Weird Truss Rod/Fret Problem

[gonza122]

hi, this is my first post.

i've been in this forum searching for something like this, but couldn't find anything.

my epiphone les paul 100 has a weird neck: one side is perfectly curved(at least for my personal taste); but the other side(the one with the heavy strings) is like "S" shaped. this is terrible because it causes A LOT of fret buzz.

see it for yourself:

i've tried manipulating the bridge, truss rod.. i even unscrewed the whole neck to see if the wood was damaged or something... help!

 

[adam_v64]

I can't see those pics for some reason, but take it to a luthier. It may be the neck is fine, but some of the frets need levelling. Most epiphones require a fret level and reprofile when new, which is a shame.

If the neck itself is twisted or the fingerboard has a hump
In it, you might as well buy another guitar for the amount it would cost to rectify it

 

[steadyriot]

hi, this is my first post.

i've been in this forum searching for something like this, but couldn't find anything.

my epiphone les paul 100 has a weird neck: one side is perfectly curved(at least for my personal taste); but the other side(the one with the heavy strings) is like "S" shaped. this is terrible because it causes A LOT of fret buzz.

see it for yourself:

i've tried manipulating the bridge, truss rod.. i even unscrewed the whole neck to see if the wood was damaged or something... help!

You tried to embed the whole page, not just the picture.
Here you go:

Seems like a relief problem, fixed with the trussrod.

 

[Dolebludger]

It may be repaired with a truss rod adjust -- and it may not. From the pics, it looks rather severe. If you bought your Epi new, remember you have a lifetime warranty on things like this.

 

[csplayer089]

 

[InfiniteeZ]

Did you have it sitting without strings for a good while?

 

[Dolebludger]

I'm interested to find out what the problem is here. Where I live, the climate changes from cold and dry to wet and comfortable to hot. I find myself having to adjust the truss rods every few weeks. When humidity is low, the necks bow (though not as bad as the one in the OP). When humidity is high, the necks straighten out or get an upward bow (slight). I think every player needs to know how to adjust the truss rod. He needs to learn it right after he learns the first position C chord!

Now, if I left one of my guitars with no strings, it would tend to get an upward bow, not the deep downward bow shown by the OP. The OP's guitar shows every sign of a broken (or otherwise non-functioning) truss rod.

 

[gonza122]

thanks for all the replies, and sorry i didn't know how to embed properly.. thanks steadyriot!
well i've been operating the truss rod, and it only seems to affect from the nut to the 12th fret..
i have had it with no strings some months ago.. but it was for a day or so.. (also, it has no strings right now as you can see)..
since i started this thread, i heard about neck twisting, could this be it?
do you think that warranty may unscrew this neck and just give me another one? that would be ideal, since the lp 100 has a bolt on neck

again, thanks!

 

[lpplayer]

Does not appear to be a twist at all, but rather both too much relief, and some high frets on the bass side.

"only seems to affect from the nut to the 12th fret"....thats pretty much normal.

I would take it to a tech to have it looked at and/or repaired, preferably one who is an authorized Epiphone repair center.

 

[Dolebludger]

I agree that it doesn't look like a twist. But it is the nastiest neck bend I've seen since back in the day when cheap guitars like Sears sold were built with no truss rods. I'm curious as to how it got this way. Did it happen overnight, or did the bend come on gradually over time?

In any event, the bow is so bad that I don't think a simple truss rod tightening is going to do it, without risk of damage to the rod. A luthier will clamp the neck at appropriate points, and gradually increase the pressure on the middle of the neck to straighten it. Then, he will tighten the truss rod. At least, that will be the procedure if the rod is not broken or otherwise malfunctioning. Given the severity of the bow, I suspect it is, so remember your lifetime warranty if you bought it new.