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Reverse truss rod???
http://leftybassist.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9958		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  pjmuck [ August 3rd, 2019, 7:56 am ]
Post subject:  Reverse truss rod???
Okay, I'm hoping somebody can explain this to me.

I received my new Backlund Rockerbox bass yesterday. It arrived poorly set up, with terrible fret buzz and fretting out at the 1st fret, so I decided to adjust the neck for more relief since it was slightly forward bowed. To my surprise, when I turned the truss rod in the usual direction to add relief - clockwise - it made it worse, as it was actually tightening the truss. After some confusion, I decided to turn it counter clockwise instead and that did the trick. The bass plays beautifully now.

I've only encountered a truss rod that operated in the opposite direction on one other bass in my lifetime, so I'm wondering if there are actually lefty and righty truss rods or something's not right.
Author:  Jeroen [ August 3rd, 2019, 8:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Reverse truss rod???
My Status basses have reverse truss rods too I think.
Author:  crescenze [ August 3rd, 2019, 3:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Reverse truss rod???
pjmuck wrote:
Okay, I'm hoping somebody can explain this to me.

I received my new Backlund Rockerbox bass yesterday. It arrived poorly set up, with terrible fret buzz and fretting out at the 1st fret, so I decided to adjust the neck for more relief since it was slightly forward bowed. To my surprise, when I turned the truss rod in the usual direction to add relief - clockwise - it made it worse, as it was actually tightening the truss. After some confusion, I decided to turn it counter clockwise instead and that did the trick. The bass plays beautifully now.

I've only encountered a truss rod that operated in the opposite direction on one other bass in my lifetime, so I'm wondering if there are actually lefty and righty truss rods or something's not right.


It wouldn't be a right-handed vs left handed neck issue. It would be that the truss rod is reversed threaded or (thou ironic in this case) more commonly called left handed threads.
Author:  paulo [ August 3rd, 2019, 4:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Reverse truss rod???
Now this is a true lefty bass!
Author:  LHBASSIST [ August 5th, 2019, 6:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Reverse truss rod???
I have encountered ONE other bass in my long career of repairing instruments. I cannot mention the name of the luthier, because he's kind of close to me in location, and since he's a good guy, it would be foolish to claim he made a mistake. In my opinion, he did. He installed a double acting rod in a righty custom build, and it stumped me, until, I also tried turning it in the opposite way. Since the square bar on top of the threaded rod, is down, not directly under the board, it works in reverse operation. In my view, that square bar, is how the neck remains stable, exerting strong, uniform pressure directly under the board. The neck itself isn't all that great, but the owner digs the way it plays, so, all is well. So, the answer, is yes. But only one.
Author:  rdavidson [ January 1st, 2021, 10:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Reverse truss rod???
I'm reviving an old thread. I've started setting up my basses vs outsourcing, beyond just changing strings and cleaning. Getting into truss rod adjustment, action, intonation, etc. I've done about 3 or 4 basses and lo and behold, I'm finding inconsistencies with the direction of the truss rod turn! I've gotta note down which basses turn which way! It's a bit frustrating, especially on the older basses, where it might take a few days for the truss rod to adjust cause it might not have been turned in ages... and I'm not 100% sure now if I'm turning it the right way! So yes, at least one of my basses has the truss rod turning the opposite way from the others - I wish I wrote down which one cause now I can't remember, but I am sure noting this if I run into it again moving forward! The plight of the lefties!!! :-)
Author:  AzWhoFan [ January 11th, 2021, 2:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Reverse truss rod???
Just the other day I was talking to my tech about this same phenomenon. According to him, there is no standard in truss rod orientation.
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