Truss Rods in Nylon Stringed Guitars

[Kindness]

Ah, the controversy over truss rods. I always love this discussion. But I am an avid fan of them in my classical/nylon stringed guitars. My teacher, who humidifies all of his guitars, has two necks that bowed on him with classical guitars that did not have truss rods. Phoenix Guitar Co. builds all of their nylon stringed guitars with truss rods.

And as George at Phoenix Guitar Co does a lot of repairs, many classicals he sees come in are with bowed necks.

So, which models have truss rods? The ones that I know of are the Takamine classicals, and the Kenny Hill guitars. If you know of others, please post!

[ewalling]

Ovations and La Partries have them. So does my Godin ACS SA slim, but perhaps that doesn't count as it's really an electric guitar. But I agree - I feel a reassurance knowing that there's a truss rod. It also gives me the freedom to experiment with a harder tension and not worry that the neck is going suffer the effects. I know they say that nylon strings don't vary that much in tension, but it's still a consideration, albeit irrational, on my part.

[Play2PraiseHim]

I am pleased to report that my Cervantes has a trustrod.

[dosland]

I have a Fernandes with a truss rod in it. Surprisingly nice instrument, for the price...

[dwalton]

If a classical guitar can be made with a lightweight truss rod such that there is no negative impact on tone, then IMO there's no reason to not want one. And there are some pretty good luthiers out there who think this can be done.

[john bange]

From the standpoint of a poor old folk singer who uses nylon on both my guitar and my banjo, I would not consider an instrument without a truss rod.
The smallest adjustment can improve the action on any guitar. Nylon will bend any neck without a rod over time no matter what the tension.

I like a little relief in my neck and have gotten comfortable fine tuning the rod on all my stuff.
A classical artist might not need this adjustability. I think they like the action higher than I do. I don't know...but I love to listen to them play!

I like the action a little on the low side and without any buzz from a good hard thump from my thumb nail. I achieve this with neck relief and bridge saddle height.

[rgregg48]

Classical guitars have a lot of tradition in the build that
is antiquated , in my opinion,,but,,,,????
Most builders have felt that truss rods are not
needed on the lower tension of the nylon string,,
yet they build these baseball bat necks.
I have seen very old high end classicals
with straight necks,, but they used standard
tension strings,,
with todays high tension string and super High tension
i would want a truss rod,, and thinner neck radius
The crossover builders are using truss rods, or at least
ebony or graphite rod.
and who needs the spanish (slipperfoot) heel?
You cant do a neck reset on them (all you can do is a fingerboard planeing)
Classical builders should go to the german dovetail..
at least.

Rickr

[MJScott]

My Yamaha NTX has a truss rod.

[Herb Hunter]

Taylor nylon-string guitars not only have truss rods, the also have the unique advantage of the NT neck.

[ac]

The Washburn Rover Nylon (RO-20) has a truss rod!! [but maybe not exactly news you were looking for :-)]

[Turp]

A number of Cordobas have them and truss rod top of the list of features I was considering.

BTW- this is a great topic. I had to do quite a bit of research to find which classical/crossover guitars have truss rods. Many builders don't advertisement fact, almost like it was feature they weren't proud off.

[gltr]

Lowden and Wechter come to mind.

Regarding classical guitar neck building methods and string tensions, I have come to appreciate the chunkier neck on my Candelas guitar in that it allows my to play longer without muscle cramping as I would get on my nylon string jazz guitars. Whether that is the part of the reason for thicker neck profiles I don't know. But I would imagine classical technique is part of the equation. We keep trying to fit classical guitars into our steel string mindset which can cause all kinds of concerns.
One I think is the idea of using higher tension strings which traditionally are reserved both for the performing artist who needs extra volume to be heard acoustically in a large concert hall and for short scale guitars. putting these strings on a standard or long scale guitar may eventually lead to neck issues and can place to much tension on the top as well leading to decrease in sound quality and tone production. it is interesting to note that normal tension strings can lead to an increased treble which might be counter intuitive to a steel string player.
That being said my favorite guitar has a truss rod and occasionally high tension strings.

[guto]

I guess what most people who are not really classical players don't get is: classical guitars are made for classical players/music needs.
The wide fretboard, thicker neck are not downsides, they are good ones, if you are playing with the proper technique.
A lot of inovations beeing used today on acoustics comes from classical guitars, so they are not THAT atached to tradition. In fact, most of the newer classical guitarrists are playing on "modern guitars". I watched Ana Vidovic playing her Redgate this Tuesday.

Some people use truss rods on classicals, some think they dont need one. If a guitar is well built, in the end, it doesn't really matter.

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by guto

I guess what most people who are not really classical players don't get is: classical guitars are made for classical players/music needs.
The wide fretboard, thicker neck are not downsides, they are good ones, if you are playing with the proper technique.
A lot of inovations beeing used today on acoustics comes from classical guitars, so they are not THAT atached to tradition. In fact, most of the newer classical guitarrists are playing on "modern guitars". I watched Ana Vidovic playing her Redgate this Tuesday.

Some people use truss rods on classicals, some think they dont need one. If a guitar is well built, in the end, it doesn't really matter.

I quite disagree. As far as I'm concerned. there is no benefit to a flat fretboard; a two-inch nut width is of no advantage to someone with slim fingers regardless of technique; the thickness of the neck is simply a matter of personal preference.

[Tommy]

I'm with Guto all the way!
T/