Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

[devilfish]

Aloha, I believe the truss rod in my highway one strat to be a two way truss rod.. I'm having issues adjusting it to become straight.

It seems to adjust fine putting relief into the neck, but tightening the truss rod does very little if anything to straighten the neck out. I've tried applying some pressed into the headstock to straighten the neck out then adjust the truss rod til its pretty firm but still no luck!

Also for the past few months i've heard a rattling which seems to come from the neck if tje strings are hit relatively hard.. could be the truss rod perhaps?

And suggestions on things to try to eliminate what it could be?

Thanks

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Hwy 1 models get a single action rod, and backing it off will create relief.

Back the rod completely off, and then clamp the neck to a flat surface. Tighten the rod and see if it holds.

If the rod will not tighten, and you hear rattling, I have some bad news.

 

[devilfish]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Yeah I'm not suprise to be honest.. backing it off creates relief, but tightening it seems to do literally nothing!

Is it that the rods broken or that its lifted up out of the channel?

Are there any ways to fix it? Or is it new neck time?

 

[malymal86]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

new neck time.

 

[devilfish]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Is it not replaceable? If I remove the frets, remove the fingerboard piece by piece, replace truss rod then add a new fingerboard and fret it?

I am currently taking a lutherie course so I have the means to attempt such a stupid idea aha.

No other things to consider?

 

[malymal86]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Is it not replaceable? If I remove the frets, remove the fingerboard piece by piece, replace truss rod then add a new fingerboard and fret it?

I am currently taking a lutherie course so I have the means to attempt such a stupid idea aha.

No other things to consider?

well in that case i'd say go for it! if it does not work you could always say hey i try'd.

 

[Pierre]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Is it not replaceable? If I remove the frets, remove the fingerboard piece by piece, replace truss rod then add a new fingerboard and fret it?

I am currently taking a lutherie course so I have the means to attempt such a stupid idea aha.

No other things to consider?

That's not how you remove a fingerboard. You indeed would be better off removing the frets of course, then you need a heating blade which you slide between the board and neck as you heat up the neck with a clothing iron. From there you can work on the truss rod, and then replace the fingerboard.

Of course it's a high, high risk operation... and replacing the neck is cheaper in terms of time, costs and the cost of your own.

 

[devilfish]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Thanks for that! I'm aware it's an extremely risky thing to attempt if they have the right stuff at college.

If not I'm starting my first neck over the next week or so, so I may end up just replicating my original neck, and use this one for practising refrets etc.. would be a lot more fun!

any good videos/tutorials on removing fingerboards etc?

 

[devilfish]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Thanks for that! I'm aware it's an extremely risky thing to attempt if they have the right stuff at college.

If not I'm starting my first neck over the next week or so, so I may end up just replicating my original neck, and use this one for practising refrets etc.. would be a lot more fun!

any good videos/tutorials on removing fingerboards etc?

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

are you sure it's not just stripped threads on the nut or rod itself...? if so they have tools to help fix this issue now at StewMac

BUT... a few necks i own get stuck when i adjust the rods... and i can loosen the nut off and get nothing moving at all... until i lay the guitar down on a table and i apply a CPR style press in the middle of the neck or pull the headstock back slightly... frees up the stickiness and the neck moves... but more so i've seen this when trying to create more bow, not straighten a neck... odd ....

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Does the rod tighten, or does it just spin?

Replacing the rod on a Hwy 1 neck is not cost effective unless you are doing it yourself.

Let's make sure this one is baked before we start buying new necks.

 

[devilfish]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

The rod tightens for sure. It just does very little to straighten the neck.. and I'm pretty sure the rattling is coming from the truss rod too.. but that's not really an issue to me so long as I can adjust the rod!

What do you recommend to try first? Clamping the neck dead straight or slight backbow? Then loosen and tighten the rod?

If that doesn't what can I try replacing/repairing before I consider removing the fretboard or remaking a neck?

Thanks guys, appreciate the help

 

[devilfish]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Considering you're taking a lutheiry course just gut it for as many parts as you can and make a new one.

Hear what you're saying but this guitars been with me for quite a while and its pretty sentimental aha.

I'd like to get it fixed but I will make a new neck as and when if not!

