So I broke a dual action truss rod and now the neck from a Music Man silhouette I inherited had somewhat of backbow near the heel. I don't know how that would happen but it's wood and it does what it wants. I use really light stings but I would have expected a backbow more towards the middle of the neck.

I've already ordered a new maple neck, but I am getting the temptation to take things apart. I'm changing the neck, but I am not certain if I want to send the old one in for repair, scrap it or mess with it for fun. I've read up on the process from a few books I have and even watched a couple of videos and it seems like it takes time but isn't that technical other than for being careful and slow.

What I would like to ask to anyone else who has attempted this, are there any caveats or issues that might come up that are not as straightforward as heat slowly, wedge even slower and use plenty of heat and steam.

I have the tools, Irons, putty knife, composite shims, workbench vice and supports. Just thinking this might be a fun project as it is raining pretty much the entire weekend here.

 

Well, the cost of fixing a broken truss rod is certainly not going to be inexpensive. With a replacement neck already ordered you really have nothing to loose. Sounds like you have all the necessary tools so I say go for it. There's nothing more satisfying then fixing it yourself and you'll learn a great deal during the process. If you screw it up, oh well, just install that new neck. The only other thing to consider is if you have the neck repaired, you can turn around and sell it and use that money toward paying for the new one, hell, and if you fix it on your own, you can do the same! If you can't then you'll have to take it as a financial hit, but a good learning experience.

 

Last edited: Mar 23, 2022

Yhea not worried about the cost or recup on the old neck.

I could have had it repaired but I wanted a new one as it saves all kind of headaches and WTFs that can happen on a repair.

If I can get right I might build a Frakenoutte for fun but I don't trust my skills enough to pass on something that might be defective to someone else.

Thanks for encouragement, like you said I have very little to loose. Just checking if I am going to run into something that I haven't accounted for, always been that measure ten times before doing anything than measure again right before starting person

 

Absolutely, best of luck! Let us know how it goes?

 

Glad I didn't take it apart. Got a call from the local music shop that was ordering the replacement for me an they want the old neck back before they send me an other one. I guess they don't want spare parts floating around.

I can understand why, but then again for what it costs seems a little grimy.

Guess I'll just take off the tuners and take in on Monday.

Much ado about nothing . I was kind of looking forward to it.

IDK I might cancel or delay and take it apart anyway and send it in pieces if I fail to repair it. Kind of in the in that kind of mood right now. Probably not, but my brain is kind of fizzing on ughh. It's not like you get a discount for sending it back in one piece.

 

This is the perfect situation to learn. Do it, have fun & be patient.

 

You can experiment changing the truss rod too :

Some can even be fixed by making a new thread.

In your situation, may be not an option.
May be for someone else reading this

 

They probably want the old neck back for reasons of quality control. Perhaps this has happened a number of times to other customers and they need to prove it to the vendor/manufacturer or show it as an example of shoddy work to their fabricating plant so that it won't happen again.

If you still have a desire to see how it all ticks under the hood you could always buy an inexpensive instrument and dissect the beast to grok the process of fretboard removal or any other diabolical schemes that you might entertain in the way of dismemberment and playing the role of Dr. Frankenstein to bring it back to life on your own terms. Remember, Abby Normal was a thing and you won't want to go down that road if you can help it

 

I am thinking that I will just give them old one.

Sorry this turned to be so boring, sounded like a fun thing and now it's just turned into some ho-hum crap. As with all things in life, no plan survives its first encounter with reality.

The guy at the store wants me to let their luthier have a crack at fixing it. It is about 1/2 the price and he saying that if I don't like it they'll eat the cost and I can order a new one then. He'll get a last chance to convince me when I stop by later. I am not in a hurry and I generally don't pick up this instrument often.

I doubt MM are going to do anything to it, maybe they'll open it up out of curiosity but from what I've been told they do that with everything that they themselves. They don't want parts out in the wild and don't want to be a parts supplier.

Once again, sorry for having wasted everyone's time.