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Another neck question. I am new to necks. I am going to order some truss rods from Stew Mac. Any suggestions on what I should order?

Depends on what you want them to do. Basses sometimes use two rods, while others use laminated necks along with a single truss rod. Do you want a double or single acting design?

Through stewmac, hot-rods seem to be the most popular for beginners and many pros swear by them (except for those of us who have shops equipped with a CNC router. I make my own one-piece double acting truss rods (based on a design used by PRS) by using two anchor points... It's almost as easy as installing a plain single acting rod. If you're interesting in going that route send me a PM and I can answer your questions.

It will be for telecaster style guitars.

A lot of people prefer the truss rods from Allied because they don't require as deep of slot, but on the other hand, there have been issues with some of the Allied rods failing.

Perhaps someone knows of rods similar to the Allieds in size but more reliable?

Kevin Looker

_________________
I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I have been using Allied rods with no issues to date. However, several weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the Martin 1833 store in Nazerath and picked up a couple of the new double acting rods. I really like the looks and several reputable folks here vouch for their reliability. They are also a bit easier to install as they don't require a wooden spline, you just put it in the slot with tite bond then install the fretboard. I'll be using these on my next builds.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I buy rods from Grizzly and LMI. They appear to be the same thing. I am not a fan of the hot rods from Stew Mac because the route has to be deeper and they are an odd width, so if you want a tight fit, you have to buy their overpriced router bit.

If you are wanting a single acting rod, like a telecaster has, that's altogether different. I have never bought one of those, but if you have the right tools, they seem fairly simple to make.