truss rod channel

[Chris Tremble]

Hi,

Im making my first guitar and have routed the truss rod channel. The rod fits very snuggly in the channel and sits just below the the surface of the neck face ( where the fingerboard will be).
Is this ok or does it need to be deeper into the neck and maybe a little more width?
It's a neck thru bass guitar if that makes any difference at all.

Chris Tremble

[Louie Atienza]

I try to get the trussrod to fit just right. Too tight and you may risk wood cracking when it moves. Too loose and it may rattle when you play certain notes. I mainly use dual-action trussrods that are flush with the neck wood when I install the fretboard; they're made to work that way. A Fender style trussrod would sit in a channel of varying depth. On some of my earlier acoustics I used a compression-style trussrod, where you have to get it as low as possible to get it to work the best.

In any case, you should make sure you have enough "meat" below the trussrod after the neck is carved.

[David King]

Chris,
Critical to this discussion is the type of rod you are using. Please give us a little more detail.

[Chris Tremble]

Sorry,
It's a dual action truss rod David.

Im still shaping to neck profile at the moment so i'll be sure to keep it on the thickish side.

Chris Tremble

[Chris Tremble]

Hi again,
This might sound really silly but I might as well ask
My truss rod is flat on one side and curved on the other, which side is meant to face up?

[John Catto]

Hi again,
This might sound really silly but I might as well ask
My truss rod is flat on one side and curved on the other, which side is meant to face up?

Flat