Nearly stripped truss rod nut...

[DrBromiAndufEwd]

Just got a new guitar and it was setup with medium-heavy strings and i play lights...so i need to adjust the neck relief a bit...but the truss rod nut is pretty rounded...any suggestions? Other than to make sure im using the right size wrench and be real careful....

[arie]

-is the guitar brand new or new to you?
-is it so rounded that you can take it off at all?
-is the nut in the sound hole or on the peg head?

[DrBromiAndufEwd]

05' epiphone masterbilt dr500r - New to me

I'm not sure yet, i tried to make the adjustment last night but realized didnt have the right size allen wrench....which was also when i noticed the problem. (i didnt cause it if thats what yer thinkin )

On the peg head.

Ill post a pic

[DrBromiAndufEwd]

Said nut in question

[arie]

Originally Posted by DrBromiAndufEwd

05' epiphone masterbilt dr500r - New to me

I'm not sure yet, i tried to make the adjustment last night but realized didnt have the right size allen wrench....which was also when i noticed the problem. (i didnt cause it if thats what yer thinkin )

On the peg head.

Ill post a pick

ok. allen key, peg head location.... if the problem isn't solved with the right sized allen key, then were it mine and the hex was stripped i'd use an ez-out to remove it and replace it with a new one. perhaps from stew mac etc...

[DrBromiAndufEwd]

Originally Posted by arie

ok. allen key, peg head location.... if the problem isn't solved with the right sized allen key, then were it mine and the hex was stripped i'd use an ez-out to remove it and replace it with a new one. perhaps from stew mac etc...

OH.......lol.

I'm fairly new to setting up my own guitars....wasn't aware that it would come all the way off and be replaceable....haha had i known that i think the solution would have been fairly obvious!

Thanks for the heads up! haha. I feel a little silly now...

[arie]

no worries. i'm having some stupid login problems with the board...

gnarly, yep time for the ez-out (screw extractor)



Proceed slowly and with feel. Don't force it. If the guitar has a double action rod then this may not work. Seek pro help if you run into any problems.

[badbazil]

The Allen nut is metric. Try a 4mm, 5mm or a 6mm Allen wrench.

[DrBromiAndufEwd]

Originally Posted by badbazil

The Allen nut is metric. Try a 4mm, 5mm or a 6mm Allen wrench.

that could be a problem...cuz i have a 4mm which is what almost fit....I just assumed it was english then....must be stripped worse than i thought...

[dchristo]

Originally Posted by arie

no worries. i'm having some stupid login problems with the board...

gnarly, yep time for the ez-out (screw extractor)



Proceed slowly and with feel. Don't force it. If the guitar has a double action rod then this may not work. Seek pro help if you run into any problems.

the masterbuilts have a double action truss rod

[fitness1]

I just went through this with an expensive hand made instrument......it's possible that those truss nuts are welded on.

[bobby b]

Originally Posted by arie

Yeowzah!!! No way the business end of that would get anywhere near my guitars.....sheesh!!

I would get the correct allen wrench and see if it gets any purchase on what is left. It may help to gently....er um...GENTLY... tap the wrench into the hole to seat it properly.....however after seeing your pic I'm not sure I should advise that you use any more tools on your guitar..... ...... ......




......or you could take it to a tech.

[DrBromiAndufEwd]

So last night I borrowed my dad's allen sets, nothing worked. 4mm was the closet size but I couldn't get any movement left or right. Its obvious someones wrenched on this thing quite a bit...

The actions really great where it is, BUT the G string sits just a touch too low at the nut so i get a bit of an open buzz there , I noticed if i pushed the neck forward even a tiny amount that it went away, same with the fret buzz I've gotten at the 9th again on the G string and just a touch on b and e.

All this started when i lowered the saddle. I pulled the saddle out and marked it how much lower i wanted to go and when i went to put it back in i realized there were shims in there I hadn't notice when i took the saddle out.... Oops.

I had left a little bit of my line on the saddle cuz i didn't want to go too low the first time...So i thought maybe I'd be ok without the shims...i went ahead and put it back together without the shims....and it plays amazingly but like i said...fret buzz in a couple spots...

The thing is the tone, sustain and sensitivity of the guitar was noticeably improved without the shims....So i really didnt want to put them back in, so i was HOPING that a small truss rod adjustment would help/solve the problem because if i play softley enough i dont even get the buzz, its just when im playing with some vigor that it buzzes...but seeing as thats not an option at the moment...maybe my best bet is to just order a new saddle. I've got one from Bob Colosi in my alvarez and i was pretty pleased with those results...I dunno, what do you guys think? Keep in mind if i had the money...i would have just taken it to a tech to start with

[DrBromiAndufEwd]

What are the odds of the bone saddle i got from Colosi thats in my alvarez fitting in my new masterbilt? Both look to be very similar size and are both compensated saddles...I'm just wondering what the chances of successfully switching them out....Ive still got my old alvarez saddle that i can put back in...I guess i can always just pull it out and see how it fits huh...worst case is it doesn't fit and I put everything back the way it was.

[sachi]

Why not try gluing a shim to the bottom of the saddle with cyanoacrylate glue? That may help with the sound by improving the sound transmission through the saddle, and give you just enough height to lose the buzz.