Martin's with no Adjustable Truss Rod's

[SFCRetired]

People want so much for the vintage instruments I will never be concerned with it. And I will never buy a new vintage, one reason is the truss rod. For every story of a guitar that has been pristine for 80 years there are many more that have been burned because they were junk. Think about it.

If all the guitars ever built were still around and in good shape you could get one for the price of a yugo.

[kydave]

People want so much for the vintage instruments I will never be concerned with it. And I will never buy a new vintage, one reason is the truss rod. For every story of a guitar that has been pristine for 80 years there are many more that have been burned because they were junk. Think about it.

If all the guitars ever built were still around and in good shape you could get one for the price of a yugo.

How many vintage Martins have you owned which had a non-adjustable neck?

How many new Authentic Martins have you owned which had a non-adjustable neck?

How many of your close friend musicians have had either?

How many of your personal acquaintance musicians have had either?

Many of us have owned, do own, have close friends, acquaintances and peers who have played these instruments for decades.

I played for 20+ years, much of that professionally, BEFORE Martin introduced the adjustable truss rod in 1985. I played Martins much of that 20 year period and certainly have in the 30+ years since 1985. Consequently, most of my peer group (from very close friends to professional acquaintances) owned non-adjustable neck Martins.

We don't just make up the things we say, we've lived them.

I don't know of anyone who ever burned an old Martin for any reason.

If EVERY (all 600 odd of them) '30s D-28 was available, they would still bring very high prices.

What are you basing your statements/opinions on, the internet? Many of us are basing our statements on personal experience.

Think about it.

[zmf]

Ah, the adjustable truss rod issue.

I'll add a couple of opinions going in opposite directions.

1) The further along we go in the guitar game, the less we seem to use the adjustable truss rod (maybe too much of a generalization?). If the relief is correct, then it's correct, and if the action and/or playability is off, something else needs to be adjusted. And if anything on the fret board is going through a minor seasonal change, the required adjustment can be done with the fretting fingers.

2) Most guitars have adjustable truss rods, they sure are nice to have if a little tweak is needed, even if, theoretically, it's not the truss rod that needs to be tweaked.

All the guitars in my very small herd sound very good to me, even though they all have adjustable truss rods, and I'm glad they're adjustable.

And none to their truss rods have been adjusted since their last checkups with a knowledgeable luthier.

[rmyAddison]

People don't post "hey another year with no problems", not news, who would care?

They do post when they have a problem, and because it's personal to them, totally understandable it's a big deal, and folks love bad news far more than everything is fine.

My next Martin, if I buy one, will be #38. Zero problems, including non-adjustable necks. My Authentic has survived four seasons now and is rock solid.

Am I saying folks don't have problems, of course not! Am I saying the frequency of problems gets exaggerated, because people love to jump on the complaint bandwagon but good news is no news, yes.....

[BrunoBlack]

Originally Posted by zmf

Ah, the adjustable truss rod issue.

I'll add a couple of opinions going in opposite directions.

1) The further along we go in the guitar game, the less we seem to use the adjustable truss rod (maybe too much of a generalization?). If the relief is correct, then it's correct, and if the action and/or playability is off, something else needs to be adjusted. And if anything on the fret board is going through a minor seasonal change, the required adjustment can be done with the fretting fingers.

2) Most guitars have adjustable truss rods, they sure are nice to have if a little tweak is needed, even if, theoretically, it's not the truss rod that needs to be tweaked.

All the guitars in my very small herd sound very good to me, even though they all have adjustable truss rods, and I'm glad they're adjustable.

And none to their truss rods have been adjusted since their last checkups with a knowledgeable luthier.

This sums up my opinion and experience nicely ^^^^+1 Z

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

The rest just complain that the action's off…

Or move to coastal California

Originally Posted by rogthefrog

Or move to coastal California

We do fine right here in the Ohio River Valley too.

