Martin's with no Adjustable Truss Rod's

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by kydave

On the flip side, the biggest advantage of the Martin stiff rigid reinforcement neck is that you don't need to mess with it.







(and it sounds better!)

Well... there's that...


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[joe tone]

Originally Posted by musicman1951

I'll tell you my tale of woe, but I have not read any others - so I don't know if it's cautionary or just the exception to the rule.

My D-28 Authentic had fret buzz when it arrived and I took it anyway, thinking my truly great luthier (Steve Kovacik) would take care of it when he was installing the K&K. My bad.

I just got it back after just under 6 months in the Martin repair department: neck planed flat, re-fret and set-up. I was, of course, under warranty - but it was also a long time.

The guitar sounds amazing, but it's something to think about.

I bought a 71’ d-28, the action was terrible. Needed a reset. I have picked up many used Martins at Guitar Center, D18’s a 1954 00018 that I really wanted to buy but the neck needed a reset. I have had a lot of acoustics with adjustable truss rods. I have never had one That didnt, in some season, need adjustment. Maybe it depends on where you live to a degree, the climate and all, also where the instrument was built. I’ve had Irish guitars that really missed the moist climate they were built in. I would always rather have an adjustable truss rod as I have never not been able to get them right.

[kathyson]

Have owned several pre-69,(no TR), Martins and have never had a problem with any.
My main gigging guitar in the 70's and early 80's was a 67 D-28. 5 nights a week for years in all kinds of places. Never an issue.

[guitarnervous]

Originally Posted by stormin1155

The purpose of an adjustable truss rod is not so much to set the action as to set the relief. I've had limited success straightening a neck with too much bow by by heating and clamping. At some point those old Martins are going to need a neck reset, and that would be a good time to install an adjustable truss rod.

I have a pre-1985 Martin acoustic guitar that I sent to Martin in Nazareth, PA in September 2018 for a neck reset and asked them since the neck was being reset anyway, if I should have a truss rod installed. They said that they do not install truss rods, PERIOD. And having another manufacturer or aftermarket luthier retrofit a truss rod would void the Martin lifetime warranty. Therefore, I think this is bad advice.

[RRuskin]

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.

I had a 1963 D-28 with the old-style T-bar that never needed any relief adjustments in the 20+ years I owned it. A good friend had a OOO-28 with the hollow tube reinforcement that was very unstable.

[vindibona1]

Originally Posted by joe tone

I bought a 71’ d-28, the action was terrible. Needed a reset...I have had a lot of acoustics with adjustable truss rods. I have never had one that didnt, in some season, need adjustment. Maybe it depends on where you live to a degree, the climate and all, also where the instrument was built.

My '72 D35 was on the borderline, but was such a good guitar that I elected to have the neck reset and new frets installed. I was told that it was best to do it all at the same time so they could plane the fingerboard and make it perfect. Best thing I could have done. There are no guitars like it and was worth the expense. I'll never sell this guitar.

Living in a climate like Chicago where the temps can get as high as 100F and as low as 70 degrees below cold and huge short term swings, the relief on this neck varies only ever so slightly. Never gets too high or too low. My other guitars with adjustable TR's need adjustment at least once a season.

Are there any other popular brands that don't have adjustable neck relief?

[pbryan]

We have 2 Martin 0018s in the family. My wife has a 1966 and I have a 1948. As you may have seen in previous posts, neither of these have truss rods. I can tell you that after all those years, both instruments necks have not changed. They are just about perfect. My wife's is original but I lower the saddle height on mine a few years ago. Both instruments play beautifully. Look after your instruments, keep them in their cases and they should stay great for years.

[blindboyjimi]

Originally Posted by pbryan

We have ....1966 and I have a 1948. As you may have seen in previous posts, neither of these have truss rods....

Though this is a zombie thread from 2017-2018, both of your guitars have truss rods; neither have adjustable truss rods perhaps you meant to say. Welcome to the forum. It’s nice to have more vintage Martin players around. My 3 Martins from 1936-1937 all have perfect relief and no buzzing.

[Russ C]

A ‘72 D28 I bought new didn’t have ANY relief in the neck (but I didn’t know about such things) and last time I looked (a friend owns it now) it had developed almost enough.
That experience says to me they are pretty stable but there’s an upside to having some control over them.
The ‘06 mod V Martin I play now has the single action truss rod and it never needs adjusting.
I have set up more than a thousand guitars and a few (I could count on one hand) needed a double action rod.

Relief is not something that accepts rules very well in my experience.
Different playing styles can require different relief and I‘ve set up guitars that worked best anywhere from dead straight to having significant relief, so I like the control.

Regarding using truss rods to adjust action - there’s a small range of relief that works “just fine” for most players and if using that to tame seasonal belly swelling and flattening make someone’s life easier it’s ok with me.
Swapping saddles is still a better idea.

[otis66]

Fret buzz could be caused by a raised fret. Use a fret rocker to locate the raised fret. Tap raised fret back into the fretboard. No more buzz.
I have fixed many of my guitars with fret buzz by simply tapping the popped up fret down.

[BrunoBlack]

I think I’ve had my truss rod tweaked on every guitar I’ve ever owed, not often, but at least once. I’ve had nuts and saddles tweaked on the same guitars, so it was nice to have a TR adjustment as an additional option. I believe it’s possible to build a neck that never needs adjustment. However, given how frequently we hear about guitars arriving with manufacturing issues of all stripes, I don’t expect all necks will arrive with perfect relief. And as long as necks are made from wood, I think there is a reasonable expectation that they might “move” a bit over time. It also seems like every player does not like exactly the same relief. With no truss rod, you get what you get. Having a truss rod is something I like to have.

[Shortfinger]

Mines got no truss rod and its also got no apostrophes. Works just fine.

[jimmy bookout]

The thing about this thread is that it's combining several issues that are unrelated. Truss rod or T-bar have NOTHING to do with neck re-sets. A neck re-set is needed because the BODY of the guitar changed and moved, throwing off the geometry of the neck/body relationship. "Neck" re-sets should be called "body" re-sets.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by jimmy bookout

Truss rod or T-bar have NOTHING to do with neck re-sets. A neck re-set is needed because the BODY of the guitar changed and moved, throwing off the geometry of the neck/body relationship.

That is true.

"Neck" re-sets should be called "body" re-sets.

Maybe, but one doesn't/can't fix the permanent deformation of the body, so one removes the neck and changes the angle the neck makes with the body to compensate for the deformation of the body. So, it really is a re-setting of the neck, not the body.

As an aside, the need for neck re-sets on many guitars is a very well known issue. I finding it quite surprising that few of the major manufacturers have really done anything to address the underlying problem, instead focusing almost solely on remedying the problem after it occurs. (Some have chosen to ignore the issue from a warranty perspective - if/when it happens, it's the owner's problem.)

Many individual luthiers are attempting to address the underlying problem by changing their designs. As one example, the guitar I'm currently making has double sides and deep solid linings. The side assembly is very, very stiff. I'll know in about 20 to 30 years if it is successful in preventing the need for neck re-sets. Other luthiers have their own approaches for improving the longevity of their instruments.

[jimmy bookout]

^^^
My point was that the "neck" has NOT changed, the body has...nothing more.