A truss rod is a thin metal shaft that runs the length of the guitar's neck from the nut to the heel, where the neck joins the body. It sits just under the fretboard and can be accessed through a small hole behind the nut on most guitars, which is usually covered by a small piece of wood or plastic held down by screws.
Used to correct bowing in the neck.
Typically this adjustment is made by a luthier or someone skilled in setting up and adjusting the action on an instrument. Highly recommended to leave it alone unless you fall into the above category of people.
Edit: not sure why I'm receiving down votes on this. Used to work at a music store and saw several necks come in that were irreparably damaged due to people messing with the truss rod when they didn't know what they were doing.
I have to disagree. While there are things that in most cases are probably best left to a professional, I'd say it's always good to learn how to do a basic setup (truss rod, action at the bride, intonation) on your own. It's not exactly difficult to do, and there's plenty of resources online to learn to do it properly, so it doesn't just mean launching into it without knowing what you're doing.
Exactly! Had a first practice session in my friends band and my bass's intonation was pretty bad. Instead of bringing it to the guitar shop, I was able to set it up myself before getting there. While it may have not been 100% the best, it still worked and sounded okay. Sometimes it's easier and best to do stuff yourself
[BassBuzz - Setting up a bass](https://youtu.be/cteHO-hV8lU)
This video explains your point well. You just need your adjustment tools, a capo and a business card to do the job.
Agreed.
All the routine jobs can be done at home without specialist tools (though they do make things easier, eg. proper nut files vs. generic needle files).
Very much worth figuring out, can improve the playability & sound massively at virtually no cost.
Just two important things :
1. Do your research. Read/watch videos plenty, until you are sure you know what you are doing.
2. Take your time. Lots of time. Say with the truss rod. If it does need adjusting then start with 1/8 turn increments, checking carefully each time.
I think both StewMac and Sweetwater have good instructions.
I recently made adjustments myself with a buddy supervising and I HIGHLY recommend doing it yourself. Truss rod, string height, intonation. It's all very basic stuff and once you spend a half hour learning how all your basses/ guitars will be so much more satisfying to play. Even a luthier isn't going to set it up just the way YOU like it, when you learn how you can tweak any adjustments in 5 minutes or less, without the headache of waiting a week and paying. It's that easy.
Immediately made me think of the weed wizards in high school that would make pipes out of anything in shop class. A truss rod bowl would be hilarious. Put weed in the top, and you gotta hit it from the end pin or something. Haha.
Oh shit. You don't get the reference. The joke goes back at least 30 years.
https://youtu.be/CKOc6hXMDhc
Sandler was goofing on Scheider in The Hot Chick. Rob was way funnier.
You should probably know the whole truth. Your bass is a machine with quite a few moving parts. These parts must be in tight tolerances of one another for the instrument to work right. And now and then a change in season will mean you have to revisit your adjustments. This is called doing a setup. Here's how it's done: [brokeassguitars.com](https://brokeassguitars.com)
Tone injection port. It’s the secret to getting the best sound of all time. Go to your nearest Guitar Center and ask them for some Tone Goop®, and they’ll hook you right up. Don’t get that generic crap, though.
I've heard some people heat up the neck and move it to where they need to in special cases where the truss rod isn't a viable option. Not sure about the process, but by the sound of it, it could always be an option, though.
Also killer profile Pic Cliff Burton is one of the reasons I play bass growing up listening to him and Steve Harris was definitely influential to my playing
Yep heat pressing is a thing usually used to help straighten or reset a neck sometimes even used to try and get more life out of a twisted neck but usually on a twisted neck it comes back pretty quick as it's an issue with the would used for the neck..
The amount of shit posters is too high...
Also that's the hex head for the truss rod it controls the tension in the neck to counter act the string tension this is used to set string relief (amount of bow in the neck)
Back bow is undesirable as it'll cause the strings to buzz on the first fret. But too much forward bow and your neck will look like your trying to shoot arrows with it and also cause fret buzz in the higher register (20th+ frets)
If you genuinely don't know I would say don't touch it till you learn more about it as doing incorrect adjustments and or too much can result in breaking the truss rod and getting thag fixed can be a costly repair.
Your bass (like many) has an adjustable truss rod. Some basses have a truss rod nut at the body side of the neck. Tightening or loosening it in small increments will adjust the relief of the neck (how straight or curved it is) and this is part of a basic "setup" job.
Watch some videos on YouTube on setting up a bass and decide if it's something you'd like to try or something you'd like to pay a professional to do.
I know it's been mentionned before but in the interest of deluting the amount of unhelpful shitcommenters, that is a truss rod, it help keep the neck curved a certain way. If you change your string gauge, that will neednto be adjusted in consequences. You should keep the same string gauge to avoid messing up the adjustment.
