Indian Rosewood, 75 Jazz profile, 6105 Nickel Frets?. I’m in Huntsville, Alabama and the neck is off the bass and ready to ship.
Click to expand...
I’m having a problem with the mis-alignment and the causative trauma. The assembly has an outer collar (clearly visible) which may be jimmied back into alignment with resulting access to the recessed hex adjustment. May have to remove some of wood for better purchase but that would not create any structural compromise.

Edit: if engineered properly, you may be able to pry the thing…probably pop right back into position.

Riis
 
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#17
Thanks for the advice and insights all. I’ve got a new neck on order and this one will be up for sale soon (if it’s worth anything). I can certainly say I’ll never have The X Shop in Huntsville AL ever set up one of my basses again.
 
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