Would you or not? (truss adjustment at neck heel content)

[Tone2TheBone]

Some of you may or may not have the truss rod screw at the bottom of the neck on your Fender guitars. My gripe is that you have to loosen the neck screws to make an adjustment on the neck. Either that or take the neck off completely. Because of the recent rain we've been getting here (a miracle in itself) I've had to adjust the truss rod in my Muddy Waters Tele neck a couple of times already. It's not that big a deal to loosen the neck each time to do this....but then again if I have to do this at every seasonal change (change in humidity during transition between Winter/Spring...Summer/Fall) then yeah it would become a real drag.

One solution that I can see is cutting the pickguard where there is an existing rout in the body for access to the truss rod screw. My question is....would any of you cut the pickguard on a Muddy Tele to gain access to the screw or would you leave the pickguard alone for "looks sake" and deal with tweaking the neck while it's loose or off the body. Another reason for the gripe is that I prefer adjusting while the neck is on like I do with my MIM Strat....this way I adjust in miniscule amounts while I play. I don't have to retighten any screws or retune the entire guitar while doing this. I wish to be able to do the same with my Tele.

So would you cut the pickguard?

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

Yeah i'd cut it , especially if it has to be accessed that frequently ,perhaps pick up a allparts pick guard and cut that one keeping the original sanitary in case you ever sell ... 6S9L

[Tone2TheBone]

I will take your word for it as usual. It will be cut this evening. Thanks I just needed validation.

[tremoloman***]

"Function over fashion" is my motto. At least it's only a pickguard you have to modify. I wound up taking a bevel to my American Deluxe strats so I could divebomb them once I installed Callaham blocks. They came out great, but it was a nerve-wracking experience.

You could try using a bevel on the pickguard. You could easily do a professional looking job using one carefully.

[Tone2TheBone]

Trem - Do tell! Send me a pm if you can esplan it better. Or do it here so that all can learn!

[marnold***]

Yeah, the thing with hacking on a pickguard is that if you later decide you hate it, you can just get a new pickguard. Problem solved. Mercifully, both of my guitars adjust at the headstock--not that I mess with the trussrod much.

[Tone2TheBone]

Well I just learned something today about certain Telecasters.

Some of them have the neck pup screwed into the body and aren't attached through the pickguard. My Tele 'was' like that until the person who owned it before me decided to swap the original guard out for an 8 hole 3 ply version with neck pup screws. Thats the reason my pickguard can't come off. People keep telling me that all I have to do is take the screws out of the pickguard and remove it without detuning or messing with the neck at all since the neck pickup is screwed into the body underneath. Since this is my first ever Tele....what the hell did I know.

In light of this new revelation...where could I find an exact replacement Muddy Waters pickguard? I know I could make the cut on the one I have now but I think it would be cool to run the guitar in original mode now that I've learned how it's supposed to work. You think Fender would sell me a replacement? I'm not sure another parts dealer would have a 9 hole single ply pickguard that would fit exactly.

[tremoloman***]

Trem - Do tell! Send me a pm if you can esplan it better. Or do it here so that all can learn!

A bevel is nothing more than a small adjustable-speed drill. It's similar to a dentist's drill, only this one uses electricity instead of air to turn. There are countless bits you can choose from to make customizations.

I used a bevel to extend the tremolo block cavity with a small triangular bit at low speed. In about 10 minutes time, I was able to create room to allow full movement while removing the the least amount of wood possible. It is a nice tight fit, smooth, and looks professionally done too! (Well, except for the bare wood spots).

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

Ahhh, now I got ya Trem ... a dremell tool ...