Uploaded December 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Tomo Fujita reached out to us about one of his favorite guitars, a vintage '65 Fender Mustang. It badly needed a truss rod adjustment, but the nut just spun when tightened past a certain point. We thought this would be a great opportunity for Dan Erlewine to show us how to diagnose the problem and attempt to fix it.
0:00 Tomo explains the problem
01:55 Fix #1
05:30 Adjusting the truss rod
07:36 Fix #2
10:35 Replacing the neck shim
12:24 Did the fix work?
13:02 Dan reports back to Tomo
14:37 Tomo's special surprise
15:59 Tomo tests out the guitar
Products used in this video include:
Truss Rod Rescue Tools
stewmac.com/item/6190
StewMac Neck Shims
stewmac.com/item/2135-100
Precision Notched Straightedge
stewmac.com/item/3814
Neck Caul for Jaws2
stewmac.com/item/4269
Truss Rod Wrench for Fender
stewmac.com/item/6111
- - - - - - - - - - - -
StewMac has everything you need to repair, build or maintain your guitars.
Everything we sell is backed by our Lifetime Promise, and we offer fast worldwide shipping.
Shop StewMac: stewmac.com
Instagram: @StewMac_Guitar
Facebook: facebook.com/StewMac
------------------------------------------------
🎥 Gear We Use in Our Studio
We get a lot of questions about the gear we use to make our videos, so here’s our current setup!*
Camera / Mounting Gear
Canon C70 à bhpho.to/3UOUkef
Canon XC10 à bhpho.to/4n4urD3
Sachtler Ace XL Fluid Head Tripod System à bhpho.to/3Hz9YHF
Manfrotto Deluxe Autopole 2 à bhpho.to/45SCNqs
Glide Gear OH 75 Overhead Portable Pole Rig à bhpho.to/4maFBpf
Lights
Aputure 300 Bi-Color LED à bhpho.to/47m0ASc
FotodioX C-700 Flapjack LED à bhpho.to/4fUL9Cs
Quasar Science Q-Lion LED à bhpho.to/4p3OROA
Sound
RODE Wireless PRO Microphone System à bhpho.to/45FLK7F
Sennheiser MKH 416 Shotgun Microphone àbhpho.to/4oUAsUR
Sennheiser e 609 Microphone à bhpho.to/4mxRJRW
TASCAM DR-70D Multi-Track Field Recorder à bhpho.to/3URMwbG
🛠 Workshop Tools & Supplies We Use
While most of the tools we use in our shop are StewMac (shocker!), we’ve also outfitted our shop with some other essentials. If you’re looking to pick up anything to make some improvements to your own shop or bench, here are a few of our essentials.*
Storage & Organization
We love Craftsman toolboxes in this shop! à shoplowes.me/4mYqhwV
Storage Cabinets àshoplowes.me/3HVk9pO, shoplowes.me/3T4wSsw, shoplowes.me/3ZHXN0V
Small Parts Organizer à shoplowes.me/4l9cSkY
Storage Chest à shoplowes.me/45wIrA7
Workbench and Toolbox Stations à shoplowes.me/43YRlVX
Wire Storage Racks à shoplowes.me/4loDrSW
Tools
Craftsman Drill à shoplowes.me/4nghEOW
DeWalt Drill à shoplowes.me/4l1LVzz
Drill Bit Set àshoplowes.me/44tvxlh
Screwdriver Bit Set à shoplowes.me/4lEOGXx
Screwdriver Set à shoplowes.me/3I8iTiS
Silent Shop Vac à shoplowes.me/40chXjO
Spindle Sander à shoplowes.me/3T6RPmz
Shop Supplies
Blue Shop Towels à shoplowes.me/4l4xjzo
Shop Rags à shoplowes.me/4nqDpf6
Power Strips à shoplowes.me/4llBfLP
Work Lights à shoplowes.me/4ljsK3F
Dehumidifier à shoplowes.me/46LWAd8
Mixing Buckets à shoplowes.me/4ekkUVf
*These are affiliate links, which means if you pick something up through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. That support helps us create more great content for you—thanks for being a part of it all!
