Resonating trussrod. How to fix it?

bluetrain · October 2015

Hi!

I recently bought a new django guitar and after changing the strings from 10s to 11s I noticed that the trussrod resonates when i play some notes. Only way I could make this go away was to adjust the trussrod so that the neck has quite a lot of relief. I would favour to have a bit straighter neck but I just can't get rid of the buzzing trussrod. The note might change which makes the trussrod rattle inside the neck after tightening or loosing the trussrod. Is there anything else I could do?

Next step that I'm probably going to do is to take it to a luthier to inject some glue inside the neck. I think this is done by removing the neck dots and drilling small holes and injecting some glue this way. Is this a difficult process? I'm also curious what kind of glue would be the best choice for this operation?

Thanks,
Tomi

Craig Bumgarner · October 2015

Yes, removing a dot or two and injecting is the way it is usually done. Hot bee's wax might be a better choice than glue in that it is less likely to lockup the truss rod.

Jazzaferri · October 2015

Methinks any glue would be a mistake. Beeswax would be very good for the wood as would Carnauba which is quite a bit harder than beeswax when cold. Parrafin would work as well. If you go with wax, make sure that the neck is nice and warm so the wax will stay fluid longer. Not hot, just nice and evenly warm to the touch.

bluetrain · October 2015

Thanks guys! So no wood glue? How about hide glue?

Jazzaferri · October 2015

If the truss rod adheres to the wood in the neck and then the neck and the truss rod end up moving in different directions, (moisture temperature) who is going to win that one do you think

bluetrain · October 2015

Jazzaferri wrote: »

If the truss rod adheres to the wood in the neck and then the neck and the truss rod end up moving in different directions, (moisture temperature) who is going to win that one do you think

Makes sense! Thank you for the tips!

Jeff Moore · October 2015

Get a second opinion. I don't know how much our necks add to sound, but in my tinkering I always do things and use stuff that I hope will not hamper resonating. But that could be just dumb cuz it really doesn't matter?
The guitar I play everyday (for now) I ordered without a rod at all for these reasons. I can fix the problems that might result from that choice and I wanted just wood and hide glue for whatever acoustic value it might have. I hope your diagnosis is wrong, but you might live with the hide glue option and skip using the rod just fine. I also ordered a really thick hunk of neck thinking it would be stable enough (It's been completely stable) and I love thick necks anyway. If you have a modern thin neck, I'd keep the rod working just in case.

jonpowl · October 2015

OK, I've had a few beers, but I can't help but think something is weird about this thread. I recently bought a Dupont that arrived perfectly set up with 11s. I was used to 10s, so I wasted a perfectly good set of strings and changed to 10s. The whole neck started ringing like a bell, after sounding like Gonzalo's guitar when I first got it. I thought about adjusting the truss rod, but since it had been playing perfectly with 11s, I changed to some Argie 11s and, voila, the guitar sounds and plays great again. Simple, cheap fix, $10 in strings. Perhaps you should have just changed back to 10s....

bluetrain · October 2015

You know it's fine having 10s (no resonance right now) but it just keeps me thinking because I loved the sound and stiffer feel of 11s and the setup was perfect with those. I started this thread just to gather some information before doing anything stupid

Craig Bumgarner · October 2015

The way I have identified loose truss rods in the past is to hold the guitar in the playing position and strike the back of the neck a sharp blow the heel of my hand. When I did this, the rattle of the rod was unmistakable. When playing, it is just a resonant buzz and hard to isolate. If you are getting a resonance with some strings and not others, I would make every effort to identify the source positively before doing anything drastic. In your OP you said you would take it to a luthier. Good idea for both evaluation and repair.