Official Luthiers Forum!

Does the channel for a single action rod need to be curved? If so, should it be concave toward the fret board? I saw a pic of an old Gibson design that had the anchor end set very deep in the heel and the rod with a downward curve, that is concave toward the bottom of the neck.

It doesn't have to be curved, but it is a good way to prevent rod rattle.

Thanks for the info, I always put caulking in the channel for the double action ones anyway.

Concave up works better, because tightening the rod tends to straighten it, forcing the middle of the neck upward. The older Gibson design (concave down at the heel) only works to a point. If it is tightened beyond that point, the neck will bend into an S-curve.

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John