In the course of catching up on the basses forum I see this mentioned at least once in every thread about vintage style Fender basses. I just wanted to point out for the record that I have never ONCE had to pull the neck or even loosen the neck bolts to adjust the truss rod on a vintage style Fender neck. This sample set includes at least a dozen different examples I've owned from actual vintage basses through Road Worns, AVRIs, and Classic series.
An appropriately sized flat head screwdriver with a large handle for leverage will fit into one of the exposed 4 slots at the neck heel and move the truss rod without having to remove the neck. Every time I've done this it has worked. I expect there are examples where this doesn't work as easily if the truss rod is particularly sticky, the pickguard particularly thick, or the neck pocket particularly deep. It vexes me that so many people say they would never own a particular type of bass because of the stupid truss rod design.
A further point for the record....I have almost NEVER had to go back and adjust a vintage style Fender truss rod after the initial setup. They tend to hold quite well at least here in north Texas. From my experience I've found the heel adjust vintage design to be a complete non-issue.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
An appropriately sized flat head screwdriver with a large handle for leverage will fit into one of the exposed 4 slots at the neck heel and move the truss rod without having to remove the neck. Every time I've done this it has worked. I expect there are examples where this doesn't work as easily if the truss rod is particularly sticky, the pickguard particularly thick, or the neck pocket particularly deep. It vexes me that so many people say they would never own a particular type of bass because of the stupid truss rod design.
A further point for the record....I have almost NEVER had to go back and adjust a vintage style Fender truss rod after the initial setup. They tend to hold quite well at least here in north Texas. From my experience I've found the heel adjust vintage design to be a complete non-issue.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
