Guild Truss Rods

I was looking online at a Guild F-512 and noticed that it said that it has a "dual-action" truss rod. What does dual-action mean? Someone told me that some Guilds have 2 truss rods. Is that true?

Yes, some Guild 12 strings had 2 truss rods. They stopped doing that some time back. The experts will jump in and state what year and which factory, any time now !

krysh said:

http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/repair/acoustic-guitar/truss-rod-types.php

Click to expand...

For those who don't read the link, there is a difference between having a dual action truss rod and having two truss rods. There were Guild 12 strings that had two ("dual") truss roods but I don't know if the result was "dual action" although I might expect it to be.

A dual-action truss rod allows you to (slightly) bow the neck of the guitar either forward or backward (bow forward to increase relief, bow backward to decrease relief or flatten the fingerboard for fret work, etc). A hex wrench or socket is necessary to control the truss rod, and may be accessed from either the headstock or soundhole, depending on how the builder chose to situate it.

A compression rod will only bow the neck backwards in an attempt to counteract the tendency of the strings to pull the neck into a forward bow. This type of rod is permanently anchored into the heel block, is secured in a concave groove down the length of the neck, and exits into a recess in the headstock. A nut (with washer) is threaded onto the headstock end of the rod. When tightened, the nut presses against the wood of the neck and attempts to straighten the rod, which bows (should bow) the neck back against the pull of the strings. Over time, depending on circumstances, this rod may become ineffective, no longer able to counteract the pull of the strings.

The statement "Guilds have 2 truss rods" accurately refers to the company's decision to incorporate two compression rods into the necks of their 12 strings, allowing for more finite control of the bow (a 12 string exhibits more tension on one side of the fingerboard than the other, potentially resulting in a twist). In more recent years, Guild abandoned the twin compression rods in their 12 strings in favor of a single, dual-action truss rod.

I am unaware of any 12 strings having two dual-action truss rods. I would think that such an implementation would be uncomfortably heavy, heavier than their compression rod ancestors.

CLUE: If you can remove a nut from the end of a rod, it is *not* a dual-action truss rod. It is, in fact, a compression rod. I hope that helps.

Christopher Cozad said:

In more recent years, Guild abandoned the twin compression rods in their 12 strings in favor of a single, dual-action truss rod.

I am unaware of any 12 strings having two dual-action truss rods. I would think that such an implementation would be uncomfortably heavy, heavier than their compression rod ancestors.

CLUE: If you can remove a nut from the end of a rod, it is *not* a dual-action truss rod. It is, in fact, a compression rod. I hope that helps.

Click to expand...

Dual rods were an exclusive Guild design feature in all their (US built) 12-strings until sometime during Tacoma production.
Stopped dual rods in Tacoma 12-strings ca '07 or '08, replaced with a single dual action rod with 2 flanking graphite bars for enhanced stability.
Change was never documented on spec sheet and only way to tell which style a Tacoma has is to check under TRC.
New Hartford continued that system and suspect Cordoba will as well.
Saw an engineering drawing of the actual rod itself once years ago, but can't seem to dig it up now.
First saw the question here:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/sh...-action-truss-rod-system-for-12-string-models

adorshki said:

Stopped dual rods in Tacoma 12-strings ca '06, replaced with a single dual action rod with 2 flanking graphite bars for enhanced stability.
Change was never documented on spec sheet so only way to tell if a Tacoma has 2 rods is to check under TRC.
New Hartford continued that system and suspect Cordoba will as well.

Click to expand...

I think I remember reading about the carbon rods. Just in the 12-strings or all guitars?

merlin6666 said:

I think I remember reading about the carbon rods. Just in the 12-strings or all guitars?

Click to expand...

I thought it was exclusive to the 12-strings.
Not sure if it would even fit in a 6-string width neck and probably not needed.

adorshki said:

Not sure if it [carbon fiber] would even fit in a 6-string width neck and probably not needed.

Click to expand...

While I don't know if Guild ever did, I have constructed 6 string necks for years with a single, dual-action truss rod down the center having twin parallel carbon fiber stiffeners alongside. And I know I am not alone. The carbon fiber bars are less than half the depth of the dual-action truss rod. They fit just fine, can be lighter than the wood they replace, and add significant torsional strength to the neck. But they cost more than wood. ;~}

Here is an article that goes into some detail on the topic: Truss Rod Alternative

Christopher Cozad said:

While I don't know if Guild ever did, I have constructed 6 string necks for years with a single, dual-action truss rod down the center having twin parallel carbon fiber stiffeners alongside. And I know I am not alone. The carbon fiber bars are less than half the depth of the dual-action truss rod....But they cost more than wood. ;~}

Click to expand...

It wasn't the depth so much as how far they were from the truss horizontallyfrom the perspective of the photos.
Still, my memory of the image I saw looked pretty close to what you picture, so probably would fit.
Seem to recall the flanking rods were actually attached to the truss at what I assumed was the heelblock end.
But I only recall 'em being mentioned in connection with the 12-strings.
And kinda suspect at the time Fender would have been trying to keep costs down down where possible.