Truss Rod Rattle

Kam

Kam

Shaftologist
So, I just picked up a new guitar a couple of days ago, brand new from a store, with a short-scale bolt-on mahogany neck.

It plays really well and the neck is straight, but there's an odd rattle coming from it. I haven't eliminated all the other possibilities, but I'm about 90% sure it's coming from the rod.

How worried should I be about this? I've never had this happen before, so I'm a little out of my depth.
 
Re: Truss Rod Rattle

Perhaps the rod has no tension on it at all? Couldn't hurt to tighten it up 1/4 turn and see what happens.
 
Re: Truss Rod Rattle

Some possible causes of rattle depend on what hardware your new guitar has or has not got.

Whatever the design, check that the machineheads are properly tightened. The stock Jin-Ho set on my Hamer XT could be underdone with thumb and first finger.
 
Truss Rod Rattle

SlyFoxx said:
Perhaps the rod has no tension on it at all? Couldn't hurt to tighten it up 1/4 turn and see what happens.
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I was thinking that. I haven't yet, for two reasons; partly because I'm practically snowed in at my parent's house and my setup tools are back at mine, but mostly because adjusting truss rods scares me in the same way that having to perform back surgery scares me.
 
Re: Truss Rod Rattle

Kam said:
I was thinking that. I haven't yet, for two reasons; partly because I'm practically snowed in at my parent's house and my setup tools are back at mine, but mostly because adjusting truss rods scares me in the same way that having to perform back surgery scares me.
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It's not hard at all is't so easy a novice could do it. Unless you have the precise tools to get an exact measurement you have to eyeball it but checkout some vids for it on utube.
 
Re: Truss Rod Rattle

Back surgery's easy, you just need the right Dremel attachment.

And truss rods will let you know when you're too tight - it'll be like opening a new pickle jar, or trying to bite off a beer bottle cap. When it gets to that point, stop.

But mostly you just give it a 1/4 turn and wait/check. Since it's a bolt-on neck, strip the hardware off of it and shake it like a screaming baby. If it doesn't rattle, it was the tuners. If it does rattle, it could just be the truss rod nut. Tap it with a pencil if that's all you got. Maybe jam some tissue in there with it and shake again.
 
Truss Rod Rattle

Funkfingers said:
Some possible causes of rattle depend on what hardware your new guitar has or has not got.

Whatever the design, check that the machineheads are properly tightened. The stock Jin-Ho set on my Hamer XT could be underdone with thumb and first finger.
Click to expand...

The strings go over a TOM style bridge, and anchored through the body.

Machineheads are one thing I haven't checked, but the rattle doesn't sound like it's coming from the headstock end.

The other possibility is a high fret, since the rattle seems to be limited to when I play in a certain position. It just doesn't sound like fret buzz to me (I've had to deal with plenty of that over the years) and I can feel it in my fretting hand theough the back of the neck, rather than just hearing it.

A couple of other things:

- As mentioned, I can feel it vibrate through the neck more than I've ever experienced with fret buzz. However, the neck has practically no finish on it, so maybe it's just more resonant than I'm used to.

- It only seems to rattle when I'm playing up around the 15 - 19 fret kind of area...which is where the rattle sounds like it's coming from.

- I've tried lifting the guitar and shaking it, and rapping on the neck with my knuckles. I can't hear the rattle when I do this.

- It's been ridiculously cold here for this time of year and I had the guitar shipped to my parent's house, which normally has the heating on full. It sat in the box, wrapped in bubble wrap and cardboard, for two days before I opened it. The changes in temperature wouldn't snap a rod, would it?
 
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Re: Truss Rod Rattle

If it's totally relaxed you can usually tighten it to make contact but not bend the neck any.
 
Re: Truss Rod Rattle

I have a Strat that gets this problem every now and then. Tightening the truss rod about a quarter turn seems to fix it, and causes no ill effects elsewhere in the guitar. It seems to be related to seasonal changes.
 
Re: Truss Rod Rattle

Oh, I thought you had the rattle all the time. I've had this on bolt-on tuneomatic models as well. I think it's actually coming from the bridge, though I was never able to find out how or why. Try jamming a rag under the bridge and check again.
If not, check that your pickup height springs are compressed. Even then, it could be sympathetic vibration on one of the other small metal parts such as that.
 
Truss Rod Rattle

Thanks, guys. I've adjusted rods before, of course, but it still always makes me nervous. I'll make my way over to my own house tomorrow, grab the wrench and tighten her up a little to see if that helps.

I guess I'm just paranoid about this because it's never happened to me before. I really like this guitar, so I'd hate it if it turned out that it's rattling because it's broken and I end up with a pretzel neck.
 
Truss Rod Rattle

You guys who've had rattling rods before...is it normal for the rattle to only occur when you're playing in a certain position, or is it more normal for it to rattle no matter where on the neck you're playing?
 
Truss Rod Rattle

Lol. If it's any consolation, I'm giving serious thought to putting a Tele bridge pup in it...
 
Re: Truss Rod Rattle

Kam said:
I really like this guitar, so I'd hate it if it turned out that it's rattling because it's broken and I end up with a pretzel neck.
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A wee bit 'o tightening (1/4-1/2) turn won't give yee a pretzel. But if it did 'yer geetar was screwed from thee get go.
 
Re: Truss Rod Rattle

Kam said:
You guys who've had rattling rods before...is it normal for the rattle to only occur when you're playing in a certain position, or is it more normal for it to rattle no matter where on the neck you're playing?
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For me, it would mostly be on lower notes, especially on the A string. The truss rod would resonate along with the note. I could actually feel it vibrate inside the neck. More of a hum/buzz than a rattle.
 
Re: Truss Rod Rattle

Kam said:
You guys who've had rattling rods before...is it normal for the rattle to only occur when you're playing in a certain position, or is it more normal for it to rattle no matter where on the neck you're playing?
Click to expand...

It really does depend on whats causing the rattle. I've had rattling happen when playing certain notes & no rattle in any other positions. I've also had it rattle when playing an open D but not when playing the same note fretted. So I think in some cases its inherent in the way the rod was installed. I have a musicicraft neck on one of my Strats that rattles from time to time, but it plays fine. It can be a bothersome problem to track down.....
 
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