How to Set the Warmoth Side Adjust Mechanism

Video that explains the Side Adjust Mechanism: • The Warmoth Double Tru...
More information and diagrams here: warmoth.com/guitar-neck-truss...

[@sylvinong4576]

I think it's time warmoth offer a spoke wheel trussrod adjustment on modern, vintage modern necks and bass necks.

[@andresilva8444]

I really dislike those things so I don't think it's time for that. Leo had it correct first time with the tele: just remove the pickguard and use the correct tool. Then people started attaching the pickup to the pickguard and that ruined everything.

[@NapsterRulez]

​@@andresilva8444 That still requires you to take off the strings, and undo all the pickguard screws. I'm in a very stable climate so I hardly need to adjust my trussrod, but for others who need to adjust it more often, a modern solution is more suitable

[@warmoth]

I love spokewheel truss rods too, but they do not work with the vintage/original Fender neck heel and neck pocket specs, which is what Warmoth's products revolve around. I don't see it happening any time soon.

[@docsiltanen]

try Maximum Guitar Works if you want a high quality neck with a heel adjust mechanism.

[@sylvinong4576]

@@warmoth I'm Gussing it's due to the Licensing agreement with Fender.

[@PFDarkside]

Just in time for my modern neck that should be arriving within a few weeks!

[@mmypainting]

Really helpful, I just got my neck from you guys, put it on and ended up not being able to get the bow out with the side adjustment. So now I'll go back and redo the one at the end before I do it again. Great workmanship on the neck BTW.

[@3cardmonty602]

I love my modern compound radius 24.75” Tele Conversion neck. I’m glad you recommended it to me several years ago.

[@andrewsmith1520]

I have bought probably 8 Warmoth necks over the year, but a couple years back I bought a Mustang neck and used the Modern construction, before that I had only bought vintage. I have always been scared of the adjustment system. So thank you so much for this video! I needed it to have confidence in working on it. Had I tried without this video, I would have broke something. So thanks again!

[@chisolm5]

It’s a great feature and leaves the headstock looking nice and vintage. 😃

[@moose6666]

Aaron, great video as always. I love the side adjustment on my warmoth neck. Still waiting on the Jake E Lee reverse slant neck position single coil on the guitar of tonal discovery 👍

[@stephancarroll7260]

THX Good to know just got my Warhead

[@Paolo-ie7nh]

hi, I have that feature on my Warmoth neck. It's really nice to have, but if you break the adjustment screw you are in trouble. Here is what I did, when that happened to me. I drilled a hole just on the oposite side in allingment with the access countersink where the adjustment screw is located. So that if the screw breaks for any reason, I have access and remove the part that remained stuck in mechanism. And I replaced that special scew, used by Warmoth by a longer (yes longer by about 5mm, so that you are able to pinch the threaded end that sticks out with a plier from the other side, as well. If you need to do so) normal "brass" all the way threaded HEX-Screw, with a Busing "stainless steel" to create that Shoulder which is pushing on the mechanism. To allow the adjustments. And it just works fine. You may plug that additional hole or not by a wooden cap that you can remove, when you have to.

[@barnettg66]

Great video. Having had quite a few modern necks, my standard first install has me do a quarter turn tighten on the base nut. Then install the neck. Usually that sets the relief for tension at about the 95% level +/- however much the gods like or hate me on that day. From there, Aaron's tip about not making side adjust changes under tension is critical. If you do the changes under tension you will chase the neck for weeks, and the gods will laugh heartily. A downside is that the ease/precision of the side adjust promotes a psychological obsession to play endlessly seeking the perfect at the expense of good enough. But a Modern Construction neck is a rock once it is set. It may never need an adjustment again.

[@nocturnal101ravenous6]

General Guitar rule, unless its a fine tuner or a tuner adjustment/String tension like the claw, all other adjustment need to be made under no pressure, you take risks of mushrooming wood or brass threads, and or ruining threads on bolts and screws, also as you stated the neck will be unstable as you almost certainly will over crank the system and wood will react wonky and unstable.

[@Robstafarian]

This type of truss rod is the only option for Warmoth 7/8 bodies. Now that I have one awaiting assembly, my default for future projects will be a Soloist body with a conversion neck which has a tiltback headstock such that it will not have a side-adjust mechanism.

