Unstrung Goldstar Sound neck..truss rod loose, is this norm?

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Warmachine

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I have an 1986 Goldstar Sound, copy of a ?64 strat with veneer rosewood fretboard, truss rod screw adjuster at end of neck, I took off the neck for the first time so I could do a fret polish and install new tuners. Neck completely straight with ruler laying over top of frets.
Guitar has not had strings on it for over 1 year.

I was surprised to find that the head of the truss rod screw is literally bouncing from side to side and I can actually turn with my finger.

As I am unfamiliar with bolt on necks, is this normal for an unstrung neck? Since no string tension I imagine the neck and truss rod go straight so nothing is bearing on truss rod to restrict movement. Am I wrong?
 
If you leave it loose it will stay loose under string tension and could cause rattle. Under string tension I doubt very much that your neck will remain straight so I'd tighten the truss until it has a very slight back bow or at least until the thread bites. You'll probably have to remove the neck a couple of times until you get the correct amount of relief when under tension. A little tip ,whilst you've got the neck off ,lube both the thread and screw of the truss with Vaseline, it makes it work better. :wink:
 
N.E 7ok'll Do said:
If you leave it loose it will stay loose under string tension and could cause rattle. Under string tension I doubt very much that your neck will remain straight so I'd tighten the truss until it has a very slight back bow or at least until the thread bites. You'll probably have to remove the neck a couple of times until you get the correct amount of relief when under tension. A little tip ,whilst you've got the neck off ,lube both the thread and screw of the truss with Vaseline, it makes it work better. :wink:
Click to expand...

That's good news to hear, thanks for the answer!

I think I have some vaseline based chap stick I will use on the threads. When I pulled the neck i made a pen mark on the screw in relation to the fretboard side, cause I am pretty sure that last time I played guitar the relief was just about right, I don't recall any major string buzzing issues. I will be adjusting bridge to match the fretboard radius better as well.

In case I need to...do you suggest starting out with 1/4 turn increments of truss rod until desired relief is achieved? Or should I go by 1/2 turns?
 
Its difficult to say as every truss rod responds differently depending on the natural strength of the neck and what gauge strings your using. But yeah try a 1/4 turn first and get a feel for how responsive it is.Just remember if it doesn't want to turn anymore ,don't force it ,you could snap the rod or pop the fingerboard. :(
Hope this helps. :D
 
Just pray for the truss to work properly :D
Japanese trusses are rather crappy (on bolt on necks for some reason).

If the curve is good it doesn't matter but as mentioned above, it could cause problems if you want to use heavier strings.
 

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