Tried again, my second Celebrity Bass

[drbassman]

She came today and she's a keeper. Excellent condition with one finish crack in the back, none in the front which is typical for these basses. Only the case and pickguard aren't original, the rest is. A great deal for sure IMHO..... Sure glad I returned the first one! Thanks for all of your help and support on the first one (24" scale Celebrity).

[Dennisthe Menace]

Bill, That's a Nice Lookin Bass! You DONE GOOD! What kind of Case came with it?

[MWaldorf]

Congratulations - that's beautiful!

[drbassman]

Bill, That's a Nice Lookin Bass! You DONE GOOD! What kind of Case came with it?

Hey Dennis, it came with an Epiphone case like you'd buy for a Casady hollow body bass. I'm really happy with it so far. After playing and looking it over for another day, I'll be sure. It was a steal on eBay. Prices can be very good right now if you keep an eye on things!

[drbassman]

OK, I never pass judgment on a bass until I check out the electronics, the neck and the truss rod. I didn't have time last night, so I dug into this tonight. Everything checks out except the truss rod nut has me confused. I need you Mosrite experts to tell me what's up with this.

First, I was fortunate that my Ric nut driver fits this bass too. However, the nut is recessed way down below the string nut. Is this typical Mosrite design? The cavity looks original without any "new" routing.

Second, there was no washer under the rod nut. That doesn't look right to me.

Third, is there some sort of metal sleeve (or jacket) around the truss rod? When I look down onto the top of the rod, just beneath the top of the wood (which surrounds the truss rod), I see what looks like brass around the rod. It's a bear to get light down there, so I'm not sure. Any ideas about how the top of the rod is finished on these basses?

Thanks in advance. This is a strange set up based on what I've seen from other guitar manufacturers. Any light you cuold shed on this would be appreciated!

[dubtrub]

First, I was fortunate that my Ric nut driver fits this bass too. However, the nut is recessed way down below the string nut. Is this typical Mosrite design? The cavity looks original without any "new" routing.

This doesn't sound like a problem since the truss rod can slide back and forth in the trussrod channel when the tension is loosened on the adjusting nut. I just got my 72 solid body Mosrite bass today, the one described in another thread having a bowed neck and the trussrod not correcting the bow. I found that by removing the white plastic plate on the rear of the neck, I was able to puss the trussrod out the back and remove it from the neck. I will have to repair the trussrod by cutting and rewelding the end and replace the adjusting nut. I have the neck off the body and have placed counter weights to rectify the bow. Once the trussrod is repaired, I believe it will be fine.

Second, there was no washer under the rod nut. That doesn't look right to me.

It appears that your trussrod is made like Mel's depicted in another post. My guitar does not have a washer but has a sleeve or collar that is about 1/2" long braised to the flat bar on the top that the threaded round round part goes through it. The adjusting nut tightens down (or up) against this metal sleeve. It applies pressure and causes the flat portion of the trussrod to bow upwards pushing the curvature of the neck downward.

Third, is there some sort of metal sleeve (or jacket) around the truss rod? When I look down onto the top of the rod, just beneath the top of the wood (which surrounds the truss rod), I see what looks like brass around the rod. It's a bear to get light down there, so I'm not sure. Any ideas about how the top of the rod is finished on these basses?

I removed my trussrod and there is no sleeve surrounding it in the channel. On the guitars that I build, I run a strip of masking tape over the trussrod channel before gluing on the fretboard. This prevents glue from running into the channel preventing trussrod removal at a later date should the need arise. Possibly something like this is what you are seeing on your guitar.

[drbassman]

Thanks for the detailed answer. So, I can see what looks like a metal sleeve about 1/2" below the top of my truss rod. When I tighten it down to the sleeve, I can't seem to get any more movement to straigten out the neck. Even if I manually straighten the neck and try the rod nut, I get a lot of resistance, so I'm afraid to over tighten or break the rod.

Are you saying I can probably remove the rod (without wrecking the neck) and work on it? That would be great of I could!

If you have a picture of your rod outside of the neck, I'd love to see it or could you point me to Mel's thread?

Thanks!!!

[dubtrub]

First off, why are you wanting to remove the trussrod? If there is nothing wrong with it, don't try and remove it.

Here is the link to Mel's project.

The trussrod will NOT come out the front. You should be able to access it from the rear of neck. There may be a plastic cover glued on the rear of the neck concealing the access hole. If you loosen the nut (or remove it), you should be able to use a 1/4" hardwood dowel and drive it out the rear.

[drbassman]

Well, since I can't get it to move, I was making the assumption that it might be frozen (the sleeve that is) or somehow stuck. When I tighten it, are you saying the sleeve moves downward? This is a really strange design for sure if that's how it works. I wasn't so much thinking about removing/replacing it as much as trying to loosen things up if that would help any.

I see what you mean about removal and seeing Mel's thread helped. I;m not sure if I should try to tighten it any further or what. It's so different from Gibsons and Fenders.

Thanks!

First off, why are you wanting to remove the trussrod? If there is nothing wrong with it, don't try and remove it.

Here is the link to Mel's project.

The trussrod will NOT come out the front. You should be able to access it from the rear of neck. There may be a plastic cover glued on the rear of the neck concealing the access hole. If you loosen the nut (or remove it), you should be able to use a 1/4" hardwood dowel and drive it out the rear.

[sycamoregrove]

Hope you can fix your truss rod woes. I fixed quite a few Mosrites my ex boss bought by buying Ric truss rods and replacing them with those. It worked fine. I think the necks he got were NOS and came without truss rods.

Love the bass, wish I had my old one back.