Guitar action reverting to high action after truss rod adjusting?

[chessmate99]

Hi all, I have tried turning my truss rod clockwise to lower the action of the guitar, and the action did get lower till a comfortable level. However, a few hours of letting the action sit in, I tried the guitar and the action became too high again.

However, the 'tightness' of the truss rod to twist is still roughly the same. What is happening here? Should I continue to turn my truss rod clockwise?

[Sonics]

Originally Posted by chessmate99

Hi all, I have tried turning my truss rod clockwise to lower the action of the guitar, and the action did get lower till a comfortable level. However, a few hours of letting the action sit in, I tried the guitar and the action became too high again.

However, the 'tightness' of the truss rod to twist is still roughly the same. What is happening here? Should I continue to turn my truss rod clockwise?

I can guess what has happen, however you're going to need someone who knows what they're talking about i.e a Luthier to confirm my diagnosis. Don't touch anything until one has responded.

BTW adjusting the truss rod sets the neck relief and not the action.

[chessmate99]

Originally Posted by Sonics

I can guess what has happen, however you're going to need someone who knows what they're talking about i.e a Luthier to confirm my diagnosis. Don't touch anything until one has responded.

BTW adjusting the truss rod sets the neck relief and not the action.

What is your guess what has happened? TBH I have once gotten my action set up proper, with very low action until the strings buzzed a lot and i went to change the truss rod on my own. So I'm trying to get the configuration back again. Does a small change (maybe 10 degrees of turn) affect a lot?

[GHS]

I dont know where in the world ( literally) you are so its hard to say whats going on. Truss rod only affects neck relief from about the 4th to 8th fret, moving the fingerboard height a bit. Humidity plays a big part. In very warm humid conditions I have had my strings go "up" a full step ( A to A#/B) and move higher up off the fingerboard, ( from the top expanding due to weather conditions). Opposite true for cold weather. If you moved the rod adjuster ( assuming its in the sound hole) clockwise to raise it and then you have more relief than before there may be some problem with the rod adjuster nuts. I dont know if its single or dual rod, lot of things we dont know here.

[SFCRetired]

By adjusting the truss rod it will have an affect on the action but only a small amount. By straightening the truss rod you will be bringing the neck back up to close to straight and almost parallel to the strings and by default it will affect the action. But overall that is not how you would adjust the action of a guitar because the results are minimal.

The steps to correcting thet action on a guitar are as follows.

Adjust the neck to make sure it is set properly. You want a minimal bow to it, not too much and not too little. Usually just a very slight bow.

Adjust the height of the saddle to raise/lower the action.

Check the nut and make sure the strings are the correct height at the first fret. This step is left out many times and it has a dramatic effect on how the guitar plays and chords. If your action is good ( I like mine around 5/64) and it is still hard to play then your nut slots need attention. There is a correct way to do this and there is an alternative however most people will tell you not to attempt the alternative method. I have done it with good success by taking the nut off and sanding it down. But this only helps if your nut is sitting too high and all of your strings are out of whack. If it's just one or two strings then filing the nut slots is the more appropriate method. Someone replaced the nut on my Takamine and didn't get the nut sanded to the correct height so I shaved some of the nut off and it is good to go.

[ewalling]

I think for those of us unskilled in the technical side, if a small truss rod tweak doesn't do the trick, then we're better off taking the instrument to s specialist. You could do lasting damage by experimenting.

[chessmate99]

Hi all, thank you for your replies. I live in Singapore, where the weather is very humid here. How do I actually check for the humidity? I have kept my guitar here for the past 6 years without using a dehumidifier, but my guitar was made in China originally where I guess the humidity should be about the same.

[Misifus]

If your strings are too high or too low, do not touch the truss rod! That's not what it's for. The truss rod is for straightening the neck, not raising or lowering the strings. Changing string height is done by changing the nut and/or the bridge saddle. Admittedly, that's not as handy as just cranking the truss rod, but as you found out cranking the truss rod doesn't work for that. You might check Frank Ford's frets.com for some information, including pictures, on setting up a guitar.

[Rosewood99]

Everybody says not to use the truss rod for adjusting action but I have done it for years. You can find dozens of posts on this forum confirming this if you do a search.

However it's only if you have small adjustments. If a quarter turn doesn't do it then you need to look at other options like taking down the saddle.

[GHS]

Originally Posted by chessmate99

Hi all, thank you for your replies. I live in Singapore, where the weather is very humid here. How do I actually check for the humidity? I have kept my guitar here for the past 6 years without using a dehumidifier, but my guitar was made in China originally where I guess the humidity should be about the same.

My buddy is from and lives in Thailand half the year, which is to say now. Weather is, as you know, warm and humid most of the time, getting real rainy in the spring. I would then say humidity plays a major role in your problem. Some folks have gone as far ( as I have) with some guitars as having two saddles, humid and dry change ups. Everything makes more sense now. Dont know about the life span of guitars over there but I would say location could be the problem. Oh, a simple inexpensive hydrometer will give the index. I would say 70%+ would be the norm for you.

