Truss rod nut issues. Why?

[MTM105]

I had an '81 Special for 25 years. NOTHING in this world brought me greater satisfaction than tightening up the truss rod so that the neck is perfectly perfectly flat. At least to my standards. It then plays like a dream. However, I found myself doing this 2-3 times per year. Every year.

I sold the guitar figuring problem solved.

Now I have a 93 Archtop. I will set the neck perfectly. Very, very slight clockwise turn. Very, very carefully. In a week and a half it begins to very slightly bow. Enough where I've gotta readjust. What is it with Hamers??? I have a Hercules guitar stand, so I imagine that the guitar sits perfectly at rest.

I know. Loosen strings. Loosen strings.

Is there an extra nut I can screw on top of the nut so as to keep it from loosening? Does anyone else have this same constant issue???

Edited August 25, 2024 by MTM105

[tbonesullivan]

Can't say I've really experienced this on any of my guitars, including my hamers. My guitars live in their cases when not being played, so maybe that has something to do with it. I'm also a stickler for keeping the moisture correct in the area where my guitars were.

I remember adjusting the truss rod on my 1993 Candy Apple Red special with a thin neck. It was a bit too flat, almost back bowed. I moved the nut back about 1/4 turn, and the paint on it matched exactly where it had been when it was painted. Neck was perfect for playing since then, though as I discovered, not compatible with my hand and grip style.

[MTM105]

I am not a knudnick. For the record.

My son & I purchased Hamers together. His 99 Eclipse I made a very slight adjustment on truss. Twice. I set it perfectly, except there was a tiny G-string buzz working major chords. Intonation is set. Give or take sometimes. 12th fret and above playsbetter than any guitar I have ever owned. 

3-4 weeks later, his Hamer doesn’t need adjustment. He is taking it to college. It hasn’t been sitting in a case. Probably on his bed 1/2 the time.

i would love to know the pickups. Any wild guesses? I don’t know if they’re from factory, or customized. Neck doesn’t indicate SD.

 

Edited August 26, 2024 by MTM105

[HSB0531]

1 hour ago, MTM105 said:

I am not a knudnick. For the record.

My son & I purchased Hamers together. His 99 Eclipse I made a very slight adjustment on truss. Twice. I set it perfectly, except there was a tiny G-string buzz working major chords. Intonation is set. Give or take sometimes. 12th fret and above playsbetter than any guitar I have ever owned. 

3-4 weeks later, his Hamer doesn’t need adjustment. He is taking it to college. It hasn’t been sitting in a case. Probably on his bed 1/2 the time.

i would love to know the pickups. Any wild guesses? I don’t know if they’re from factory, or customized. Neck doesn’t indicate SD.

 

I'd say it's from temperature and humidity changes that might be happening day to day.

[hamerhead]

Mine hang on the wall (in Hercules hangers), humidity slowly varies thru the year from 45% to 55%, and I rarely adjust truss rods on any of them. Granted, I'm a hack/clod lacking in perfect technique (and my action is on the slightly higher side of normal), but I've never seen any of them out of whack far enough to effect playability.

It is a bit odd that you're always tightening them. Seasonal changes could warrant loosening/tightening/loosening, etc..., but to always be tightening doesn't compute in my brain.

1 hour ago, MTM105 said:

3-4 weeks later, his Hamer doesn’t need adjustment. He is taking it to college. It hasn’t been sitting in a case. Probably on his bed 1/2 the time.

You need to do that! Just let them live and breathe and relax in their environment, every once in a while put an eyeball on 'em. Maybe you're too focused on it?

Good luck with it. It's a bit of a headscratcher for sure.

[Jeff R]

Two cents based not on Hamer guitars but guitars in general ...

I too learned later in life you don't sell a guitar because you have to adjust a truss rod two or three times a year. I learned after I started repairing, upgrading and fabricating guitars full-time. Because if you are an absolute OCD sticker in regard to relief consistency, as in you take a relief reading with a perfectly straight, machined notched straightedge with the guitar positioned the exact same way every time, and you adjust relief to the thousandths of an inch consistently ... one could argue you SHOULD be adjusting a good lively and resonant guitar's truss rod at least twice a year, or at least as often your summer/winter and/or HVAC seasons change.

The biggest influencer in neck relief fluctuation is change in temp and humidity. Seasons and HVAC systems are the most prevalent influencer. A guitar that is close to an exterior door or window that gets opened frequently is also change in temp and humidity. I keep my workshop's temp and humidity the same year-round, and people who don't close the door all the way when they enter get the double evil eye.

As for "his doesn't, mine does" ... in addition to the above, even trees of the same species are different pieces of wood. From dryness to grain structure to overall density, they can and absolutely will react differently to their environs. Even in the case of same species, same harvest year, same harvest batch, same kiln or natural drying treatment - the wood batch and ultimately the guitar batch can be a mix of old tree vs new tree, bottom of tree vs top of tree, quarter- vs flat- vs rift-sawn planks (affects rigidity), low altitude near a water source vs higher altitude with less natural moisture, so so so so many variables. And that's before you consider post-stability influencers like finish choice, thick vs thin vs oil vs none, possibly roasting, possibly adding carbon reinforcement rods, possibly using double-action truss rods, the list truly goes on and on.

I personally have guitars I haven't touched their rods in at least 10 years, and two or three that need attention seemingly every time I pick them up. Ironically, my MVP and longest-owned guitar falls into the latter category. Don't think of it as a sign of good vs bad, just leave the truss cover off and keep the appropriate wrench nearby.

 

[Jimbilly]

I never to almost never have to adjust my Hamer truss rods, or Ibanez's, or Tokai, or Robin. My Kubicki Factor bass however, 2 or 3 times a year, a very 'live' neck on that one. Do you live in an area with widely fluctuating humidity?

[Jimbilly]

2 hours ago, MTM105 said:

I am not a knudnick. For the record.

My son & I purchased Hamers together. His 99 Eclipse I made a very slight adjustment on truss. Twice. I set it perfectly, except there was a tiny G-string buzz working major chords. Intonation is set. Give or take sometimes. 12th fret and above playsbetter than any guitar I have ever owned. 

3-4 weeks later, his Hamer doesn’t need adjustment. He is taking it to college. It hasn’t been sitting in a case. Probably on his bed 1/2 the time.

i would love to know the pickups. Any wild guesses? I don’t know if they’re from factory, or customized. Neck doesn’t indicate SD.

 

 

[MTM105]

It’s likely a 98. I argued this point with seller. He told me likely that I had bad info.  I didn’t care. I just wanted the guitar shipped. It’s one-of-a-kind.

[MTM105]

If it’s of any value, the guitar sits in dining room. Above is a gigantic ductless AC. Temp in room constantly fluctuates.

Keith Richards likes Fenders. He says it’s because, “They stay in tune.”

I have two Tele builds. No truss rod issues. At all.

Edited August 26, 2024 by MTM105

[cmatthes]

23 hours ago, MTM105 said:

It’s likely a 98. I argued this point with seller. He told me likely that I had bad info.  I didn’t care. I just wanted the guitar shipped. It’s one-of-a-kind.

The seller is correct.  Hamer did do a run of humbucker-equipped Eclipses for their Japanese distributor in 1999-2000.  Tom Bollum, who was living in Nagoya at the time, sent me a bunch of pics of them hanging in a display at a Music Fair (Mini-NAMM) over there when he was doing demo work for Rivera Amps.  They were green, gold and orange, as I recall, but would have to dig up the old 35mm prints to confirm.  I think the bridge pickup on that green one is a replacement one, in any event.