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Hi all,

I'm looking for an explanation or educated guess on why a truss rod would buzz after it was tightened.

When my son arrived home from school this spring, he asked me to adjust the action and relief on the guitar I built him a couple of years ago. I ended up taking a little off the saddle and tightening the truss rod about a quarter turn (it was at "neutral"). He was happy with the results.

A few days ago he complained about a buzz coming from the guitar - it was easy to hear. I suspected the truss rod and, sure enough, when I got the allen key on it, the buzz stopped. I put the truss rod back in the neutral position and my son is happy once again.

The thing is though, this result is counter-intuitive to me. I would think that the truss rod is more likely to buzz in the neutral, loose position than when it has been tightened up. Can anyone offer an explanation about what might have been happening?

Thanks in advance,
Pat

_________________
There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

Loose fretboard joint?

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Tom Krebs

No big mystery. When you tightened the truss rod, one particular spot moved real close to a surface inside the truss rod slot. Normally, when you tighten a truss rod, the middle of it will be pushing hard against the neck which will prevent most buzzes, but there is always a possibility that other portions of the rod will be in a position that could cause a buzz.

What kind of truss rod did you use?

Thanks for the replies. I'm using the two-way truss rod from LMI. My own theory was that perhaps by tightening, the two rods that comprise the truss rod came closer together and were buzzing against each other but I really have no idea.

Pat

_________________
There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.