[Rodger Knox]

Originally Posted by Todd Yates

Many guitar owners, and many technicians for that matter, like to adjust truss rods simply because they are adjustable. Quite often they are treating a symptom rather than the cause. I have many guitars, new and old, with nonadjustable neck reinforcement. None of them, I repeat none of them, move more than 0.002" relief from the dead of winter to the humid summer festival season. If the relief isn't moving, then adjusting the truss rod to correct some buzz or other issue is simply backward thinking.

So, if you want a guitar with nonadjustable neck, get one. Once the relief is correct, it will likely stay that way. If it has to be adjusted, there are several ways to do it, compression fretting being a very common one. The old "heating and pressing" the neck typically means the repairman simply doesn't know how it should really be fixed.

Mr. Yates post is good enough to appear twice, so I quoted it!

[kydave]

Quote:
Originally Posted by rogthefrog View Post
Or move to coastal California

Both places have been VERY nice to my guitars, never requiring any constant hand wringing over humidity!

[Pitar]

Originally Posted by Zeo828

Hi

So for the Martin's made before 1985 that do not have adjustable tuss rods.... what does that mean for the player?

The action can be lowered with the saddle right? Ok fine.

One thing I know is that guitars can get out of whack due to temperature changes etc.... all my guitars need a setup eventually.

So why if one of these Martins gets a bad buzz at the high e string, 15th fret for example. How would a guitar technician fix that? I always assumed that they would use the adjustable truss rod of the guitar?

I want to buy an older Martin, but I feel that it will cost extra money to service because the guitar tech would have to use other (expensive) means to adjust the guitar.

Forgive my ignorance... I am just curious. Thanks.

1973 D-35 made with the famous Bendsoon Wood for necks.

Seriously, Martin's quality assurance effort wasn't in that period and I bought a D-35 with a neck that was made from wood that had not been kiln-dried. They produced a number of guitars with that fault. Mine was the warp king of necks and I gave it away after Martin returned it to me following its 2nd warranty (repair?). Back then Martin took warranties directly in-house. Perhaps an adjustable truss rod could have prevented that. But, up until Martin's episode with making substandard guitars, their mantra was their necks did not move. That's a great boast and probably an easy claim to make good when the woods have been properly processed. But, we now know differently.

I think the adjustable truss rod is indispensable insurance for protecting both seller and buyer.

[SFCRetired]

Originally Posted by kydave

How many vintage Martins have you owned which had a non-adjustable neck?

How many new Authentic Martins have you owned which had a non-adjustable neck?

How many of your close friend musicians have had either?

How many of your personal acquaintance musicians have had either?

Many of us have owned, do own, have close friends, acquaintances and peers who have played these instruments for decades.

I played for 20+ years, much of that professionally, BEFORE Martin introduced the adjustable truss rod in 1985. I played Martins much of that 20 year period and certainly have in the 30+ years since 1985. Consequently, most of my peer group (from very close friends to professional acquaintances) owned non-adjustable neck Martins.

We don't just make up the things we say, we've lived them.

I don't know of anyone who ever burned an old Martin for any reason.

If EVERY (all 600 odd of them) '30s D-28 was available, they would still bring very high prices.

What are you basing your statements/opinions on, the internet? Many of us are basing our statements on personal experience.

Think about it.

Show me all these guitars that still exist and I may believe what I just read on the internet. Until then, I stand by what I said.

[kydave]

Originally Posted by SFCRetired

Show me all these guitars that still exist and I may believe what I just read on the internet. Until then, I stand by what I said.

Whatever....

[6L6]

Welp...

I basically "stole" this gorgeous, one owner 1970 D-28 off my local Craigslist. Then I took it to Gryphon for a neck reset and installation of new stainless steel frets.

At my age, this guitar will be fine for longer than I expect to live. Cannot tell you how MUCH I enjoy playing it!

In my book, money well spent.

[kydave]

It's a beauty, Bill, but you just know some folks will tell you it wouldn't have needed a neck reset if it had an adjustable truss rod neck!

[jw3571]

I have 3 authentics and have never ran into a problem.