Help! JP6 Free truss nut?

[gurtejsingh]

Hey Guys,

I have a black stealth JP6, and everything is great with the guitar. I just shifted from a fairly colder area (US) back to a more warmer place (India), and quite obviously the truss is responding differently to the warmer weather so I thought of tweaking it a bit, as I am experience a slightly greater amount of buzz in the strings.

Herein lies the problem, I can tighten the truss nut well and it gets quite tight thereby lowering the action, but when I want to loosen it and increase the action, it becomes free after a few turns and from there on I can literally rotate it with my finger. Is this the desired behavior? Is there a limit to how much it can rotate before it becomes free?

A bit worried since there may be no EBMM coverage here, and I am concerned if everything is ok with the guitar?

Please Help!

Thanks!

 

[gurtejsingh]

Guys, any ideas on this? Right now there is quite a lot of buzz on the lower strings on the lower frets and I cannot seem to understand why? I checked for a bow and there seems to be none. The buzz seems to go away towards the higher frets. Any help would be great! Calling all EBMM pros!

 

[edhalen]

I would contact EBMM customer service. Their number can be found on the music-man.com site.

 

[mikeller]

Excellent advise from edhalen.

If that is not possible for you in India - let me ask, how long ago was the move?

 

[beej]

One thing you can try while you're waiting is to grab the end of the headstock and slowly pull it forward, encouraging some bow. Perhaps the rod is slightly stuck in the channel.

 

[gurtejsingh]

Thanks guys for the responses. I can surely call support from here in India, but of course shipping it to EBMM for a fix would be a huge challenge. I moved back here just a week back, and honestly I don't know how long the problem has been there, I've never had to adjust the truss rod too much.

I will try giving them a call, and see what they suggest. I'm afraid to pull the headstock too much, I've already tried this a bit but had no effect. Is there a sign/sound that I should be looking for while pulling it? When to stop!

Any other ideas? Thanks again!

 

[orion_21]

If the truss rod is loose, that's only a problem if the neck has a back bow or is dead straight and you need to add relief. Is the neck too straight and the strings are fretting out or something?

 

[mikeller]

Maybe a crazy suggestion - but you could temporarily try heavier gauage strings to put some extra tension on the neck.

I had a similar problem with one of my guitars, had to virtually loosen the truss adjustment all the way to get enough relief. I did that, and within a short period, maybe a few weeks, it needed tightened. Since it has been tightened several more times and has gone thru several years of season changes (I am in Ohio - we have fairly cold winters and hot muggy summers) and it has been fine. It just might take a little time.

 

[gurtejsingh]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions, but still I am facing medium buzz on my lower strings near the nut. Dont know whats going on. Tried raising the action, saddles, everything, but it just wont go away.

Also, I have tried calling EBMM customer support, but in vain, the time difference here does not allow a suitable time for calling them. I even wrote to them , but have got no response from anyone in the past 3 days.

Can one of you please be kind enough to call them and describe the problem I am facing? I'd really appreciate the support! Thanks!

 

[Flash Gordon]

Relative humidity is a big factor. I had a similar issue with one of my 20th Aniv. Silos after traveling with it. II almost sent it back to EBMM... But here's what cured my issue: it took a good 6-8 weeks for the neck to acclimate. I would suggest getting a case humidifier, and loosening the nut until it spins free. Keep the guitar in its case checking your humidifier and neck once a week. Then see what happens. It should start to require additional loosening. That's how you will know it's working!

Good luck.

 

[beej]

MM is closed on Fridays, so given them a chance to respond to it next week (Pacific time).

They're good by email, but I still think a phone call is always the quickest way to to issues resolved, even if it means making a call at an inconvenient time.

 

[gurtejsingh]

Thanks Flash and beej. What exactly do you mean by a case humidifier? Can you share a link please? I doubt I'll get it here, but do share a link. I think waiting is the best option I have right now. I am going a little crazy since I cant palm mute well, and all my tones are sounding odd, but I think it will take a while for the guitar to acclimatize, and while I do that, I am hoping a reply from EBMM in the meantime.

Thanks guys.

 

[Flash Gordon]

Just get a kitchen sponge, wet it, put it in a sandwich Baggie but don't seal the bag. You need something to add moisture to the case so the neck can absorb it. Put the make-shift humidifier in the case in the neck cavity. Keep that sponge moist (but not dripping).

 

[gurtejsingh]

Thanks Flash.

I finally managed to speak with A.J from EBMM and he was quite helpful in explaining the tricks, but quite as I feared, there is not much anyone can do without having a look at the guitar, and the only way to do that is to ship it to US, which is impossible for me right now.

I took a closer look at the neck profile, and I do see a slight back bow (very less), probably which is causing the buzz in the open strings. And it is confirmed that I am maxed out in terms of adding relief, since the truss wheel is completely loose, the truss rod does not seem to be stuck, since I am able to tighten it, so it does seem like a climate issue. I tried adding pressure on the 9th fret as advised, but did not do anything, no pop sound.

Flash, do you think I still need to try out the case humidifier trick? Are you sure it wont screw up things more? Asking because I came from a pretty dry climate (US) to India, where it has been raining almost everyday from the past two weeks. I think I need to reduce moisture rather than add it?

Please do let me know. Cheers!

 

[Flash Gordon]

Regardless of what you do or don't do... It will simply take time for the wood to acclimate. By controlling it, you can speed up the process by giving it a constant environment. Again, your choice. Good luck! Peeceout

 

[gurtejsingh]

Well folks, just updating this thread. Its been 2-3 weeks and I have tried everything from calling EBMM and trying out other ideas recommended on this thread, but still no joy. I have had to eventually increase my action a fair bit (both via the bridge and the saddles), to get rid of some of the buzz. But it still does buzz on the open strings. I checked the neck and there seems to be no bow now, yet the truss nut is absolutely loose.

Also, the lower action and buzz is giving me crappy tones and unclear playing as well. Palm muting sounds weird, and live sound sounds muddy and jarred.

As of now I have no idea what is going on, and to be honest I am a tab bit concerned whats going on with my guitar. I will have to find a good luthier around and show it to them I guess. Anyone else gone through this experience where you just feel like giving up?

 

[MesaBeno]

I don't know much about this, but I have a question for those in the know; isn't a loose truss rod a sign that something's not right with it? I was under the impression you could tighten or loosen, but for it to reach a point like he's described (where it's effectively so loose he can move it freely with fingers with no tension whatsoever) I would have thought meant the truss rod itself is broken or there's something wrong with it...am I really off base with that thought?

 

[DrKev]

isn't a loose truss rod a sign that something's not right with it? I was under the impression you could tighten or loosen, but for it to reach a point like he's described (where it's effectively so loose he can move it freely with fingers with no tension whatsoever) I would have thought meant the truss rod itself is broken or there's something wrong with it...am I really off base with that thought?

The EBMM truss rod is a traditional one-way truss rod, working in compression only when in contact with the end of the neck. The adjustment nut screws on to the threaded end of the truss rod inside the neck. The adjustment nut will unscrew (though it's actually quite long, you can't do it accidentally), so being loose enough to turn by hand if you back it off enough is probably not indicative of any problem in itself. Also remember a broken truss rod will not produce the symptoms he is seeing (not enough neck relief).

We can't diagnose from where we are. A good luthier needs to look at the guitar.

 

[orion_21]

Try casing the guitar with wet hand towels for a couple weeks, replacing the towels when they dry out. Loosen the strings first.

 

[DrKev]

NO. Don't try that!