Tomo Fujita reached out to us about one of his favorite guitars, a vintage '65 Fender Mustang. It badly needed a truss rod adjustment, but the nut just spun when tightened past a certain point. We thought this would be a great opportunity for Dan Erlewine to show us how to diagnose the problem and attempt to fix it.
0:00 Tomo explains the problem
01:55 Fix #1
05:30 Adjusting the truss rod
07:36 Fix #2
10:35 Replacing the neck shim
12:24 Did the fix work?
13:02 Dan reports back to Tomo
14:37 Tomo's special surprise
15:59 Tomo tests out the guitar
Products used in this video include:
Truss Rod Rescue Tools
stewmac.com/item/6190
StewMac Neck Shims
stewmac.com/item/2135-100
Precision Notched Straightedge
stewmac.com/item/3814
Neck Caul for Jaws2
stewmac.com/item/4269
Truss Rod Wrench for Fender
stewmac.com/item/6111
- - - - - - - - - - - -
StewMac has everything you need to repair, build or maintain your guitars.
Everything we sell is backed by our Lifetime Promise, and we offer fast worldwide shipping.
Shop StewMac: stewmac.com
Instagram: @StewMac_Guitar
Facebook: facebook.com/StewMac
------------------------------------------------
🎥 Gear We Use in Our Studio
We get a lot of questions about the gear we use to make our videos, so here’s our current setup!*
Camera / Mounting Gear
Canon C70 à bhpho.to/3UOUkef
Canon XC10 à bhpho.to/4n4urD3
Sachtler Ace XL Fluid Head Tripod System à bhpho.to/3Hz9YHF
Manfrotto Deluxe Autopole 2 à bhpho.to/45SCNqs
Glide Gear OH 75 Overhead Portable Pole Rig à bhpho.to/4maFBpf
Lights
Aputure 300 Bi-Color LED à bhpho.to/47m0ASc
FotodioX C-700 Flapjack LED à bhpho.to/4fUL9Cs
Quasar Science Q-Lion LED à bhpho.to/4p3OROA
Sound
RODE Wireless PRO Microphone System à bhpho.to/45FLK7F
Sennheiser MKH 416 Shotgun Microphone àbhpho.to/4oUAsUR
Sennheiser e 609 Microphone à bhpho.to/4mxRJRW
TASCAM DR-70D Multi-Track Field Recorder à bhpho.to/3URMwbG
🛠 Workshop Tools & Supplies We Use
While most of the tools we use in our shop are StewMac (shocker!), we’ve also outfitted our shop with some other essentials. If you’re looking to pick up anything to make some improvements to your own shop or bench, here are a few of our essentials.*
Storage & Organization
We love Craftsman toolboxes in this shop! à shoplowes.me/4mYqhwV
Storage Cabinets àshoplowes.me/3HVk9pO, shoplowes.me/3T4wSsw, shoplowes.me/3ZHXN0V
Small Parts Organizer à shoplowes.me/4l9cSkY
Storage Chest à shoplowes.me/45wIrA7
Workbench and Toolbox Stations à shoplowes.me/43YRlVX
Wire Storage Racks à shoplowes.me/4loDrSW
Tools
Craftsman Drill à shoplowes.me/4nghEOW
DeWalt Drill à shoplowes.me/4l1LVzz
Drill Bit Set àshoplowes.me/44tvxlh
Screwdriver Bit Set à shoplowes.me/4lEOGXx
Screwdriver Set à shoplowes.me/3I8iTiS
Silent Shop Vac à shoplowes.me/40chXjO
Spindle Sander à shoplowes.me/3T6RPmz
Shop Supplies
Blue Shop Towels à shoplowes.me/4l4xjzo
Shop Rags à shoplowes.me/4nqDpf6
Power Strips à shoplowes.me/4llBfLP
Work Lights à shoplowes.me/4ljsK3F
Dehumidifier à shoplowes.me/46LWAd8
Mixing Buckets à shoplowes.me/4ekkUVf
*These are affiliate links, which means if you pick something up through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. That support helps us create more great content for you—thanks for being a part of it all!
