no adjustable truss rod?

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Ms Stubs

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So, yeah, I learned that my new and also my favorite baritone ukulele, a Mitchell MUB 70-S, doesn't have an adjustable truss rod. WTF??
Even my Mom's $29 Kala has one.
Right now it's no issue - the neck is n i c e. But I'm wondering if that will eventually be the end of this instrument.
It just dismays me a little, since every other "detail" type of thing on this instrument doesn't scream "cost-cutting shortcut!"
Makes me wonder if any of you all's ukuleles also eschew the truss rod.. Yes? No?
Maybe there's a non adjustable rod in there, not sure, but not an adjustable one.
I know the Mitchell is on the cheapo spectrum price-wise, but I've been so impressed and delighted with every other aspect of it that this just makes me wonder.
thanks!
:cool:
 
To my knowledge, most ukuleles do not have truss rods, adjustable or otherwise. Some baritones do, as do some 6-string or 8-string instruments, but the majority of all other sizes don't. The tension of having four fluorocarbon or nylon strings just doesn't necessitate a truss rod like having 6 steel strings on a guitar would.
 
Where do you get the idea from that your mom's $29 Kala has a truss rod?
Never heard of it or seen it.

Classical strung instruments don't normally have truss rods except sometimes fixed truss rods.

Steel strung guitars have adjustable truss rods yet most classical guitars do not.
 
I'm glad you are delighted with your Mitchell, but I have to say most reports around here have a less than favorable view of the brand as a whole. So consider yourself blessed. Play it. Enjoy it. Don't worry about it. :shaka:
 
As said by others, it has generally been more 'unusual' to actually see a truss rod on an ukulele.

Companies like Kala and Pono have started doing it, and some others have followed suit. But not everyone.
 
Pono has really sold having an adjustable truss rod in their tenors and Baritones.

But, I have had to use it on my Pono MGT. I picked it up after not playing it for a couple of weeks and it was suddenly buzzing as I strummed it.

The fretboard was absolutely flat instead of have a slight concave shape. I adjusted the truss rod. And no more buzz.
 
It might be worth noting that many of the high end Hawaiian makers don't have truss rods either, like Kamaka, Kanilea and Koaloha.

Truss rod is not necessarily a sign of quality.
It's definitely a handy feature, but not necessarily considered essential.

Many high end classical guitars don't bother with a truss rod either. It's not traditional.
 
My Pono MT-E and three Kala Elites all have truss rods but neck relief was perfect from get-go and I've never needed to touch them. Like others have written, truss rods are rare on ukuleles and not really needed. In fact, I'd rather not have them on a such a small low tension instrument (save a wee bit of weight and avoid strange vibrations). On the other hand, I've had to mess with the truss rods on my steel strings guitars a lot, probably because of the high tension of metal strings. My classical guitars have always been very stable and very few, save for my Takamines, have truss rods.
 
I think Cocobolo uses a strip of Cocobolo in the neck partially to use as decoration, partially to use as a truss rod of sorts. I'm not sure if any of my other ukuleles have a truss rod, but I only have one Baritone. I know Caramel began to use truss rods in their instruments a couple of years ago, and many now ship with them.
 
My old Pono mahogany tenor has a truss rod. I never needed it until I did and then it fixed a buzzing problem for me. My Kala Baritone has a truss rod too.
 
For lower end things I've only seen any kind of adjustable rods on banjo ukes (around $100), and with nylon strings I've had some builders say just use anchor bolts if you're building something cheap like a drumhead banjo uke.
I've never had one, but I'm wondering how you'd get at one anyway. It's outside on the neck? Seems it would be a pain to get at in the body
 
captain-janeway said:
For lower end things I've only seen any kind of adjustable rods on banjo ukes (around $100), and with nylon strings I've had some builders say just use anchor bolts if you're building something cheap like a drumhead banjo uke.
I've never had one, but I'm wondering how you'd get at one anyway. It's outside on the neck? Seems it would be a pain to get at in the body
Click to expand...
I think you’re confusing an adjustable truss rod (which is buried in the neck under the fretboard) with the coordinator rods on banjos, which are inside the pot.
The coordinator rods can adjust string height on banjos by “warping” the pot slightly, thus changing the angle off the strings vis a vis the fretboard.

