The case of the missing truss rod...

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Not sure if this is the right forum but I felt it would be of more interest to the folks here.
I was given a Fender Paramount Series acoustic  guitar with instructions to lower it's action. I've seen worse but it could have been a lot better:

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There was more neck relief than I would have liked so I looked inside the sound hole to get an idea of what size Allen key to use:
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Hmmm...no truss rod nut visible, never mind it must be further up inside. I inserted the Allen key and...nothing, it didn't make contact with anything. Ok so it's quite a long way in. I turned the key around and inserted the long end:
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...Nothing! It rattled around , a loose fit in the hole touching nothing at the end. I eventually pushed a 2mm brass rod up, wiggling it past some small obstructions that I assume must be bits of glue left when the fretboard was glued on. It came to rest against something hard but not metallic over six inches up. It may have been possible to go further but the brass rod was only just still visible and it was the end of a long day and I wanted to go home.
The owner said he bought it new three years ago and as far as I can tell there is no truss rod in this guitar.
Has anyone else encountered this? Does anyone here own a Paramount series guitar , is the truss rod just really, really , really high up?
www.scavengermusic.co.uk
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Comments

  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    can you stick a phone in the sound hole and take a pic


    they can be quite far up, especially on a 12th fret body join
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    Yes, I worked on one recently. It’s a 4mm Allen key - there was an ultra-long one supplied with the guitar. Have a look in the case pocket - if you’re lucky it’s still there. If not you’ll need to get one from a tool supplier - I can’t remember the exact length but the socket is basically where the neck joins the body.

    It’s a bit of a daft design really, although with the right tool it’s easy enough.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • ScavengerScavenger Frets: 148
    edited May 2021
    Thanks, I'll ask the owner if he has it still.
    Now my concern is that accessing it to as even with the right tool the bits of glue will make it even more difficult. It was difficult to get a 2mm rod up there let alone a 4mm key. I'll let you know how I get on.
    Chears
    Dom
    www.scavengermusic.co.uk
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  • ScavengerScavenger Frets: 148
    That explains a lot!

    Even with this it only reached the truss rod nut if you put the whole thing inside the sound box to avoid the sound hole rim. 
    All sorted now, thanks!
    www.scavengermusic.co.uk
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    Scavenger said:

    Even with this it only reached the truss rod nut if you put the whole thing inside the sound box to avoid the sound hole rim.
    Yes, the one I worked on had to have the 'short' end of the Allen key (and I've never seen a longer short end on one either!) pointing down into the guitar in order for the 'long' end to engage the nut.

    Possibly designed to be "tamper proof", or maybe just not thought through properly so they then had to have custom Allen keys made, I'm not sure...

    It was actually a very nice guitar, totally not what you would expect if you read most online opinion about Fender acoustics. (Which in my opinion is largely ignorance.)

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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