Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

dvadneau

dvadneau

New member
I got my 91 es 335 last week and it sounds awesome. It plays well, except the action is a little high. On Thursday I decided to make some adjustments.

I took the pickguard off to see what it would look like. Apparently it had never been taken off before, because the metal piece that sits on the top took a layer of paint with it! I had a pg on an LP before (Epi) but it didn't sit on the top of the body.

How does that relate to the truss rod? When I took the truss rod cover off, it was obvious it hadn't been removed in quite some time, maybe never.

The neck ramps up near the end, providing some relief, but it's more than I'm used to, and the cause of the high action.

I tried adjusting the truss rod, but it won't budge. I didn't try to force it too much as I didn't want to snap it. However, seeing as it's old and probably never been adjusted what should I do? Do I give it some muscle, or just bring it to my luthier?

The guitar is playable as is, just not as good as it could be.

I should note a couple of things: I've already spent more than I can afford at this point, and the frets will probably need leveling at this point. The high action is helping to compensate for this at the moment.

... Talking myself out of repair work I guess.

Anyone have any experience with a stubborn truss rod? And what did you end up doing?
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

Basic information needed, please.

What neck wood, mahogany or maple? What string gauges? Have you taken proper feeler gauge measurements of the neck relief at the seventh fret? Do the frets appear correctly seated?
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

The neck is mahogany with an ebony fretboard. The frets look to be seated ok - I'm no expert, though.

Have you taken proper feeler gauge measurements of the neck relief at the seventh fret?
Click to expand...

Not even sure what that means. Do you mean measure at the 7th fret while pinning down a string? Where do I pin it down?
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

dvadneau said:
Not even sure what that means. Do you mean measure at the 7th fret while pinning down a string? Where do I pin it down?
Click to expand...

Put a capo on the first fret, press down at the 17 fret, then measure at the 7th.
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

dvadneau said:
Do you mean measure at the 7th fret while pinning down a string? Where do I pin it down?
Click to expand...

Yes. Capo between first fret and nut. Finger above highest fret. Position feeler gauge with other hand.

I asked about string gauges in case these had been changed in the past without a compensating truss rod adjustment being made?

Penetrating oil on the screw thread might crack the corrosion. Otherwise, take the guitar to an experienced luthier.
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

Thanks guys.

Position feeler gauge with other hand.
Click to expand...

I have a small steel ruler I typically use for pickup height. Sorry, I know I sound like a noob here, but what is a feeler gauge?

I haven't changed the strings since I got the guitar last week, and I don't know about previous history. I'll ask, but the seller might not know either. Currently it has 10-46 - pretty sure. I have 11-50 on my LP and it's definitely not that big, but I don't think it's 9-42 either as I used to have that on a guitar and find that gauge annoyingly small. It could be something in between, 10-48 or such, but whatever it is, simple intonation at the 12th is decent. I know there are better techniques, but that usually gets me good on my guitars.

I'll try the penetrating oil to see if that gets things moving.
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

Does it loosen? It might be bottoming out at the end of the threaded part of the rod. If that's the case you can get a washer or two to stack under the nut to get a little more range. I've done this with success on a Peavey neck.
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

No, it doesn't move at all, in either direction. Again, I didn't force too hard, but I've messed with the truss rod on my '91 Ibanez, a couple of Epi LPs, and my Squier Teles and none were tight like this.

It could be that it just hasn't moved in 20 years. Hopefully it's not that someone messed with it and damaged it. Although, unless the penetrating oil helps, I'm guessing I'll need to have it professionally serviced, or live with it.
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

Just keep at it with the oil. A drop today, a drop tomorrow, etc., for a few days, then try to loosen it (ccw motion). If it is bottomed out like Izzo suggested, it won't budge in the clockwise direction, regardless, at least until it snaps off, so don't do that. While you're trying to loosen it, you may also want to give it gentle taps to help break the corrosion. Gentle, but firm. I don't mean haul off and swing a wrench against it like a gorilla. :lol:
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

First of all, determine if it really needs to be moved in the first place.

