Fodera Dual Action Truss Rod Adjusting Manual

Adjusting The Fodera Dual Action Truss Rod:
The Fodera Dual Action Truss Rod was designed to ensure that whether your gig finds you in
Alaska in January or Nassau in July, your Bass can be adjusted to play the same way it did the
day it left our shop.
We make every Fodera out of some of the longest-aged, quality instrument tonewood on the
planet. Our wood is as stable as any that you will find. However, it is still wood and changes in
temperature and humidity will cause wood to change shape and require some tweaking of your
Truss Rod to maintain your instrument's optimal playability.
Whenever your bass experiences significant changes in temperature or humidity, you should
check the relief of your bass' neck. A neck can be one of three things – perfectly flat, "bowed" or
"back-bowed." Here at Fodera we generally set up our basses (unless requested to do otherwise)
with an almost flat neck (with just a very small hint of bow).
A 'bowed" neck refers to a situation where the center of the neck drops away from the strings.
An extremely bowed neck will have very high action and require a great deal of effort to fret a
note.
A "back bowed neck" refers to the opposite condition – one where the center of the neck arches
upwards towards the strings. When this situation occurs, your bass will feel very "sloppy" to
play and you will experience fret buzz no matter how lightly the pressure used with your fretting
hand.
To properly measure the amount of relief in your neck, we recommend using a capo to hold the
strings down at the first position while holding down your lowest string (either the E string or the
B string) at the last fret. While doing this, use a feeler gauge to measure the distance between the
top of the eighth (8th) fret and the bottom of your lowest string. Use the following as a rough
guide...
• Extremely Light Touch / Extremely Low Action:
• Medium Touch / Medium Action:
• Heavy / Medium-High Action:
Key Point: The Fodera Dual Action Truss Rod allows you to properly adjust the neck of your
bass in almost any climate condition, however, at certain times of year and/or in extreme weather
conditions, you may have to remove the truss rod and turn it upside down in order to adjust your
bass' neck optimally.
The first thing you need to do is determine in which position your Fodera Dual Action Truss Rod
presently is oriented. Depending on the time of year that your bass was built, your truss rod may
be in one of two positions...
Standard Line
1
0.010"
0.020"
0.030"