Maurszczyk Paddock 5a truss rod snapped!

[PlungerModerno]

5 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Like United Airlines 232

I'd forgotten about that one. Tragic but not half as tragic as it might have been.

Here's a good article on it: popularmechanics.com the-final-flight-of-united-232

[Woodinblack]

5 minutes ago, PlungerModerno said:

I'd forgotten about that one. Tragic but not half as tragic as it might have been.

Almost literally half as tragic as it could have been. Absolutely amazing work by the pilots (and a fair bit of luck too).

[itu]

If I need to do a thread, my choice is steel over titanium. Ti is light in weight but it is not very good material in screws or gears. Steel (depending on a quality) is much better - and cheaper.

[Woodinblack]

9 minutes ago, itu said:

If I need to do a thread, my choice is steel over titanium. Ti is light in weight but it is not very good material in screws or gears. Steel (depending on a quality) is much better - and cheaper.

I think that ibanez use titanium due to weight reasons - they have very skinny necks and on mine have been about the most stable necks of any of my basses.

Having said that, my Maruszczyk bass actually has the same neck profile as my ibanez, but without the additional stability. I haven't had any problems but I haven't touched the truss rod much

[LeftyJ]

10 hours ago, itu said:

If I need to do a thread, my choice is steel over titanium. Ti is light in weight but it is not very good material in screws or gears. Steel (depending on a quality) is much better - and cheaper.

I don't think Ibanez use it for the truss rod, but for additional stabilizing rods (the same way many manufacturers use carbon rods these days).

[PlungerModerno]

On 18/02/2021 at 23:07, Woodinblack said:

Almost literally half as tragic as it could have been. Absolutely amazing work by the pilots (and a fair bit of luck too).

Just imagine if it had gone down over a densely populated area. Not to minimize the horrific loss of life (almost half the souls aboard), but a real example of heroic piloting.

[BigRedX]

To get back OT...

When I first started considering making a guitar in the late 70s the only source of information for the enthusiastic amateur like myself was Stephen Delft's series in International Musician magazine. Back then truss rods were not readily available and as a result several articles in the series were dedicated to making your own from scratch. One thing I do remember was that it was suggested that the adjustment nut was made of brass, so if there was a problem the threads on the nut were more likely to fail than the truss rod itself, and the nut could easily be replaced. On the surface this seemed like excellent advice. Is there any reason why it has not been adopted by any truss rod manufacturers? Has technology moved on since 1978 to render this obsolete?

[Woodinblack]

Gibson use brass truss rod bots it would seem. Not sure if that is the reason

[TheGreek]

I find it hard to believe that a manufacturer of, what many of us would consider to be, a quality instrument is not prepared to make good on defects with their products - irrespective of whether the defect was theirs or the client's.

This is a very competitive market with many basses in a similar price bracket - surely reputation is everything - as a potential customer, if I knew that a particular brand was prone to problems I'd steer clear. Historically, Jaydee had some issues with necks but stood tall and addressed the problem so that subsequent basses did not have the same issues.

I believe the major cost to Maruszczyk would be time - not expensive materials - however the possible cost in loss of sales/ damage to the reputation easily exceeds any costs.

From what I've read here I would certainly think twice about buying one - and I like the design!

Come on Adrian, do the right thing - make good on this whether it was the owner's negligence or not. I'm sure that many potential customers would find this level of customer service reassuring when placing an order. Surely the desired outcome is one where is everybody is happy.

[mcnach]

On 17/02/2021 at 18:58, radcliff43123 said:

Well.  I have been in touch with both entities.  The Manufacturer stated the bass is under warranty but truss rods are NOT COVERED!  I just can't seem to understand this as a truss rod is not like tires on a car, or spark plugs that are subject to normal wear and tear.  I do understand that if you adjust the truss rod yourself that it can be negligently overtightened to the point where something is going to break and that the manufacturer shouldn't be held responsible.  I can tell  you I turned the nut ever so slightly- very small adjustments since I have owned the bass.  I cherish this thing and I would never make major adjustments to it- small incremental only.  I maintain that I was not negligent and operated the truss rod in a manner consistent with how it is intended to be tuned.  The frustrating thing is that it is my word against his.  I maintain I was careful in adjusting the rod and that either the installation of the rod or the condition of the rod at the time of manufacture was subpar.  He maintains I was negligent and that "I broke the rod", point blank.  I just don't like the hard stance he is taking on this.  The retailer I purchased the bass from is very understanding and is communicating with the manufacturer on my behalf to try and find some amicable solution.  I can tell you that I LOVE my bass guitar, but I will not purchase another Maruszczyk if an agreeable solution is not rendered.  I understand Maruszczyk engineers their own truss rods.  Of course they are going to stand by their quality, but they can't be so protective to not realize that sometimes they are going to get it right 100% of the time.  I feel I got the 1 in 10000 that fail during normal use.  Man, I am torn up over this.  I love my bass and have experienced pride in owning a Maruszczyk.  Sad times!

 

That is crazy.

I have to say that the warm fuzzies I got with Maruszczyk when I first came across them (I bought 3 of their basses over the years, new) are quickly cooling down. I had trouble with pickup screws that snapped (made of an alloy of iron and cheese, apparently, which has no place in any decent instrument), and his attitude seems less than exemplary these days.

Worth posting your experience on the Maruszczyk thread. I like their basses but what kind of BS is that? Refusing point blank to accept that maybe there was a problem with the truss rod and implying the user was at fault without having even tried to look at it is a bit NO NO for me. Sandberg are looking more and more like the better option.

[ezbass]

Post it on the FB page too perhaps? With the post B word shenanigans, this may prove a tough one to resolve.