[@Chris_Lohmann]

Hey Aaron, great video! I’ve been a Warmoth customer since 2005 and have ordered several Warmoth Modern necks with the side-adjust mechanism over the years and I’ve never had an issue with any of them. There was one thing that I wanted to point out that you didn’t mention in the video. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but, unless Warmoth has made a change that I’m not aware of, the side-adjust mechanism is only available on Modern necks with a straight headstock. If it has a slanted headstock, even if it’s a Modern neck, the truss rod adjustment will be at the nut.

[@Robstafarian]

That is correct, and it is the main reason I buy tiltback necks whenever possible.

[@azbluesdog]

I just installed my first Warmoth neck on a Squier Tele body. Modern construction, Gibson scale conversion w/compound radius. I hated the original neck, so yeah… I got a little weird. 😂 Talk about an upgrade!

[@Robstafarian]

Which Squier did you mod, and how compatible was its neck pocket? I hope to replace the toothpick on my Squier Paranormal Nashville Strat with a Warmoth neck which I hope to have spare.

[@CKS64]

Seems like making one problem 10 times worse.

[@CHICKPEASLUSTS]

Is that a squared off heel on the fretboard I see!?!? I didn't think that was an option on Warmoth necks? Is that something that is now offered? Also love the side adjust mechanism, makes it so much easier to adjust after the neck has been mated to the body.

[@warmoth]

Our 25.5" scale necks have rounded corners at the end of the fretboard. Our Gibson-scale conversion necks have square corners. If you want square corners on a 25.5" neck you can get that as an off-menu option by calling in.

[@CHICKPEASLUSTS]

@@warmoth Thank you for that information!

[@mmypainting]

Having watched this video I asked myself, how am I going to find a 7/32 inch Allen key (Hex wrench) in Canada on a holiday weekend? I went online for conversion tables to metric and found that a 5.5 mm works just fine. Made the adjustment, it works fine.

[@schmoemi3386]

My last Warmoth neck order happened to be a Baritone conversion neck, which - unfortunately - lack the side adjust... 😢

[@yikelu]

The over-tightening warning is for real. I broke the side adjust on one of mine. I ended up cutting a hole in the fretboard and a bit in the body to allow for direct access to the heel truss rod socket. All's well that ends well I suppose.

[@cw-on-yt]

@warmoth: Hey, Aaron! I want to build something similar to the 24-fret Charvel DK24 and Ibanez AZ models. A build along those lines, with a modern Warhead neck, and with a Warmoth body (probably the Soloist, I guess?), would be my ideal. However, I'm concerned that the sculpted heel won't be anywhere near as smooth and close-to-the-bridge as it is on the recent Charvel and Ibanez guitars, because it _looks_ like the heel-end of the neck is always the same for all Warmoth necks, whether they're made for 22 frets or 24 frets. (What I mean is: It _appears_ that the fingerboard just has an extension to allow 24 frets, but that for a 24-fret guitar, the part of the neck where the screws come through the heel keeps the same location and "chunkiness" that it would've had, for installation on a 22-fret S-style body.) With all that _background_ in mind, here are my questions: 1. Am I correct that a Warhead neck and Soloist body is the _closest_ thing that Warmoth can offer, to what I'm after? 2. Am I correct that a 24-fret Warhead neck and a Soloist body will (in spite of being the _closest_ possible offering) NOT offer the same kind of smooth-heel "handshake" (I'm borrowing that term from Phil of KnowYourGear) that the Charvels and Ibanezes can offer (on account of the block with the screw-holes being still located in the usual place for a 22-fret guitar)? 3. If I'm correct about Items #1 and #2, then... y'got any suggestions? (Obviously -- before some wag points this out -- the first suggestion would be, "Go buy a Charvel or an Ibanez, you doofus!" But there are _other_ customizations that aren't available from those companies, or which would require major modifications. So, naturally I thought of doing my own build. Which is why I'm asking Aaron/Warmoth!)

[@deplinenoise]

I was wondering about this. Could the “main nut” go away and be connected to the side nut with a worm gear? So there’s no need to deal with the limited range of that guy. Spinning it would tension a hidden thing inside instead. Perhaps it wouldn’t be strong enough?

[@Timanator]

When will there be a modern heel option like Ibanez AANJ or the Tom Anderson 2 bolt.

[@Robstafarian]

I doubt that such would ever happen because Warmoth its a parts supplier, not a guitar company.

[@Timanator]

@@Robstafarian They did it already, last years anniversary models ;)

[@josemartinez-ul6gh]

Is that truss rod feature available for left handed necks?

