1958 Gretsch 6196 ..weird trussrod!!! ADDED PICS!

[David Connolly]

Hi Guys, as stated gotta 1958, 6196 cadillac green countryclub in for a setup.problem is the trussrod....whenever I tighten it,it actually increases the relief/bow in the neck.
When I loosen the rod the neck is almost straight with about .010"relief but this increases to about .020" whenever I tighten the rod.
The guitar sounds amazing and apart from the problem is in good condition .Never encountered this before...anybody got any ideas bout whats going on.

[David Connolly]

Hi guys thanks for all your help with this.....now, I've just got some information from a guy on another forum who tellls me that these old gretsches had trussrods that worked in exactly this fashion,.......tightening the rod GIVES relief.....its how they were intended to work!!
Heres his quote.....These truss rods on the older ones were installed with the hump closer to the fingerboard and the ends further. The opposite to the way a fender strat was done. They were installed thru the back of the neck like old fender skunk stripe neck. Being so it will work in the opposite direction of a modern truss.


Can anybody here back up this information?????
By the way its a 6191 not a 6190 as stated.....doh!

[Len Biglin]

Sorry to attempt a hi-jack of your post, but lets also discuss the key-hole-in-the-heel truss rods, how do they work?Len