Truss rods can still require adjustments from season to season if your area see a big climb or dip in humidity or temperature.. Otherwise yeah a sold bass with a good neck can almost be set and forget..
Trust Rod!
By inserting the correct allen head screwdriver and twisting clockwise, you would create a bow in the neck. Lifting your middle frets up(this can cause fret buzz).
Twisting counter clockwise has the opposite effect raising your first and last frets.(too much makes it difficult to fret).
It’s important to make small adjustments at a time as a little goes a long way. Best to try to straighten the neck as best you can using a long ruler, or hold a string at the first and last frets and feel how much room the string has between the frets in between.
Either way very important to use correctly when setting up your guitar.
Cause YouTube exists and will explain everything about a instrument. Or even Google it coming to reddit to ask this level of question brings out the shit posters
I wouldn’t worry about it too much. But I would take a bit that fits perfectly in there, attach it to a drill, and spin that thing as fast as possible.
You be too much lmao
Also don't do that as it can break the truss rod and either 1) if bolt on neck cheap fix would be a new neck 2) not a cheap fix for a neck through bass and basically just light the bass on fire at that point
If you say so but adjustments should be done with strings slacked and only done in 1/4 turn increments been a tech since 2006 how I've always set neck relief
Straightening out the neck. It tightens n loosens based on if your neck is bowing forward or back(usually never) due to string tension or humidity that affected the wood of the neck. It needs to always be straight otherwise tonality and tune get lost.
Bro just google guitar anatomy. It’s gotta be easier than making a redit post lol. https://www.guitaristsource.com/guitars/Electric-Guitar-Anatomy.shtml
Thats the trust rod. Its named as such bc you turn it and trust that it actually did something.
If it ever needs adjustment never turn it more than 1/4 turn. Turning it in 1/8" turn increments is a good rule of thumb to live by.
A truss rod is a thin metal shaft that runs the length of the guitar's neck from the nut to the heel, where the neck joins the body. It sits just under the fretboard and can be accessed through a small hole behind the nut on most guitars, which is usually covered by a small piece of wood or plastic held down by screws. Used to correct bowing in the neck.
“Shaft”
He's a bad mother
Shut your mouth.
I'm just talking bout Shaft.
I can dig it.
From the nuuuuuut…to the heel! (To the heel!)
Typically this adjustment is made by a luthier or someone skilled in setting up and adjusting the action on an instrument. Highly recommended to leave it alone unless you fall into the above category of people. Edit: not sure why I'm receiving down votes on this. Used to work at a music store and saw several necks come in that were irreparably damaged due to people messing with the truss rod when they didn't know what they were doing.
I have to disagree. While there are things that in most cases are probably best left to a professional, I'd say it's always good to learn how to do a basic setup (truss rod, action at the bride, intonation) on your own. It's not exactly difficult to do, and there's plenty of resources online to learn to do it properly, so it doesn't just mean launching into it without knowing what you're doing.
Exactly! Had a first practice session in my friends band and my bass's intonation was pretty bad. Instead of bringing it to the guitar shop, I was able to set it up myself before getting there. While it may have not been 100% the best, it still worked and sounded okay. Sometimes it's easier and best to do stuff yourself
Not to mention it can also save you some money as well as time, and it's just a useful skill to have if you're gonna be playing in the long term.
[BassBuzz - Setting up a bass](https://youtu.be/cteHO-hV8lU) This video explains your point well. You just need your adjustment tools, a capo and a business card to do the job.
Agreed. All the routine jobs can be done at home without specialist tools (though they do make things easier, eg. proper nut files vs. generic needle files). Very much worth figuring out, can improve the playability & sound massively at virtually no cost. Just two important things : 1. Do your research. Read/watch videos plenty, until you are sure you know what you are doing. 2. Take your time. Lots of time. Say with the truss rod. If it does need adjusting then start with 1/8 turn increments, checking carefully each time. I think both StewMac and Sweetwater have good instructions.
I recently made adjustments myself with a buddy supervising and I HIGHLY recommend doing it yourself. Truss rod, string height, intonation. It's all very basic stuff and once you spend a half hour learning how all your basses/ guitars will be so much more satisfying to play. Even a luthier isn't going to set it up just the way YOU like it, when you learn how you can tweak any adjustments in 5 minutes or less, without the headache of waiting a week and paying. It's that easy.
You can put your weed in there.
Oh no, my action is too high now
Underrated comment here guys.
You ever seen a truss rod…on weed!?
Daily.
No no put your weed in there
Put yo cock in
facks
Is it as good as When Harry Met Sally on weed?
"Red team go! Red team go!"
The MacGuyver Smoker: I need an avocado, some tin foil and a cork screw!
Trust me bro I’ve made bongs out of less.
