PaulAdams
Music
with David Hoffman
| This is an Electric solidbody Dulcimer I made for myself for my next album |
THE TRUSS ROD
Another improvement in the newer cheap guitars is the functionality of the "truss rod". This is a metal rod running inside the length of the guitar neck (Usually about 1/2" below the fret board.) to counter to "pull" of all those strings. The "pull" of the strings can create a "forward bow". If you tighten the truss rod, it creates a counter pull theoretically reducing any warping. The easiest (Yet not necessarily the most accurate way ) of seeing if a neck has a "forward bow", is to sight down the neck like you would a rifle. If it looks flat, or has just a slight amount of "pull", chances are you are OK (Please note that the classical guitar, utilizing nylon strings, does not traditionally use a truss rod so don't worry about your future classical friend not having one. There is usually less string pull or tension on a nylon stringed guitar. And the neck is usually bigger having more mass and strength. Some guitar necks are actually made of a sandwich of woods glued together. The photo below on the right is an example. This sandwich effect makes the neck stronger.). Other evidence of a "bowed neck" is if the action - or the string height (The distance between the string and the 12th fret.) is high making it difficult to press the strings and play.
This shows the truss rod slot that runs through the inside of the neck
On the left is the slot opening displaying the end of the truss rod that can be adjusted.
I used to tear my hair out when repairing the earlier cheap instruments because many of the truss rods did not work. My only choice then was to either toss the instrument, or remove the frets and flatten the fret board, then reinstalling the frets. The labor could exceed the price of the guitar. Occasionally I can fix a warped neck by using a heated "neck stretcher" but that is a story for a deeper look into the guitar.
A Zebra wood Electric with brainy fancy electronics and a photo of Meher Baba inlaid with Ebony and Abalone.
"DUDE, LOOK AT THAT PAINT JOB. THERE'S OZZIES FACE UNDER THE BRIDGE"!
One battle a parent will have when buying a guitar for their son or daughter, is the cosmetic aspect. Most professional musicians I know don't really care what the instrument looks like. Well, maybe that's going too far, BUT, I do know that the emphasis is on playability and sound. The two most important features in the relationship between man and musician. Many kids are going to be attracted to that fancy glittery thing shaped like hangman's Ax. Well, here again, the news isn't that bad. Most of these instruments are fairly well constructed as well, and should provide a structurally integrated start. If you are shopping for an electric guitar, you might want to ask the store owner about the strength of the metal hardware like the bridge and "vibrato arm". Even today, they are sometimes made of weakened pot metal and can break. But, this is becomming more rare. The DOWN SIDE about fledgling musicians focusing on looks, is that they may exclude a really great instrument available at a decent price because of a few "dings". I really don't know what to say about this dilema, I had to have a Madras belt when I was 13. Maybe you can show them a photo of Stevie Ray Vaughn's Strat. It was definitely ridden hard, but very road worthy!! On my third album A VIEW FROM THE PLAIN (Acoustic oriented finger style guitar.) I made extensive use of an old Regal guitar I bought for $30.00 at a flea market. Once I re glued the back to the sides, it made a great slide guitar. Matter of fact, all the slide guitar work on that album was done with the little Regal (Hint: Have a nice guitar, sounds great but strings very high off the neck? Can't afford to fix? Whala!!! You have yourself a "slide guitar"!!).
