Truss rod adjustments

[Looburst]

I thought since there have been, from time to time, many questions concerning truss rod adjustments, that I would post this to shed some direct light on the subject for those uneducated or newer guitar players. I found this today while looking for something else and thought it would be good to post it.

[lowrider]

Very good, this should be stickied in the build and repair section.

[Looburst]

Yes, as with any information it is very personal, of course. Some prefer a bit of a bow, while others will prefer a very flat neck. I prefer a bit of a bow in the fingerboard. Just remember, Lefty Lucy, Righty tighty!

In other words, if your action is buzzing perhaps you need a bit more bow in the neck, meaning your action is bit low, or your neck is too flat. If your action is too high then you might need to tighten the rod down a 1/4 turn or two. A little makes a big difference so take it slow and use caution.

[upsidedown]

The last sentence is pretty good. The one about breaking out the hammer and files.

[Looburst]

Yes, sometimes you will have one high fret that has become raised due to low humidity or even high humidity. Then I would suggest taking it to a qualified luthier or repairman to do this work. Although I have had to gently hammer down a fret or two before.

[TBman]

I just got my Martin truss rod tool in the mail today, lol. I had to tweak the relief for some odd reason. Normally this guitar is rock solid but the relief increased while cased for a month while humidified.

[JayBee1404]

Buzzing is not necessarily an indication that more relief is needed - it depends where the buzzing is occurring. If on the lower frets (those nearest the headstock), more relief may cure it. If the buzz is in the middle of the neck, reducing the relief, counter-intuitively perhaps, may fix it.

Action adjustments should not be attempted by relief-adjustment alone. Action is a combination of three factors - nut-slot height, neck-relief, and saddle height. If the first two are correctly set, any adjustment to action height should be achieved by adjustment to saddle-height. Although adjusting the truss-rod may result in a change in action-height, it is a by-product, not the true purpose, of relief-change. Set the nut-slot height, adjust the relief, then adjust the saddle up or down.

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

[Looburst]

YES, as I said, there are many factors that's not always due to a truss rod adjustment. Personal results may vary.