[Mr. Scott]

I imagine you've got the message now regarding the truss rod and its use. All good advice. I'm sure you will be able to do it yourself if you go steadily, in fact, as you live in a humid climate it is almost essential that you learn, to save money.
When I adjust my action I start with the neck straight and strung to pitch. Check the nut first and get that comfortable (perhaps the most important adjustment on any guitar, fret at the third fret for that string then just tap at the first fret. You should hear the slightest "chink" as the string hits the fret), then sort out the bridge for the main action. And finally, if it needs any relief, I adjust the truss rod at this stage.
Hope that helps a bit.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by chessmate99

.......I live in Singapore, where the weather is very humid here. How do I actually check for the humidity? I have kept my guitar here for the past 6 years without using a dehumidifier, but my guitar was made in China originally where I guess the humidity should be about the same.

Singapore has a "drier" season and a monsoon / typhoon season, right? Did you just change from one to the other? Did you suddenly start air conditioning or heating?

The humidity condition during the guitar build in China may - or may not - be as humid as the current living conditions. No way to really know.

When I lived in Alaska, many players had a low "summer" saddle for when humidity was higher and the top swelled slightly. They switched to a high "winter" saddle when things were dry during heating season and the top tended to sink a bit. Otherwise you can chase the action and set-up seasonally. Of course, maintaining appropriate humidity year-round is ideal.

Checking humidity requires a hygrometer in your room (if the guitar lives outside of its case), or a hygrometer inside the case if it is stored most of the time. That is the only way to know the RH for sure. The outdoor RH from the weather report is largely irrelevant. Your wood guitar only cares about the conditions indoors where it lives.

[ljguitar]

Everybody says not to use the truss rod for adjusting action but I have done it for years.

Hi c-mate

Adjusting action with a truss rod alone is a temporary solution as there are three critical points to adjusting the height of the action on a guitar.

1-Proper nut slot depth
2-Proper neck relief (adjusted by the truss rod)
3-Proper saddle height

If your guitar has had a proper setup by a tech or luthier, then the neck relief is the only major change that happens because of the summer/fall/winter/spring cycles (barring injury to the guitar). The key is the proper setup to begin with.

So tweaking the truss rod seasonally will help your restore action to good playable levels, if you had a proper setup to begin with. Those of us who live in very dry areas of the country often have to adjust them going-into and coming-out-of winter.

If you have never had a proper setup, it's worth investigating, and will cost anywhere from $50 - $150 depending on the experience of the tech/luthier and how much the luthier/tech has to do.

If it involves leveling any high frets (or replacing low ones) or regluing popped fret tangs, it will be more. If it involves intonating the guitar, it will be more to the high end of the quote.

If it only involves simple tweaks and the tech/luthier is reasonable, it will be less expensive.

It's a worthwhile venture if you want a guitar which plays easily in-season and out.

[GBS]

Originally Posted by chessmate99

Hi all, I have tried turning my truss rod clockwise to lower the action of the guitar, and the action did get lower till a comfortable level. However, a few hours of letting the action sit in, I tried the guitar and the action became too high again.

However, the 'tightness' of the truss rod to twist is still roughly the same. What is happening here? Should I continue to turn my truss rod clockwise?

Others have commented, and as noted, while the truss rod is primarily for addressing proper height in the mid-range of the frets, as you found, it does affect the height of the strings over the 12th fret ("action"). Just as lowering the saddle (the primary way to lower action) also may change the need for some neck bow (truss rod adjustment) to eliminate buzzing in the mid-range.
All guitars need some time to settle into new adjustments, so make them in small steps, and give it time (a day or so) to find its new equilibrium. Truss rods typically are adjusted in 1/8 turn increments. Needing more than 2-4 indicates something is not right.....Adjust yours until you get buzzing in the mid range, then back it off until it stops. This may take several days of baby steps. Then if your action is still too high, look to adjusting the saddle height.
In the case above, it may be that the rest of the guitar body readjusted itself to the new tensions, or the wood in the neck under the truss rod nut has compressed a bit, reducing the tightness of the truss rod a little. Try going a 1/4 turn more. If, after a day or two, you have the same issue, or after going a grand total of 1/2 turn and you still cannot get the midrange frets to buzz - stop and take it to a professional.

[redir]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Everybody says not to use the truss rod for adjusting action but I have done it for years. You can find dozens of posts on this forum confirming this if you do a search.

However it's only if you have small adjustments. If a quarter turn doesn't do it then you need to look at other options like taking down the saddle.

I really don't know how this misconception got started and further, how ardent it has become in the guitar playing community.

The truss rod is one part of the system that adjusts the action so YES the truss rod does it's part in adjusting the action.

If you have excessive relieve, a very very common problem on guitars, then you can tweak the truss rod to set the relief the way it should be and Voila! You have just adjusted the action.

If the relief is already set to it's best fit then you need to adjust the action at the saddle and probably a the nut too.