An adjustable truss rod in a neck is accessible by a bolt head in the peghead or inside the body of the guitar ( or uke) at the neck heel block. It’s there to adjust relief (bowing) in the neck.

My opinion of truss rods in ukuleles is that they’re heavy, throw the balance off, and are not necessary in even a baritone with nylon or fluorocarbon strings. If the instrument has steel strings, then that is a different matter.
 
Choirguy said:
I think Cocobolo uses a strip of Cocobolo in the neck partially to use as decoration, partially to use as a truss rod of sorts. I'm not sure if any of my other ukuleles have a truss rod, but I only have one Baritone. I know Caramel began to use truss rods in their instruments a couple of years ago, and many now ship with them.
Click to expand...

Many ukulele makers have a stiffener center section of wood in their necks. It looks good and helps to keep the neck straight and true. Not just preventing bowing, but gives greater torsional rigidity as well. Is it needed? Many higher end ukuleles do just fine without it.

Pono tenors come with a hex wrench for adjusting the truss rod. The rod is accessible through the sound hole at the neck block. Easy to do.
 
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Swamp Yankee said:
I think you’re confusing an adjustable truss rod (which is buried in the neck under the fretboard) with the coordinator rods on banjos, which are inside the pot.
The coordinator rods can adjust string height on banjos by “warping” the pot slightly, thus changing the angle off the strings vis a vis the fretboard.

An adjustable truss rod in a neck is accessible by a bolt head in the peghead or inside the body of the guitar ( or uke) at the neck heel block. It’s there to adjust relief (bowing) in the neck.

My opinion of truss rods in ukuleles is that they’re heavy, throw the balance off, and are not necessary in even a baritone with nylon or fluorocarbon strings. If the instrument has steel strings, then that is a different matter.
Click to expand...

Didn't know if they worked the same. Sounds like similar but not quite. Thanks for clarifying. Getting that neck break angle on those little banjo ukes I make drives me crazy.
 
I have ukuleles from sopranino to baritone. The only one with a truss rod is an Enya camp uke soprano.
 
In guitars the truss rod adjusts the relief in the neck. You use it to put just a bit of a bow into the neck. It has always been my understanding that ukuleles don't have relief. None of mine have any relief. They are straight as can be, no bow what so ever. I would also think that ukulele necks are short and would be hard to bend if you even wanted to put some relief into it. So if that is the case, what purpose would truss rod in a ukulele serve?
 
Rllink said:
In guitars the truss rod adjusts the relief in the neck. You use it to put just a bit of a bow into the neck. It has always been my understanding that ukuleles don't have relief. None of mine have any relief. They are straight as can be, no bow what so ever. I would also think that ukulele necks are short and would be hard to bend if you even wanted to put some relief into it. So if that is the case, what purpose would truss rod in a ukulele serve?
Click to expand...

Most ukuleles, even high-end ones, don't have a truss rod for adjusting relief or anything else but some certainly do. For example, the Gold Tone Little Gem banjo ukes have a truss rod for adjusting relief. Ponos have been mentioned several times, and I also have a Pono baritone that has a truss rod. Not sure if the relief is adjustable. To be fair, there's generally no reason for an ukulele to have a truss rod but some manufacturers do use them. Go figure.
 
Rllink said:
...... what purpose would truss rod in a ukulele serve?
Click to expand...

The only reason that comes to my mind is ensuring that a tenor ukulele equipped with an adjustable truss rod will always land on its peghead if dropped from a height of more than three feet.
 
As said in a previous posts, a truss rod enables adjustment of the neck's "relief." Thus, it provides an additional tool for tweaking action & intonation, over & above nut & saddle adjustments. If I was choosing between 2 ukes, both of which had equal appeal to me as to sound, playability, appearance, and price -- but one had an adjustable truss and the other didn't -- I would certainly buy the one with the truss rod.

I would agree that absence of a truss rod is not a deal killer, but I do NOT consider that it is totally useless on a uke. There are other things besides string tension that can adversely affect a uke's neck -- humidity, heat, etc. Fixing a screwed up neck is almost always VERY easy with a truss rod, but it can be a real difficult job without one.

All of my Pono & Kala baritone's have adjustable truss rods. Oh -- I also have a Caramel with a rod but I believe it's there because Caramel uses cheaper, weaker, less rigid materials to construct their necks -- that's just an opinion so don't shoot me.
 
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