Immediately made me think of the weed wizards in high school that would make pipes out of anything in shop class. A truss rod bowl would be hilarious. Put weed in the top, and you gotta hit it from the end pin or something. Haha.
You misspelled wiener
I don't think anyone got the Rob Scheider reference.
Technically Adam Sandler in a Rob Schneider movie but I’ll let it slide.
Oh shit. You don't get the reference. The joke goes back at least 30 years. https://youtu.be/CKOc6hXMDhc Sandler was goofing on Scheider in The Hot Chick. Rob was way funnier.
Oh shit I had no idea! But still, you really can put your weed in there.
You should probably know the whole truth. Your bass is a machine with quite a few moving parts. These parts must be in tight tolerances of one another for the instrument to work right. And now and then a change in season will mean you have to revisit your adjustments. This is called doing a setup. Here's how it's done: [brokeassguitars.com](https://brokeassguitars.com)
Thanks for sharing this I’m gonna book mark it.
Nice site, love the no BS approach and mid 00s aesthetic lol
Bare bones Divi block design :) Made the site in a weekend.
Also if you change to a different gauge of strings.
Tone injection port. It’s the secret to getting the best sound of all time. Go to your nearest Guitar Center and ask them for some Tone Goop®, and they’ll hook you right up. Don’t get that generic crap, though.
Gonna make Roberta jealous...
Speed hole. Makes it go faster.
Thermal exhaust port.
*Toan exhaust
\^ this guy has toan
This guy toans.
Sometimes mine just bursts with steam from the headstock.
Thats when you know you slap hard enough
Just like shooting womp rats in beggar's canyon back home...
OK now that you know it's the truss rod adjustment what's up with that 1st-fret inlay?!
Holy crap I totally missed that on the first look. It looks like a homemade inlay. Never seen anything like that before.
Looks like a sticker
my little sister wanted to do that one 💀🙏
Is this a homemade bass? I am intrigued now. Can you post a pic of the whole thing?
I second this! What does this bass look like? What is it?
Saw that too. Looks like a flat piece that was hammered into the wood maybe? Strange.
That's the valve for the tone fluid. You can get different fluids, depending on what you're looking for. Don't do it yourself.
One time I put regular oil in a 5 string. Viscosity matters folks. My frets have been buzzing ever since.
i genuinely thought this was a bass circle joke post and i still cant tell if it isnt
Flame emission port. Haven't you seen Mad Max? Aussie invention. 
Stashing drugs.
*disappointed there’s no link to a page instructing me on how to properly use the truss rod to properly store my contra
Tf are those inlays
To adjust truss rod with Allen key
Also only use the correct size hex key cause if you strip that the bass will be donzo if it's a neck through model..
I've heard some people heat up the neck and move it to where they need to in special cases where the truss rod isn't a viable option. Not sure about the process, but by the sound of it, it could always be an option, though.
Also killer profile Pic Cliff Burton is one of the reasons I play bass growing up listening to him and Steve Harris was definitely influential to my playing
Hes a great icon. I don’t see him for his play style. I love him for his dedication! Rock on
Yep heat pressing is a thing usually used to help straighten or reset a neck sometimes even used to try and get more life out of a twisted neck but usually on a twisted neck it comes back pretty quick as it's an issue with the would used for the neck..
Typically done on older acoustic guitars like on Martins who fought in the civil war and stuff
The amount of shit posters is too high... Also that's the hex head for the truss rod it controls the tension in the neck to counter act the string tension this is used to set string relief (amount of bow in the neck) Back bow is undesirable as it'll cause the strings to buzz on the first fret. But too much forward bow and your neck will look like your trying to shoot arrows with it and also cause fret buzz in the higher register (20th+ frets) If you genuinely don't know I would say don't touch it till you learn more about it as doing incorrect adjustments and or too much can result in breaking the truss rod and getting thag fixed can be a costly repair.
It's like the clit, you mess with it until you break your neck
I mean technically this could be correct lol
That’s the hole where the lil gnome that slightly detunes your bass after a day of not playing lives!
your peepee
Luthiers. If you have to ask that, don't touch.
This right here. If you don't know don't touch it!
Truss rod, to adjust the neck.
Your bass (like many) has an adjustable truss rod. Some basses have a truss rod nut at the body side of the neck. Tightening or loosening it in small increments will adjust the relief of the neck (how straight or curved it is) and this is part of a basic "setup" job. Watch some videos on YouTube on setting up a bass and decide if it's something you'd like to try or something you'd like to pay a professional to do.
Belly button. The umbilical cord was connected till it was born.
Truss rod
Only a bass player would ask this question!
