Jaguar Player Special HH truss rod

ZeekDuff

Hi folks,

I just bought a new Jag from MusiciansFriend, a Player Special HH and I love the sounds and the feel, and I got this one to replace my first brand new guitar ever, which was a Jag I bought new in 1962. That guitar had no issues, or I was too young & inexperienced to notice any. THIS guitar however, has a few serious problems, most of which I can correct on my own, but one is bugging me, and before I send it back, I'm curious to learn if anyone else has any experience with this particular problem.

First of all, the truss rod screw is completely inaccessible, the pickguard isn't cut out enough and the body itself is covering more than half the screw head. It's a double-slotted flat blade screw head, and to get any toque on it, you must have it completely exposed. The neck was badly bowed with the stock strings, either .009s or .010s, and I use .011s. But, I can route out the necessary space to get access, that isn't the worst problem.

So, I popped the neck off and tried turn the screw, and with a fairly large screwdriver, I could manage only one full turn. I checked the neck with a straight edge b/4 & after, and it just stayed flat. I tried getting another turn out of it and it simply wouldn't turn any more. This is unacceptable of course, but I love everything else about the ax, it's cosmetically perfect, and while the whammy bar is sloppy, a spring tossed into the hole ahead of it usually cures that, so I hate to send this guy back. Plus, the serial number adds up to 11, and that's a good thing in my book. 😀

So, has anyone encountered such a thing as a "stuck" trussrod? Im thinking about backing the screw all the way out, and shooting some spray silicone or WD-40 into the rod's space, but if the rod was inserted so the screw is already at the end of the threads, that won't do anything at all. As I said, I hate to send it back, and from the history I've seen on this particular model I've been watching for the past few months, it seems there have been a number of them returned, and a number sold as "blems" just before this last price drop. I know I'd be pretty upset if I'd paid the original $1199 or $1049 for a "blem", but I was suspicious and waited to see if the price went down even more. It did, and on a "Fender Friday" I jumped and got this beauty for $809 at my door. MF is great about returns for refunds or replacements, but again, I like a number of things about this ax that could be very wrong about the next one, so any advice anyone has, I'd appreciate it. I don't think I'll take any action until Monday the 27th (July '09), I await a response. 😀 Thanks!

Best regards,

Zeek Duff

Longmont, CO

EvilPandaDog

I had this problem with a Bronco of my friends, but it really isn't a problem. The truss rod adjustments haven't set yet, you need to wait a while before it sets in the wood. You might find the neck will still be out of place from the adjustments you've made. If your doubtful of yourself, just take it to a luthier and have him set it up.

tragictravisty

check the headstock

ZeekDuff

Well, thanks for the suggestions, guys... Over the weekend I popped the neck off again and removed the screw head, then squirted a healthy dose of graphite lock lube beside the rod (graphite suspended in a liquid carrier that evaporates leaving just the graphite), flexed the neck a bit and put the nut (screw head) back on and tightened it until I feared damage.

I let it stand upside down overnight Sat-Sun, and it got a little bit of back-bow, so I put the neck back on the guitar, and it still isn't enough. 😠 There's still a good 1/8" bow at the 7th fret and the action overall is still far too high. I also put a small shim in the front of the neck pocket to angle the neck back a little and with the bridge bottomed out, the action is still too high, and the low strings zap out on the highest frets. I could shim the neck at both the front and back of the pocket to raise it evenly and in effect, give the bridge more adjustment space, but I'm now just disgusted enough to run it down to Woodsongs Lutherie in Boulder and let them mess with it. You wouldn't believe the amount of torque I put on that screw, with the neck wrapped in several layers of jersey fabric to protect the frets and finish, a 12" set of channel locks, and a 6" screwdriver wrenched with an 8" pair of vice grips. And, I have strong hands. Crap. ☹

I had already talked to a rep at Fender and a tech at Woodsongs and they agree it isn't right and we may just have to put a new neck on. That was Friday, and I told them I'd mess with it over the weekend and see. Too bad, the fret job is excellent, too. I'd send it back to MF for replacement, but I'm thinking there's a good possibility of getting one with worse ailments. I went through 4 Gibson ES-137 Customs a couple years ago, before they got me one with zero serious defects, and after seeing the history of some MIM Fenders lately, I'm thinking the worst could easily happen. I may pop it of again and give the graphite & power twist one more try, but I keep thinking I shouldn't have to do all this, very few people would get as far as I have, already.

I'll decide tomorrow. Thanks again folks, I'll post how it turns out...

Best regards,

...z

ZeekDuff

Well, this conversation popped up outa the blue while looking for something else, I'd totally forgotten about this forum, actually. Anyway, I ended up sending this particular peculiar Jag back. I didn't get a replacement until a couple of years ago, and it's as perfect as I've seen any ax out of the box, has held up just fine, but I do need to take it out of the hard case I got for it and give it some love. It's been over a year since I had it in hand I think, too many of 'em around here to keep up with all of them. At my age now, I can't play for as long or as well as I could even 20 years ago, and I would've gladly given an important body part to have owned half the axes I do now, well make that 40 years ago, but I did have all I really needed back then, just seemed like one could never have too many good guitars. I guess one can. ?