[@musicman1508]

No, that is not possible as the Allen wrench will not work correctly turning the opposite direction when tightening🤣 I'm sure that it is available... Also, I made a complete guitar from Warmoth parts.... (Tom Anderson Pickups) I painted it and put it together. It is my go to, do everything guitar, I own lots of guitars and if I only want to take one guitar to a gig it's the Warmoth.

[@clemguitar63]

The 'GOTOH' Side Adjust Mechanism is not available on left-handed, Baritone Conversion, Bass6, or 7-string necks. Excerpt from the WARMOTH Website.

[@warmoth]

Bingo. Not available on lefty.

[@layedbackrelaxed7026]

The side adjustment seems the least obstructive out of all of them even more than the spoke wheel adjustment

[@maxjpind]

Aaron, thanks for the video. Is there a documented ratio between how many turns of the side mechanism is equal to one single turn of the main adjustment nut? Reason I ask is because I’ve turned mine a an 1/8th to 1/4 turn at a time (like I would a normal truss nut) and have trouble seeing any change. I was hesitant to make a whole or even 1/2 turn at a time…

[@warmoth]

Sorry, I have no idea what that ratio might be.

[@bigkahuna100]

OK, does an Obsidian wiring harness fit in the Warmoth rear-routed Strat body without modifications?

[@PFDarkside]

I think the pots are too short on the standard Strat kit from Obsidian. Ask them if they can use long shaft pots.

[@Robstafarian]

Genuinely, you are far better off buying a decent soldering rig (e.g. Hakko FX-888D with a 3.2mm chisel tip, 2.4mm chisel tip for switch contacts in tight spaces) and practicing than putting a PCB in a guitar.

[@svT647]

​I disagree, the obsidian wire system is the best harness I have ever used, you should try one​@@Robstafarian

[@donald-parker]

For a neck with a dual action truss rod, does that side adjust only serve to tighten the truss rod (i.e. reduce relief) or does it function in both directions?

[@warmoth]

It only works to tighten. It is not a "double action" rod like the one Fender uses. Check out this vid for lots more info: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3y5iKVue7d9hMU

[@donald-parker]

@@warmoth Thanks! That other vid gives a great explanation. But, unless the goal is esthetics of not having an adjustment behind the nut, why would anyone want this? It seems like the truss rod adjustment behind the nut is a simpler and more functional approach. Am I missing something?

[@warmoth]

Besides the aesthetics of not having a hole in the headstock, Warmoth's double truss rod is WAY more stable than the traditional single truss rod, and also doesn't exert any inward compression on the neck/wood. That said, some people still prefer the single truss rod that adjusts at the headstock, me among them. That's why Warmoth offers both.

[@andresilva8444]

I think I have broken mine. It was my very first Warmoth neck. Doesn't quite operate properly but it is straight enough. I think it's the main adjustment that came loose.

[@Robstafarian]

Take that to a qualified tech. A truss rod which does not work makes a neck virtually useless, good thing it is not a set neck.

[@Simeon_Harris]

how many turns of the side adjust mechanism = one turn of the truss rod? it doesn't seem to be 1:1. thank you!

[@warmoth]

No, it's not 1:1. And that isn't the best way to think about it. The side adjust mechanism does not turn the truss rod at all. This video shows it in a lot more detail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3y5iKVue7d9hMU

[@Nightryder7]

Can you in your site make kit builder ,so that ee don't miss any item to complete the build. Coz its easy to miss and dor international customer its very difficult.

[@warmoth]

Nope. Our license agreement with Fender specifically prohibits us from selling kits.

[@Nightryder7]

@@warmoth don't sell the kit but give us the option/ list to assemble what we like and still don't miss out any small item.

[@EnJoony]

The one thing that keeps me from buying a Warmoth neck.

[@ThePuffGD]

They sell necks without this. Vintage/modern has one truss rod adjustment at the headstock and vintage has one truss rod adjustment at the heel

[@warmoth]

Yep, exactly. In addition to Modern we also offer Vintage/Modern and Vintage construction necks, plus about a dozen variations of those.

[@thomascperez]

Why?

[@warmoth]

So that no matter what kind of neck someone prefers we have an option for them.

[@MrSuperHappyFunBall]

Some guitar bodies have a notch cut in them between the neck pickup route and the neck pocket so you can get to the trust rod heal adjustment without having to take the neck entirely off the guitar. Will Warmoth do this as an off menu item?