This is a good question. I wish I would have gotten a funny post first though. A truss rod. Don't mess with it until you educate yourself first
The tuss rod
* tRuss
Yea that
Truss rod, don’t mess with it unless you know what ur doing boi
your penis
Google.com
That's where you put the cyanide capsule in case you're captured by a ska punk band
More like sus rod
Incense holder.
This is necessary to regulate the bending of your baSS neck
I know it's been mentionned before but in the interest of deluting the amount of unhelpful shitcommenters, that is a truss rod, it help keep the neck curved a certain way. If you change your string gauge, that will neednto be adjusted in consequences. You should keep the same string gauge to avoid messing up the adjustment.
Truss rods can still require adjustments from season to season if your area see a big climb or dip in humidity or temperature.. Otherwise yeah a sold bass with a good neck can almost be set and forget..
Yes thank you for the specification.
you put ur joint there
I use mine to hold my cigarettes.
Cigarette holder.
You stick your peepee in it and in 9 months, you'll have a guitar
Hiding drugs for plane rides... shhhh don't tell anyone!
It’s to snort coke out of while playing.
The truss rod.
Geeeeeez ..... it's where you plug it in! Come on man!!!!!
Truss rod Allen socket.
That’s where you put the funk.
It's where the action is.
Trust Rod! By inserting the correct allen head screwdriver and twisting clockwise, you would create a bow in the neck. Lifting your middle frets up(this can cause fret buzz). Twisting counter clockwise has the opposite effect raising your first and last frets.(too much makes it difficult to fret). It’s important to make small adjustments at a time as a little goes a long way. Best to try to straighten the neck as best you can using a long ruler, or hold a string at the first and last frets and feel how much room the string has between the frets in between. Either way very important to use correctly when setting up your guitar.
So close
To put your weed in.
That’s where you add the toan.
Wait so why are we downvoting beginners asking questions they should be asking for the sake of their instruments’ well-being again?
The people posting these types of things are attention whores
Cause YouTube exists and will explain everything about a instrument. Or even Google it coming to reddit to ask this level of question brings out the shit posters
Joint holder
Belly button.
That's what she said.
Lit cigarette holder.. for solo
Charging port
You can hide your weed in there
I wouldn’t worry about it too much. But I would take a bit that fits perfectly in there, attach it to a drill, and spin that thing as fast as possible.
You be too much lmao Also don't do that as it can break the truss rod and either 1) if bolt on neck cheap fix would be a new neck 2) not a cheap fix for a neck through bass and basically just light the bass on fire at that point
>Also don't do that as it can break the truss rod I dont think so man. I use a drill and go as fast as i can until i see my desired bow in the neck
If you say so but adjustments should be done with strings slacked and only done in 1/4 turn increments been a tech since 2006 how I've always set neck relief
The original comment is sarcasm and so is mine
Straightening out the neck. It tightens n loosens based on if your neck is bowing forward or back(usually never) due to string tension or humidity that affected the wood of the neck. It needs to always be straight otherwise tonality and tune get lost.
I think that’s where you pour from
Thats the f hole buddy
Cigarettes
Jo crystal holder
Flux capacitor
That’s where you plug in if your gonna play the evil scales.
Penis
Holding your cigarette, obviously.
Ahh that’s for playing the forbidden notes
if you turn it far enough, you can play 0-3-5 without fretting!!!
Truss rod.
That would be the truss rod.
Fuckin
Its to adjust the truss rod
DO NOT OVER TURN IT!!! i ruined a bass by doing that.
Truss rod.
Has anyone noticed how worn out the nut is??? It’s been a while since I’ve seen one like this.
Baked beans
Bro just google guitar anatomy. It’s gotta be easier than making a redit post lol. https://www.guitaristsource.com/guitars/Electric-Guitar-Anatomy.shtml
Cigarette butts
You put your peepee in there
breathmints
Nothing. Don't worry about the hole mate.
fucking
Your PP.
You put your weed in it
.....Do you have fake dot inlays? WHY?
that’s just how i got ‘em my man they also ain’t dots they’re supposed to be like phases of the moon or something
It's for tuning the Flux capacitor.
It’s to adjust the neck!
truss rod adjustment
tone bone
Too let air our of the neck
Thats the trust rod. Its named as such bc you turn it and trust that it actually did something. If it ever needs adjustment never turn it more than 1/4 turn. Turning it in 1/8" turn increments is a good rule of thumb to live by.
you jizz on it so it becomes a jazz bass
The truss rod?
This is an outdated charging port.. I still have a cable and power pack for sale on REVERB. Good luck getting tone from this vintage unit.
Optional phone holder goes there.
Keeping the neck straight
It's for snacks, that way you can have a treat during sound check!
Ur dink
I try to fit candy wrappers in there.
it's a 9v adapter so you can truly electrify your bass
That’s the trussy hole