Guitar Neck Repairs and Services

Neck shave Neck stripping Heel re-shape Replacement truss rod Double acting truss rods Half fretted/fretless

Neck shave

The dimensions and profile of a neck are a very personal thing indeed. The smallest of changes to a neck will change the hand position of the player and cause a cascade of unwanted changes to players playing style. For this reason, we offer the option of re-carving the shape and depth of a neck according to the specific dimensions required by the individual player.

In addition, we can look to re-finish the neck in a number of materials, colours, and bursts. Alternatively, should you wish we can also leave a hand sanded natural, the unfinished surface on the back of a neck.

Neck stripping

If the feel of lacquer under your hand isn’t one you enjoy, or as with many lacquer finishes, you’ve found it has become sticky to the touch, then we can strip the finish back. The finish can be removed either fully to the bare wood, or partially to remove the top layer of lacquer.

Heel re-shape

If the shape and size of the heel on your instrument is preventing you from accessing the upper frets or causing uncomfortable adjustments to your playing style then it’s worth considering re-shaping the heel of your guitar. It will also require the heel to be touched in at the end of the process to replace lacquer removed during the process of re-shaping.

Replacement truss rod

For such a simple, functional item truss rods seem to be subject to more mystery and misunderstanding than almost any other element of a guitar. There are some necks which do not contain a truss rod and we will ignore these for now. Truss rods fall into two broad categories which are: single and double acting.

In essence, unless you try to tighten a truss rod which really doesn’t want to adjust further, or is very reluctant to move in the first place, then it is unlikely that you will do any real harm to your instrument. This doesn’t mean you won’t end up with a distinctly unpleasant action from over or under straightening a truss rod. However, the key is in understanding what it can do and what it expressly isn’t designed to allow.

First off, adjusting your truss rod is not the way to set an action. It is certainly a part of the process, but the amount of relief you choose to set is a small part of the process taken into account with a host of other considerations. What it will theoretically allow is for you to set an amount of relief in the neck of your guitar which suits your action, tuning and playing style. To clarify further; There is no one correct amount of relief for every guitar and every action. There is a narrow range within which the relief is set, but it is a range.

Single acting truss rods tighten only in one direction – at least to begin with – and are curved at rest, straightening when the truss rod nut is tightened. There are a number of common issues guitarists run into in regards to the truss rods on their instruments.

The truss rod has run out adjustment and the neck still has more of a bow than is desirable.

In this scenario, we need more movement out of the truss rod. The threaded section of the rod has run out and we need either more thread or a greater distance between where the truss rod sits and the end of the threaded section of the truss rod.

Option 1 – Move the truss rod nut further away from the block it sits against, by introducing a spacer between the nut and the block.

Option 2 – Remove the block and tap the thread further along the length of the truss rod. This allows us further adjustment and hopefully enough movement to straighten the neck.

The truss rod is loose and the neck is still straight under tension

In an ideal world, this wouldn’t happen as a single acting truss rod doesn’t allow us to put in a back bow. However, with a little judicious alteration of a single acting rod, we can give you a double acting rod. Essentially to put a back bow in the neck we now need the truss rod nut to push as well as pull the rod. Usually, this can be done sneakily enough that no one is ever any the wiser.

There is some notable exception to the standard truss rod design including Rickenbacker who has used a number of variations on a U-bend truss rod design. Handily if these ever end up causing issues, they can usually be pulled straight out and re-worked or replaced.

Double acting truss rod

These come in a range of designs all based around the principle that at rest the truss rod has no effect on the shape of the neck. When tightened in one direction or the other the truss rod will cause the neck to arch forwards or backwards.

Removing and repairing truss rods can be carried out on any guitar and will usually involve removing the fingerboard, or on some guitars a strip from the back of a neck. As such it would normally require other options to have been exhausted. We want to avoid disruption to an instrument wherever possible. Where we have no option, the work can be carried out neatly and sympathetically.