 

[GLJazz]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Dunno exactly the nature of your lutheiry course, but have you conisdered taking it to your professor and get him to give you an opinion? No matter how good the luthiers on the board are (they've saved my ass a few times :bigok Nothing beats a hands on evaluation!

 

[devilfish]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Dunno exactly the nature of your lutheiry course, but have you conisdered taking it to your professor and get him to give you an opinion? No matter how good the luthiers on the board are (they've saved my ass a few times :bigok Nothing beats a hands on evaluation!

Yeah that was the first thing I thought of but I travel around 2 hours a day on the train to get there, pain to get it there.. will if I get no luck from suggestions on here though!

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Dunno exactly the nature of your lutheiry course, but have you conisdered taking it to your professor and get him to give you an opinion? No matter how good the luthiers on the board are (they've saved my ass a few times :bigok Nothing beats a hands on evaluation!

bingo...

ya before any cutting into a neck like that you should try and save it as best you can first... most guitar repair courses will show you that is the best way most of the time...

if the rod is broken inside or at the heal area of the neck that is kind of rare anyways under normal stresses... of course a factory defect is always possible....

most issues with truss rod problems is at the nut area itself... they have tools that will re-tap and re-thread truss rods that have been stripped or broken...

but from the sounds of it you may have a twisted neck if you can adjust the truss rod and it still does not go far enough... if that is the case then thru your course you will learn how to sand the board true again and refret it....

rattleing can come from various places on a strat that can drive ya crazy trying to pin point it... i've had tuners buzzing away, bridge pieces... even Pick Ups.... the neck and middle Pickups on my 1999 MIM strat vibrate with some notes... i'll have to change the springs on them back to the tubing to try and calm this down...

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

"Rod rattle" is because the rod was installed fully slack, and there is not much you can do about it.

Remove the neck and back off the rod. Clamp it face down to a flat surface and tighten the rod. Check the relief with a straight edge and if the neck still has relief, reclamp it down, but this time insert a small shim under the first and last fret. Clamp the neck into a slight back bow and tightin the rod.

If the neck still will not go straight, then the rod is maxing out. I had this same problem with a neck, and ended up replacing the rod.

Did you happen to buy the guitar new? If so, you should be able to get Fender to replace it.

 

[MrBluefellow]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

Old thread, I know. But for the benefit of anybody having a problem like this ...

I have a Highway One Strat that had too much neck relief. It couldn't be adjusted out, and the previous owner had stripped the allen slot where you adjust.

I bought the StewMac 1/8" tapered truss adjuster and was able to turn the nut, but found that it was bottomed out and wouldn't get the truss rod as tight as needed for the proper relief (which, of course, is why the hex slot got stripped—somebody trying too hard to adjust it).

So I ordered a new Fender American nut and set about removing the old nut. I planned to replace the nut and also add a washer or two so it would adjust properly.

The new nut came and I checked with a screw to be sure both nuts had the same thread type and, just because I'm the curious type, I threaded the screw in until it bottomed in each nut. What I found is that the threads on the stock Highway One Strat are 6mm (about 1/4") shallower than the replacement! In other words, you have an 6mm less adjustment available on the stock Highway nut.

In the past this wouldn't have bothered me: I would have just chalked it up to bad luck. But after another "Fender Moment" I had recently, I have my questions.

About a month ago a friend of mine pointed out that my beautiful American Standard Strat has a Poplar body that's sandwiched between thin veneers of Alder. The guitar sounds great, so that's not a problem—the problem is with trust. Fender told no one that those guitars had poplar bodies until a good while later when they were found out.

It makes me wonder if this "mistake" with the truss nut was intentional. I would imagine that most people wouldn't get their truss problem on one of these fixed. They'll just move the guitar along and bump up to a pricier Strat.

Anyway, I hope this helps somebody.




~~

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Truss rod issues / fender highway one strat

When tightening a truss rod (i.e. lessening the relief), I always use the weight of the guitar to bend the neck to where I want it. The guitar rests on a carpetted table, the neck at around the fifth or seventh fret goes over my knee like a see-saw, and my left hand goes near the nut area. Then I gently push down bit by bit with my left hand to bend the neck. This takes the stress off the truss rod threads, and makes the neck less likely to develop weird "S" curves. I rarely have to lift the guitar body very far, but I have done so a few times on really stiff necks with no ill results.