The ESP Guitar Company

Any ideas?

According to my salesman, ESP has not returned any of his calls.

I'll wait patiently through the weekend, but I won't be happy if we're not getting any traction by Monday or Tuesday...

Hey, thanks for the observations!

Right now I'm googling to learn a bit more about the truss rod, how to adjust it, how to judge an acceptable amount of bowedness, and/or how might I figure out for myself if there's any range left in it.

There are a lot of hits, so any suggestions for narrowing down the field would be appreciated!

BTW, I do trust my luthier's expertise, however, I also know that none of this stuff is beyond my capacity to understand it for myself...and I already double-check my auto mechanic's work... ;)

The worst-case scenario is that I will learn more about my bass and this experience will teach me what to look for in the future. Well worth my time and money at this point!

Well, based on my research, my B-55 isn't really too far off. The distance between string and fret 6 should be something like 1/64th of an inch when stopping it at fret 1 and fret 8.

Mine is probably about 1/32nd of an inch. The adjustment needed should be very small if one is really needed; which is debatable at this point.

So the only thing I need to confirm for myself is whether or not my luthier is correct when he says that the truss rod is "maxed out." If it's maxed out, then I really need a replacement instrument...because even though it's playable TODAY, it probably won't be at some point in the future. If it's not maxed out, I could probably leave it as is or go ahead and make the adjustment myself. I'd probably be just as happy either way.

Since it's a brand-new bass (with no opportunity for corrosion to set in), turning the truss rod (nut) should be very easy, especially if I detune the instrument a bit and take some tension off of the strings.

It may be possible for me to proceed cautiously...as follows:

1. Detune the strings.
2. Remove E and A from the nut so that I can remove the truss rod cover from the headstock
3. Mark the the truss rod via it's allen nut, so that I know where my starting point is
4. Loosen the truss by a quarter turn to the left; if it loosens, then I will know that the mechanism is functioning correctly. If it won't budge, then I'll know it's impinged or bound, and I'll just wait for my replacement bass.
5. If it loosens, and I can confirm that with the string-test, then I can reverse and turn the rod back to "zero" (my mark made in 3 above).
6. From "zero," I would give it a 1/8th turn to the right. If the rod doesn't turn, then my luthier is correct and the truss really is at maximum. If it does turn, then I can make the adjustment for myself and find a new luthier (just kidding!.. well, mostly.)
7. String 'er up, tune, and re-measure the curve.
8. Intonate and set the action.

So give me a sanity check here...yea or nay?

Did you just say that with the voice of experience? But from what I have read, overdoing it would be evidenced by string/fret clatter.

Or the "pow", "twang", or "boing" sound I would hear from the truss snapping...

Needless to say, if I decide to proceed, I'll be very careful.

thats always good. i always take precautions when im changing strings on my bass.

now that i have a pretty new one (F-255) I gotta be careful. It's neck through, if I screw this up...:(

Just a quick update here...

As mentioned above, I decided to detune the strings and see where the truss rod was within its range (ie, very loose, "middle", or drawn tight as my luthier said).

I could not get the truss rod to move in either direction with moderate pressure, nor with very firm pressure. That thing wouldn't turn at all, it was bound up so tight. Neither could the salesman get it to move, so we're returning the instrument to ESP, asking for a new neck to be installed.

My salesman says everybody's at NAMM, so it's been hard to get hold of anybody at ESP. The bass is with the store now, waiting for shipment back to ESP. I hate waiting for something that should have NEVER been allowed to escape the factory's quality control.

But wait I will. That's the scoop...

Update:

I periodically called the retail store to check on the status of my bass. I don't think they had done squat, and I suspect that they hadn't even sent it in. At one point, when referring to the original bass, the salesman made a strange comment about me "signing something so I (the salesman) can put it back on the shelf".

So I believe they didn't even do anything with the old instrument. I don't think I'll buy from that store ever again...I mean hey, if they're willing to sell the instrument to another person in the hopes that they won't discover the trussrod issue, well that's TOTALLY unethical.

They made me an offer that seemed good, however, so I traded in the B-55 and with an extra $44 I went home with a new B-155. I've already had my luthier set up the bass, with nothing bad found. So I'm done and out and playing my bass now.

Direct from ESP's own webpage :)

TWO-WAY ADJUSTING TRUSS ROD
Most of our instruments are built using a 2-way adjusting truss rod. Unlike a traditional (single-adjusting) truss rod which is still commonly used on many other manufacturers’ instruments, our truss rod is adjustable both clockwise and counter-clockwise. With a single-adjusting truss rod, once you loosen the nut all the way, that is it. You are left with no more adjustment – this can leave your instrument unplayable if the neck cannot be adjusted properly. By using a 2-way truss rod we have eliminated the possibility of that ever happening.

Thanks, Gil.

But I can't visualize a "2-way adjusting truss rod" based on ESP's description.

I would think that EVERY truss rod is capable of being loosened or tightened, unless it left the factory already at it's maximum range in one direction or the other.

But that doesn't make sense... I would expect that guitar manufacturers would design and build their axes so that the truss rod is somewhere near its "midpoint" when the guitar leaves the factory. That would allow for end-user or luthier adjustments in either direction, so as to allow for custom adjustments, different string guages, etc.

If I was buying an airplane, well OF COURSE I'd want all of the nuts and bolts tightened. But for a guitar, I'd want the capbability to fine-tune it in either direction. Make sense? Or am I misinterpreting something here?