pretty much right on that last one. your neck could bend over anything and everything. I mean when you tune your guitar to E witch alot of people do, you are putting great tension on the neck. If it didn't have the truss rod then it would look like an arc LOL. Loosen the strings LOL...how did you get to your truss rod with the strings ON? wasn't it a pain in the ass to work around the strings? When i adjust mine, i don't even have strings on them. i figured it was impossible to get to with the strings on it LMFAO. you shouldn't have tried it with the strings on man. but if you did then i guess it'll be ok, your lucky you didn't snap your neck or crack it.