FG-170 - Is this truss rod in good shape? | Yamaha Vintage FG Acoustic Guitars

gonetroppo
New Member

Posts: 7

FG-170 - Is this truss rod in good shape? Aug 16, 2019 1:26:04 GMT -5

Quote

Post by gonetroppo on Aug 16, 2019 1:26:04 GMT -5

Hi knowledgeable Yamaha guys,

I'm looking at buying this old FG170 since I need a good sounding laminate guitar to leave out. She really sounds sweet to my ear, and the action/playability is not bad.

The neck seems to have a bit of a back bow with pretty low action in the middle of the neck. Looking at the truss rod I'm not actually so sure what kind of wrench is used on it or even whether it looks healthy - it looks different to the other truss rods I have seen which usually use an allen key.

Pics below and your thoughts/advice are/is appreciated. Thank you!

Last Edit: Aug 17, 2019 5:05:15 GMT -5 by gonetroppo

You can be standing right in front of the truth and not necessarily see it, and people only get it when they’re ready to get it.

CTGull
Administrator

Vintage YamaNut

Posts: 3,292

FG-170 - Is this truss rod in good shape? Aug 16, 2019 5:31:35 GMT -5

Quote

Post by CTGull on Aug 16, 2019 5:31:35 GMT -5

That's the standard truss rod nut from that era. But it's only a single action truss rod, to correct forward bow. If the neck is back bowed the only possible correction would be to put medium string on it and see if that helps slightly. But if the neck angle is bad that will only make it harder to play.

The last 2 customer neck resets I did both had a slight backbow. After the neck resets the action was nice and low. I put medium strings on the one with the most backbow and it helped slightly.

yamahavintagefg.boards.net/thread/14/properly-adjust-truss-rod

yamahavintagefg.boards.net/thread/79/replacement-truss-rod-wrench

gonetroppo
New Member

Posts: 7

FG-170 - Is this truss rod in good shape? Aug 16, 2019 14:13:57 GMT -5

Quote

Post by gonetroppo on Aug 16, 2019 14:13:57 GMT -5

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately the neck angle is not great on this old guitar, not sure whether I will go through with the purchase now since the seller is not neg at $200.

Sounds very cool so it's a real shame about the bad neck angle... No wonder the truss rod was cranked to backbow, the seller used the truss rod to acheive a playable action...

You can be standing right in front of the truth and not necessarily see it, and people only get it when they’re ready to get it.

CTGull
Administrator

Vintage YamaNut

Posts: 3,292

FG-170 - Is this truss rod in good shape? Aug 16, 2019 15:35:00 GMT -5

Quote

Post by CTGull on Aug 16, 2019 15:35:00 GMT -5

That's typical. Unfortunately, the truss rod does nothing for the neck angle. Too many of these old FG's are passed around with most people clueless about the neck angle. Then they get it and realize it's not playable and they have to sell it to another unsuspecting person.

gonetroppo
New Member

Posts: 7

FG-170 - Is this truss rod in good shape? Aug 17, 2019 5:03:19 GMT -5

Quote

Post by gonetroppo on Aug 17, 2019 5:03:19 GMT -5

Aug 16, 2019 15:35:00 GMT -5 CTGull said:

That's typical. Unfortunately, the truss rod does nothing for the neck angle. Too many of these old FG's are passed around with most people clueless about the neck angle. Then they get it and realize it's not playable and they have to sell it to another unsuspecting person.

Unfortunately seems the case. If the price was a bit better I wouldn't mind using this as an open tuning/slide guitar but not at $200 I reckon..

Two questions for you CTGull, since you seem just about the best informed person on these vintage Yammies.

1) What, in your estimation, would be "fair value" price for this FG170 with the neck angle issue (and with a broken old dread case). Bare in mind cosmetically the guitar is in very good nick for its age.

2) If tightening the truss rod increases neck tension toward a backbow, does loosening it give relief to that tension?

Last Edit: Aug 17, 2019 5:07:22 GMT -5 by gonetroppo

You can be standing right in front of the truth and not necessarily see it, and people only get it when they’re ready to get it.

CTGull
Administrator

Vintage YamaNut

Posts: 3,292

FG-170 - Is this truss rod in good shape? Aug 17, 2019 8:11:17 GMT -5

Quote

Post by CTGull on Aug 17, 2019 8:11:17 GMT -5

In my opinion, if it's not playable it's not worth crap. It's a wall hanger. I've got a lot of those, but I'll get to doing neck resets on them. In almost all cases I paid less than $100 each for them, in some cases $50 or less. But if you have to pay for a neck reset, it's going to cost you typically $400 to $600. Far more than the guitar is worth. I've done 2 customer neck resets recently. Typically the guitar has sentimental value. In that case, it's worth it.

The truss rod is only single acting, it only pulls the neck backward. If the neck is already back bow the truss rod won't fix that. I've run into 3 guitars straight with a slight back bow. I had to put medium string on one of them to make it playable. And man was it playable!!

Announcements

Recent Threads

Welcome to the Yamaha Vintage FG Forum!!!

FG-170 - Is this truss rod in good shape?

Post by gonetroppo on Aug 16, 2019 1:26:04 GMT -5

Post by CTGull on Aug 16, 2019 5:31:35 GMT -5

Post by gonetroppo on Aug 16, 2019 14:13:57 GMT -5

Post by CTGull on Aug 16, 2019 15:35:00 GMT -5

Post by gonetroppo on Aug 17, 2019 5:03:19 GMT -5

Post by CTGull on Aug 17, 2019 8:11:17 GMT -5

Quick Reply

Quick Navigation