The Tale of the Maruszczyk Elwood 5a Absolution (Syfon bass)

[basexperience]

Hello all!

 

I purchased this a while back on Basschat, a beautiful blue burst Maruszczyk (I was attracted by the finish, if I'm honest, but the bass is a wonderful recording bass, being completely and eerily silent with the Glockenklang preamp it has). All was pretty good for a while, but I never quite got the neck as flat as I wanted it (relief). I knew about the reverse truss rod, so no worries there. I also always had some trouble getting the Allen key into the rod, seemed like it was too far into the neck (it's mounted at the body end).

 

Last year, as Winter came in, I kicked off the humidifier in the studio, and set about mitigating any relief issues I saw on the basses (I monitor humidity in the office to keep it above 45% or so) - Rikkers, Warwicks, Tobias, SRAS7 (twin rod!) etc - then I get to the Maruszczyk, and I decide this year I'm going to get that relief where I want it (I love a very, very straight neck).

 

I run out of adjustment. WTF?

 

I try slackening it off, taking the strings off, putting them back on, etc, nothing gives me any more adjustment. I turn a little more, and... SNAP - there goes the head of the rod! I take the neck off and confirm my suspicions. Yep. Then I spot posts over here on BC about it, so I get in touch with @Andyjr1515 (IIRC) and he directs me to Robin Manton over at @Manton Customs, who tells me he's really busy and he could look at it sometime in March 2025, so I stash the bass (which isn't getting any worse) and wait.

 

Well, it's been interesting so far - I've been introduced to Lenspeed Logistics, who are EXACTLY who you want if you want to courier instruments and gear around the UK - don't use anybody else, guys, these guys are musicians and they know how to transport gear, from what I see. Even chatted to the courier who did the pickup about venues, gigs, the state of live music etc. Great company.

 

The bass should get some attention this week. Robin reckons the usual hot iron treatment should get the neck off - the bass is rather heavily ornamented, shall we say - there's binding around the entire thing, including the neck, so I'm interested to see what Robin can do. Given the discussions I've seen on getting Maruszczyk to engage with this issue, I decided to go straight to a UK luthier to fix, negating issues with shipping a neck (or even sourcing one...). Robin's been great with communications, very patient 😉 

 

Here's a droolsome listing for the same bass on Bass Direct. You can see why I want this thing to work properly, it's gorgeous.

 

https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/maruszczyk-elwood-absolution-5a-gloss-blueburst/

 

Edited March 17 by basexperience

[basexperience]

I’ve heard back from Robin at @Manton Customs - it’s going really well so far. 
 

- fingerboard is off, took a lot of work. Maryszczyk apparently go for serious glue. 
- truss rod looks like it’s some generic threaded rod which has been fashioned into a truss rod, so my guess is this is why it’s failed - the materials aren’t designed for this purpose. 
- the binding on the sides of the fretboard is pickguard material (plastic) and didn’t do well with the heat, but it’s already on order along with a suitable proper truss rod. 
- the good news is the neck is in good shape and with a proper rod, it’ll play nicely. 
 

this confirms what others have said about their Maruszczyk when the truss rod broke - that for some reason, they don’t put decent rods in their basses. 
 

can’t wait to see and play the result!

[lemmywinks]

Do you have a pic of the rod they used? Might help other folk if the owner of the company is being difficult about repairs/replacements.

[basexperience]

1 hour ago, lemmywinks said:

Do you have a pic of the rod they used? Might help other folk if the owner of the company is being difficult about repairs/replacements.

I think @Manton Customs is going to send me one - perhaps Robin could comment on here directly? I'd like to see a picture of the old rod vs a proper truss rod, too - Robin is ordering something suitable.

[Manton Customs]

Sure, will post some pics as I go 😃 

[basexperience]

I have an update - Robin reckons put carbon rods in would be a worthy upgrade, so the neck is getting those too. Anything which helps me get that neck flat!

[basexperience]

Another Update - the fretboard binding is back on, routing for the rod and carbon rods will happen soon. Irony / synchronicity: Robin and I have both have colds / flu at the same time 🤣

[basexperience]

@Manton Customs has sent me a couple of pics of the old Maruszczyk truss rod vs the one he’s fitting. 
 

to say the least, the old one is… “basic”. I’d call it pitiful for a bass that looks as beautiful, or costs this much new!

 

can’t wait to get my hands on the bass again, and have it flat as a pancake for relief as I like 😁

 

I mean, it’s rusty, for heaven’s sake - the bass has never been kept in any environment which would encourage rust. Says a lot for the quality of the steel?

[simisker]

Wow, that looks positively Soviet-era 😲

 

I remember when I was researching for my own Maruszczyk build, it became apparent from other owners' testimonies that carbon rods were an unspoken must-have.

 

So would this explain why Maru truss rods work in the opposite direction to most other truss rods? Is that a symptom of the shonky ghetto nature of their truss rods?

 

 

Edited Friday at 10:32 by simisker

[lemmywinks]

What's the point of building a bass at any price point if you're gonna put that in the neck?

[Woodinblack]

Am I missing the obvious that the replacement truss rod is bigger than the original? Did the original not go all the way or have you lengthened the neck?!

[Manton Customs]

39 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Am I missing the obvious that the replacement truss rod is bigger than the original? Did the original not go all the way or have you lengthened the neck?!

 

The original rod was on the short side yes, the new one is longer and will extend further in the neck. A truss rod doesn’t have to be the full length of the neck, but close to it is good.

[Woodinblack]

I presume mine is the same thing. But luckily it has never caused me any issues.

[basexperience]

As to this explaining the reverse nature of the rods, I'd defer to @Manton Customs - I also wondered about their relative length, and TBH I'd rather have a rod which did the job properly, and I can't help thinking that if the rod is too short, and not made of strong enough material, both of these will contribute to it eventually failing. I'm not impressed with Maruszczyk's construction here at all, personally.

 

Luckily thanks to the carbon rods going in, the new (and better) rod will have a little less stress on it, so I should have all the adjustment I need from now on.

 

@Woodinblack - I pray your bass continues that way - out of interest, what year was yours made? This one was made in 2014, I'm hoping their newer ones use better neck construction.

Edited Friday at 16:37 by basexperience

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, basexperience said:

 - I pray your bass continues that way - out of interest, what year was yours made? This one was made in 2014, I'm hoping their newer ones use better neck construction.

 

Mine was made in 2016 - it was a full custom, I assume it is probably the same as yours. 

It is certainly one of my top basses so if it did break I know where to go!

[basexperience]

15 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Mine was made in 2016 - it was a full custom, I assume it is probably the same as yours. 

It is certainly one of my top basses so if it did break I know where to go!

I'm not sure this Elwood is a full custom - the spec does include a couple of changes, I think, but they're electronics: the preamp is a glockenklang (which is amazing) and I believe the pickups are Haussel, but looking at the old listing I posted the link to above (which wasn't for my bass) I think everything else is stock. It doesn't have the clear pick guard though, I've noticed that.

[Woodinblack]

Ineed - that would have been a catalogue item, there were a set of list basses you could get or you could just message them and ask for something specific, which is what appealed, so mine actually has a neck baseed on the measurements of my ibanez 1605 and a chambered body