[Welshbassist]

Frankly it is so disappointing to hear about Mariuszczyk's response. It's quite insulting to suggest that this is your fault as if you have taken to the rod with an impact wrench. I have been considering a new P-style bass and this puts me right off - the peace of mind provided by good customer service is one of the first things I would think about when spending that much money on an instrument.

I hope you are able to come to some sort of agreement.

[Aidan63]

Any progress with this ?

[spongebob]

Bit of a thread revival, but I was looking at the possibility of a Maruszczyk bass, and this read hasn't exactly inspired me with confidence.

The saving of a few hundred pounds over say, a Fender, is enticing....but not if such issues are common? I have read online about a few QC gremlins. 

One thing I'd always say for Fender, when I bought a NOS bass some years back, they replaced a warped neck and couriered it back to me. They were great.

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, spongebob said:

Bit of a thread revival, but I was looking at the possibility of a Maruszczyk bass, and this read hasn't exactly inspired me with confidence.

The saving of a few hundred pounds over say, a Fender, is enticing....but not if such issues are common? I have read online about a few QC gremlins. 

One thing I'd always say for Fender, when I bought a NOS bass some years back, they replaced a warped neck and couriered it back to me. They were great.

The smart move is to buy one from Bass Direct (actually a better bet, post B word) then any issues are their problem. FWIW I’ve not had a day’s issue with my two custom Elwoods and my off the peg Jake (now sold) was equally fault free.

[spongebob]

Sounds good.....that's actually where I've been looking.

Had a year off, want to restock, and just fancy a total change to get me interested.  Hence the interest in the brand. Heard some YT stuff, and it sounded better than most basses I've owned at twice the price!

[evan47]

Well. it has just happened to me too.

I bought a used Elwood l5a last year and only recently tried to set it up as the action was very high.

Initially the truss rod was loose with no tension.

I managed to get it to bite but the neck bow stayed  unchanged (I left it a day between half turns and even slackened the strings).

Admittedly it was a bit tight to turn but now it is spinning freely again.

Such a shame as it is /was a beautiful bass.

I don't know what to do about this.

What would be cheaper/better, a repair or a new neck?

[Woodinblack]

2 minutes ago, evan47 said:

Well. it has just happened to me too.

I bought a used Elwood l5a last year and only recently tried to set it up as the action was very high.

Initially the truss rod was loose with no tension.

I managed to get it to bite but the neck bow stayed  unchanged (I left it a day between half turns and even slackened the strings).

 

Were you aware that the Mzk truss rods turned the other way to normal ones?

 

[evan47]

16 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Were you aware that the Mzk truss rods turned the other way to normal ones?

 

it turned freely in either direction.

 

[evan47]

just had a better look at it and it has actually snapped!

[Aidan63]

If it was me I'd contact Adrian and see what his take is,  expecting nothing, and then contact Andy about a repair

They, I believe, build each instrument individually so neck pockets and screw positions are not standardised, so a new neck won't be straightforward as whoever does it will have to have the body too, repairing the original neck may be the easiest option

[evan47]

42 minutes ago, Aidan63 said:

If it was me I'd contact Adrian and see what his take is,  expecting nothing, and then contact Andy about a repair

They, I believe, build each instrument individually so neck pockets and screw positions are not standardised, so a new neck won't be straightforward as whoever does it will have to have the body too, repairing the original neck may be the easiest option

Yes, Adrian says to send it back for replacing the neck at my cost (presumably), the problem is that my bass is a special with a burled maple top, pickup covers and matching headstock.

I think that at the end the the day a repair may be the best option if I want the headstock to match the rest of the bass.

Gutted about this.

Who is Andy?

Do you have contact details please?

 

[Aidan63]

@Andyjr1515

[3below]

If @Andyjr1515is too busy then I can highly recommend Jon Shuker for this type of repair. My G&L fretboard parted from the neck due to the wood compressing with the truss rod adjustment. A dual action rod was fitted, an excellent repair, with better fretwork than the original.

 

If I can build a neck with a removable dual action truss rod major manufacturers should be able to.

Edited May 16, 2022 by 3below

[Andyjr1515]

Many thanks to @Aidan63 for putting my name forward     I'm one of many 'Basschatters willing to help other Basschatters' - and there are some very skilled folks amongst them - but Aidan is clearly in cahoots with MrsAndyjr1515 in her objective to keep me down in the cellar for as long as humanly possible. 

 

@evan47 did indeed get in touch and we have had a pm dialogue over the last week or so to talk through the issue, the potential remedies and risks.  And this morning the neck arrived.  And it's a thing of beauty.  But it does have serious problems.

 

The obvious one is the one we know - the trussrod has snapped:

 

And that the neck is bowed even without the strings on:

 

In fact, it's bowed a lot!  Measured against my levelling beam, a full 2mm at the centre:

 

@evan47 has a bass he can still use and so this will be very much an 'in between other stuff'.  I probably won't start the fretboard removal until the weekend, but needed to at least confirm that the board is going to be removable.

 

And so out comes my travel iron - ideal for the job - to do a test to see if the glue will soften with reasonable levels of heat:

 

After about 10 minutes, I pressed a single-edged razor against the fretboard join to see if the glue had softened enough.  Success:

 

So we know it is going to be possible to remove the board.  But before that, I will need to do something the other end.  The veneer that has been used on the headstock matches the body and is beautiful.  But it curves up and is bonded to the fretboard.  As such, I am going to need to use a razor saw at the front of the nut spacer slot to cut down so that I can release the board without lifting the short piece of fretboard running up to the headstock and glued to its veneer:

 

 

Once the board is off, we will be able to see what's going on and how best to fix it.  With that apparent set-bow, it will need more than just replacing the trussrod.

 

 

 

  

Edited May 19, 2022 by Andyjr1515