Trus-rod issues with Ibanez Talman

Explorerlover

Are there any reasons for a trus rod to become totally stuck??? The action on my Talman is HIGH!!! , so I reckoned I'll try and set it up myself and tried doing some adjustment but there's just no way that it wants to move either way.

Anyone have/had this same issue?

AlanRatcliffe

It's a nut on a threaded steel rod, so yeah, it can get stuck from rust or if it's tightened so far that it locks up against the end of the threads. Loosening it _anti-clockwise) is usually the way to go, although if you can't get it to move with moderate force, it's a job for a pro.

...but just to throw a spanner in your works - you shouldn't be using it to adjust action - that's how truss rods and necks are damaged.

Explorerlover

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: ...but just to throw a spanner in your works - you shouldn't be using it to adjust action - that's how truss rods and necks are damaged.

HA!..Shows you what I know. ?

Any ideas of how to get the action lower because there's not that much I can think of to adjust other than having to fiddle with the bridge.

AlanRatcliffe

Common misconception - and one that has damaged more necks than anything else ☹

Bob-Dubery

Explorerlover wrote: Are there any reasons for a trus rod to become totally stuck??? The action on my Talman is HIGH!!! , so I reckoned I'll try and set it up myself and tried doing some adjustment but there's just no way that it wants to move either way.

Anyone have/had this same issue?

Is this a recent issue? Since it started raining in Joey's recently the relative humidity has gone up quite a bit. So that can have effected guitars. My Morgan tends to buzz a little in the winter when things are dry. When the rains come and the humidity increases the action comes up a little.

More generally, Alan is right. Tempting though it is, the truss rod is not there to control action. It's there to control neck curvature. Neck curvarture can effect action, but the curvature can be correct and the action can still be too high or too low.

My instinct is to reach for the truss rod wrench. My thinking is that it's the one thing I can undo if I get it wrong ? But I'm working on this and am finding it easier to resist the urge.