Help! JP6 2002 no piezo Truss rod issue

[Suwar22]

Hey guys!
I have a terrible problem. I have this guitar for so long and love it. Lately my truss rod got so loose it wont go any looser... But the neck acts like Its super tight. And I have 9,5 on it. Any ideas? Kinda desperate to be honest.... Thanks!

 

[tbonesullivan]

So, is the neck back bowed? What did you measure the relief at? Have you checked for high frets?

 

[Spudmurphy]

.... what's the piezo issue?

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

.... what's the piezo issue?

I believe they mean it's a JP6 (with no piezo) that has a truss rod issue.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I believe they mean it's a JP6 (with no piezo) that has a truss rod issue.

It comes with age Pete, it comes with age . lol

 

[Keymaster]

Not sure if same issue or not - I have a fair amount of experience with guitars, am a HS Physics teacher etc., picked up a slightly used MM JP6 non-piezo in tangerine with factory case for my son back in 2016; he'd been getting by with his MIM strat I rewired to Jeff Beck specs, and my Schecter Omen 6, and he was turning into such a good shredder he deserved a better guitar. Phenomenal instrument, incredible action, always restrung with EB 11's. Probably last time I saw the JP6 would be 2019; he's been away at college not playing so much (and seemed to be gravitating to the old Fender) and just asked me to check his axe over; I restrung it and you could drive a truck under the strings. Turns out the truss rod nut was completely loose, like falling-off loose; tightening it back up got the action where it was supposed to be and we'll be re-checking it weekly for a couple of months until it stabilizes. He swears he didn't touch the truss rod, he also has one of those humidity paks in the case and knows better than to expose it to temperature or humidity extremes. What could possibly have caused this? Neck drying out and shrinking along the long axis seems far-fetched.

 

[DrKev]

Hey Keymaster, welcome to the forum!

I would propose two answers.

1) As you know, without significant vibration, tight things don't loosen all by themselves, which mean the most likely explanations are that the truss rod was loose from the get go and was never noticed, or, your son loosened it and forgot about it. Either way, it doesn't matter because...

2) As long as the truss rod works and you can achieve appropriate neck relief, all is well. You also probably already know that as we move into winter and we start heating our houses again, neck woods may dry out and may need truss rod adjustments soon. Also, the JP necks are quite thin and therefore may be a little more prone to changes in neck relief, so don't be surprised if you need to make a few adjustments in the coming weeks or months. As I just said, as long as the truss rod works and you can achieve appropriate neck relief when you need to, all is well.