After I had tweaked the action on my Tasmanian [blackwood] Build to Order guitar, my son walked by and told me I had put the truss rod cover on upside down. He said, “Obviously the designer wanted the scalloped end on top and the round end near the nut to complement the unique scalloped headstock.” In every picture I could find, Taylors come from the factory with the scalloped end against the nut. I have a koa truss rod cover against an ebony headstock, and I love the contrast. After turning the cover around with the scalloped side on top I have to agree with my son: It complements the scalloped top of the Taylor headstock. Maybe I’m crazy, but I turned all my covers around and love the look. What’s the history of the truss rod cover design? — John H., Flemington, NJ

Answer: John, that’s just wrong! I’m kidding. There’s no history, really, but I could make up some if you want! But seriously, a long, long time ago, on our first guitars, we used to make the truss rod covers flat against the nut, and then we saw guitars like Gibsons with a little design on the bottom of theirs. It inspired me to do something like that to mine, so I ended up just repeating our headstock design. As for you, at least you can recognize your guitars in a lineup, since they’re upside down.