If so, try bending the neck to where you want it first, and then tightening the nut. That is the "proper" way to tighten a truss rod nut anyhow. If it's working, it'll move without a ton of force. You can use some force, but if you go overboard on a nut that is obviously stuck, you can twist the end of the rod right off, so use caution.

If you encounter much resistance, just take it to a pro.

P.S.

dvadneau said:
[W]hat is a feeler gauge?
Click to expand...

A tool for measuring small gaps, usually in the 1/1000's of an inch. In lieu of a feeler gauge, you can use allen wrenches or drill bits for such measurements.
 
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Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

Its not a matter of determining if the trussrod needs needs to be moved or not. besides, youve already decided you want more relief..Ya want the thing to be right, and right now, it isnt.
My feeling is the trussrod is effed beyond any fixing.
theres nothing you can do till ya get the rodBut, lets hope not.
The thing ya want to do is to try and LOOSEN it, not Titan it. Yeah, I know you eventually want to tighten it some more for less relief, but right now, ya need to get the trussrod working and best way is to try and loosen it,
Best rust busting lubricant is ..mm content to be added later, i forgot- egt an eye dropper and drop a few drops into the nut.
wait awhile and try to trun it, but dont force it too much.
Nowadays they have a trussrod rescue tool for Stwemac, but I'll eb damnd if Ive ever heard or seen any Luthier that knoes how to use one besides Erlewine, so I'd suggest maybe sending your expansive 335 to him..IDK>
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

Jerry...Rumblebox just used that truss rod rescue tool to save his 71 GT like, 2 weeks ago, and it'd had a busted truss rod for something like 15-20 years. Where were you?

And again, like Jerry said, loosen it-gotta get it free before you can even think of tightening it. Try PB Blaster or Kroil in an eye dropper or spray some in a cap and transfer it with a toothpick, 1 drop at a time, to the truss rod nut.
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

be careful, or you'll break the end of the truss rod off like my dad did to my les paul about 25 years ago.

carefully spray some PB blaster to the end and let it sit for a few days and try again...

of just break it off and buy this from me.

9be789fd.jpg
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

The safest thing to do is take it to a repair person. That aside try loosening the rod first. If it's stubborn to tighten then try loosening the rod, then you can apply a little lubricant on the threads and work the nut back and fourth until it moves freely, then adjust it. But as I said ealier the safest thing to do is to take it to a qualified luthier to solve it.
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

I'll try the PB Blaster this week and see if I get anywhere. If not I'll take it to my luthier. I definitely don't want to mess up the guitar, and I'm not in a rush to buy rumblebox's tool set ;) There's no hurry, so I'll try to make sure I do it right.

Lots to learn - thanks everyone!
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

Good news! It has un-stuck. I couldn't find any PB Blaster at Walmart - the only thing open after practice session yesterday. So, I got some Liquid Wrench.

Good call on the dropper. I touched the nut and the liquid came out (woah ... moving on). I gave it a few minutes then put the socket wrench on and gave it a few light taps. I moved it back and forth a little, really just to make sure the liquid could find it's way around where it needed to go.

I made sure to go counter clockwise as suggested ... then it started to move. I got it to move back and forth a little - cue big sigh of relief!

About an hour later I tried moving it again and was able to get it moving as before. So, I gave it a try and tightened it up a little - not much, less than a 1/4 turn for sure, closer to 1/8th or less. I just wanted it to be able to move in that direction.

Today, about 12 hours later, I tried it again. I loosened the strings and pulled on the neck a little while tightening. I started with counter clockwise again, just to get it to move a little easier, then turned clockwise.

The neck is a little straighter. There is hope. More might be needed, but I'll give it time to settle. I also adjusted the bridge height. The action's higher than I prefer. The frets need to be dressed as they deadened out on the higher ones, which is why I raised the bridge a little to compensate for now.

It sounds better, as the intonation seems to be a lot closer, especially on the lower frets at the nut.

Things are looking good. Thanks to all who replied - I love this forum!
 
Re: Truss rod stuck on my ES 335

yea i'm surprised how much better my intonation got, simply from straightening the neck. it's perfect now.
 
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