The birdfish's neck is made of old bird's eye maple. It is a one piece neck. First the neck plank is cut down the middle with a ultra-thin saw to prepare the integration of the truss rod. Then the truss rod chamber is cut into the left and right half. Finally the joint is prepared for gluing.

To prevent the truss rod from corroding and blocking up, some manufacturers apply something which in online forums is called a "truss rod glove". It is a thin plastic tube that is put over the truss rod. Of course this doesn’t exactly improve the tone of the guitar.

Therefore I produce my own truss rod from a high-alloyed stainless steel which gets a hard finish. This gives my truss rod only 30% of the weight of a common rod. Its weight is only 48 gramm (1.7 oz) For comparision: the most popular 2-way truss rod has a weight of some 200 grams (7.1 oz).

Since the weight of the neck itself is just 320 grams (11.3 oz) a common truss rod has a share on the neck of 60%. The truss rod channel has to be three times as large. I think accurately selected tonewood creates a better tone than a lot of steel. That is why I do all that extra work.

I have been applying this new 2-way truss rod since 2006. Because the majority of my guitars are finding the way overseas I regard it as very important that the truss rod functions in both directions. You can be sure that your birdfish can be set up perfectly either in extremely dry or in tropical environments.

Have a close look at the joint. Can you locate it? Don't get confused by the shadows of the strings. In 2003 I began sealing the fingerboard on the top side to avoid the wood from getting dirty. The back of the neck is sealed but the pores are open. This gives the neck a natural feel.

Each fret edge is rounded off and polished by hand. The fret slots end just before the neck edge so the frets can't stick out and affect playability during dry times in the winter.