The Gibson style tension rod can only be shoehorned with difficulty into the definition what a mechanical engineer would call a 'truss,' and then only if it is a straight rod (so it will work as a "two-force" member), which is not the way Gibson makes them. A dual action rod falls outside the engineer's definition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truss

As with other terms for guitar parts (e.g., "volute," "kerfing"), it's likely a losing battle to try to make the guitar language consistent with what the rest of the world says; and so the confusion about what is and is not a 'truss rod' will continue. My own preference is to use the terms "neck reinforcement" and "adjustable neck reinforcement." But fighting semantic battles has gotten into the "life's too short" category. If this can be a truss

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/i...-IESIkIHPzD6cA

then I guess so can this

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...wTv6RvJ2dB9GyA

Thanks for clarifying. If the rod is not adjustable, how is the neck adjusted for humidity changes, string tension change, etc.? Not questioning your choice, just curious as to how it works when you can't adjust a truss rod.

Congrats on this, by the way!

Truss or no truss, that's a KILLER set of Maddy Yo! Lol...

You make the neck stuff enough that you don't really see changes. And you own a guitar in an area where the weather doesn't change much.

Howard made me laugh! (as usual).

Forgetting the nomenclature (and underwear!), John is going to build you a FABULOUS guitar. I look forward to seeing it come to life here...:up:

I prefer Lateral Deflection Reduction Neck Insert (LDRNI), but no one ever seems to understand what I'm talking about.

Cool! Makes sense if your weather and neck are that consistent. It'll be nice to watch this as it develops. Thanks!

I've currently own a guitar with a non-adjustable neck reinforcement made by the man himself (Howard Klepper), who was also kind enough to supply the purflings for this project (thanks again!). I also owned for a while a Montuoro with a non-adjustable neck reinforcement.

If done right, these things really don't move. My guitars with adjustable neck reinforcement do occasionally require a tweak here and there, but the non-adjustable guitars seem perfectly stable. I know those who build in this style have a pretty high level of confidence the necks will be stable, and I would argue (and I think Howard would agree) that most people would be perfectly happy within pretty narrow band of relief settings.

John has built several guitars with non-adjustable rods, and they've all been very stable. By the way, if absolutely necessary, they can be adjusted very precisely via Plek so it's not like you are totally out of luck if something comes up. I had this discussion with Lewis Santer, and he explained how a Plek can mill the frets with the neck under tension to give you precisely the relief that you desire.

Those are both beautiful. I like how the first one looks with the sunburst though. Congrats on finally getting your build underway, Juston! Looking forward to the progress.

JR

Howard: How is it that I have gone through life and never had the eureka moment of truss rod and hernia truss? I feel enlightened! :)

Add another to the list of converts to non-adjustable necks. The old Martin I have is rock solid with a steel T bar. Additionally, I've never adjusted the truss rod in any guitar I've had. Maybe I'm missing out. Of course, that's a low sample size, and I've seen examples of out of whack relief. Ymmv IMHO etc.

Juston, stellar choice! Count me jealous. After my recent escapades, I'm very much looking forward to following along.

It's funny that you chose the word, KILLER, because that's the word John uses when he gets really excited about a set of wood. I can almost hear him saying it . . .

Funny enough, the hernia truss rod never became popular.

Related to the truss rod-less discussion, I sure miss my Montuoro 000-12.

Back plates are joined. The process has begun!

http://jus-tone.com/misc/circa/Circa_OM-1.jpg

Any naphtha photos? :)