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Spector Euro Truss Rod issue - please help


dyerseve
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Hi guys and gals, so I just picked up my first Spector Euro yesterday. I didnt have a chance to play it before I bought it but I gave it the once over and everything looked good. It is in amazing condition with barely a mark on it, electronics and in fact the entire bass are all original and in good working order. The truss rod appeared to adjust without any issue...

When I got it home I gave it a thorough clean, oiled the fretboard and put some new strings on it. Plugged it in and was immediately smitten with that famous Spector tone.

I wasnt so happy with the setup though as there was too much relief for my liking. I set about tightening the truss rod. Everything seemed fine until all of a sudden the adjustments went from quite difficult to make to very easy. It was then that I realised that the barrel nut had come off the truss rod! I check the barrel nut with a bolt to make sure I have been tightening it the correct way(CW) and indeed I had.

I still have no idead what actually happened but the bottom line is this - the barrel nut would not go back on the end of the truss rod regardless of what I tried.

I had a look with a torch at the truss rod and it looked to be a removable type so while holding the bass upside down I gave it a few gentle knocks along the fretboard with a rubber mallet to see if that would help shift the truss rod(I have used this technique succesfully with Warwick basses that needed the truss rod replacing).

The truss rod didnt shift but a small from it fell out - see the first picture. This allowed me then to try the barrel nut again and it was able to mate again with the thread on the end of the truss rod.

So my question is this - what is the best way to proceed:

1. The block that fell out seems to be blocking the barrel nut from mating with the thread on the truss rod - do I therefore;

a. need to reinsert it and give it a few good whacks to ensure it is properly seated - hopefully in the process revealing more thread for the barrel nut to mate with or

b. shave off a few millimeters from the flat edge to again reveal more thread...

 

2. remove the whole truss rod and replace it with a new one - does anyone know if this is even possible or if I would need to get a luthier to do this by removing the fretboard?

 

FYI the bass appears to be an early 90's Spector Euro as it has the SSD Logo and Stuart Spector Design on the truss rod cover. It has a 4 digit serial number inside the electronics cavity, EMG pups, EMG BTS circuit and solid brass bridge and nut with Schaller machineheads.

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quick update...
I am impatient and had too much time on my hands yesterday so I went with option 1b:
shave off a few millimeters from the flat edge to again reveal more thread...

So i got out my vice and dremel and cut 2mm of the flat edge of the anchor block. I also cut a couple mill off the barrel nut as well as the end of it actually protrudes past where the thread starts.
The thread looke fine inside the barrel nut and I tested it with an M5 bolt to make sure - all good.
I applied some machine grease to the end of the truss rod before reseating the anchor block - there was now a good deal more rod visible. I reattached the barrel nut and it went on to the rod easily and firmly.

The good news is that the truss rod is now fully functional and the relief at the 7th fret is no longer several mill but rather 0,015" or 0,38mm

Yay me! 

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