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  #1  
Old 10-26-2020, 07:15 PM
strangedays strangedays is offline
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Default Neck Adjustment Advice Needed

I picked up an old acoustic steel string from a thrift store, its in good condition, tuning pegs and bridge are all excellent working and all, but the guitar had really bad old string on and the action is is high. I've taken the strings off and replaced with a new set, I've used just the 6th string to gauge how bad the neck and intonation is. I've never adjusted a truss rod beofre so want to make sure it's what's needed and and some advice welcomed.

I took some quick pics to demonstrate. The distance between the 12th fret and the string is 8mm while the distance between the nut and 1st fret is 3mm. Obviously the distance at the 12th fret is very high and needs to be lowered.

Is this correct and if so, how do I adjust? if not, then what can I do to rectify this problem?

Pic 1: https://ibb.co/gFDSm0S
Pic 2: https://ibb.co/QMHwcwH
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Old 10-26-2020, 07:38 PM
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dnf777 dnf777 is offline
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A truss rod only adjusts neck bow (Relief). While that may be in order, you will likely need to lower the saddle, if theres room left. Best solution may be to use it as a campfire guitar, and play first position.
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Old 10-26-2020, 07:39 PM
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warfrat73 warfrat73 is offline
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How much saddle is left?

It sounds more likely that it needs a neck reset, not just a truss rod adjustment.

Neck relief is measured at the 7th fret. Hold down the low E at the first fret and at the 14th (where it meets the body) and measure at the 7th.
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Old 10-26-2020, 07:55 PM
Uflatpick Uflatpick is offline
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With no pictures, or the Nut or Bridge and saddle, its hard to advise you. The clearance of the bottom string at the FIRST fret could be as low as 1mm. Mine is just under a mm at the first fret. The 12th fret should be at least HALF of that 12, my 12th fret is between 3 and 4mm. There may be ways to lower the saddle (cutting deeper slots,) and you may be able to sand down the saddle, but without seeing it, there is no way to tell if that can be done. One other thing to check is the top of the guitar. It should be FLAT, no bulges behind the bridge and no dips in front of the bridge. Put a straight edge along the top from bottom to top and make sure its almost flat. Your top may look OK, but check it to be sure. Then make sure the neck is straight. Us at least a 20" ruler down the neck to check for any gaps bows or humps. Same size ruler for the top. Also measure across the top behind the bridge. If a straight edge won't lay flat along or across the top that might be part of the problem.
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Old 10-26-2020, 07:58 PM
strangedays strangedays is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uflatpick View Post
With no pictures, or the Nut or Bridge and saddle, its hard to advise you. The clearance of the bottom string at the FIRST fret could be as low as 1mm. Mine is just under a mm at the first fret. The 12th fret should be at least HALF of that 12, my 12th fret is between 3 and 4mm. There may be ways to lower the saddle (cutting deeper slots,) and you may be able to sand down the saddle, but without seeing it, there is no way to tell if that can be done. One other thing to check is the top of the guitar. It should be FLAT, no bulges behind the bridge and no dips in front of the bridge. Put a straight edge along the top from bottom to top and make sure its almost flat. Your top may look OK, but check it to be sure. Then make sure the neck is straight. Us at least a 20" ruler down the neck to check for any gaps bows or humps. Same size ruler for the top. Also measure across the top behind the bridge. If a straight edge won't lay flat along or across the top that might be part of the problem.
I did include pictures! Check the links in my original post for the pictures.
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Old 10-26-2020, 08:15 PM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by strangedays View Post
I did include pictures! Check the links in my original post for the pictures.
What the helpful folks are trying to say is that it the problem you have, that you are trying to solve (massively high action at the upper end of the neck) is not something that will be solved by a truss rod tweak.

It's just possible that your guitar could get reasonable action if you have a lot of saddle showing and that lowering that saddle could help your situation with the high action your pictures show. I don't want to get your hopes up, because it may be that your guitar would need a neck reset to fix this issue.

Link to a picture of your saddle, so that we can see how much the saddle pokes up above the slot it sits in at the bridge.
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Old 10-26-2020, 08:40 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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As the others have said .. some pictures of the bridge and top might help us see why that action is so high.
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Old 10-26-2020, 08:53 PM
GBS GBS is offline
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Also pictures of the nut/first fret areas. Your note seems to indicate that that is very high too.
What you are currently showing is crazy high.
One pic seems to show a gap at the neck heel side of the fretboard, probably indicating a need for a neck reset.
MAYBE if the nut slots are not deep enough, and the saddle can be lowered, and the relief is way off...it might be brought into playable action.
But time to take it to a qualified luthier for evaluation. Hold onto your hat for the quote if it does have to have a reset....
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Old 10-26-2020, 10:17 PM
strangedays strangedays is offline
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My apologies for misunderstanding. I have taken photos of the bridge and nut section.

See here:

Bridge: https://ibb.co/TB4N13r

Nut: https://ibb.co/N2HV02t
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Old 10-26-2020, 10:39 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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Well that bridge looks firmly stuck down - no lifting evident.
Saddle height looks good too.
But action at the nut looks very high to me - I'm interested to see what others make of it.
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Old 10-26-2020, 11:50 PM
RRuskin RRuskin is offline
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Decide what gauge strings you intend to use on it (I'd suggest light) Lower the nut and lower the saddle to suit.
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Old 10-27-2020, 03:47 AM
strangedays strangedays is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RRuskin View Post
Decide what gauge strings you intend to use on it (I'd suggest light) Lower the nut and lower the saddle to suit.
I will be using .12 - .52 gauge strings.
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Old 10-27-2020, 04:29 AM
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dnf777 dnf777 is offline
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Certainly looks like theres room to work with. Maybe enough to get a satisfactory action. Still cant tell how the neck bow is. Theres some good books out there on methodical set-up processes, but def worth employing a luthier to help avoid the many pit falls. An honest craftsman will gauge and respect reasonable limits based on the value of the guitar and your budget. For a simple truss adjustment, bridge/nut shaping....$50 or so...
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  #14  
Old 10-27-2020, 05:35 AM
strangedays strangedays is offline
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I can take a photo of the neck to show, but need to know what's the best angle of taking it so can all see if it's bowed or not?
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Old 10-27-2020, 06:10 AM
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JayBee1404 JayBee1404 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by strangedays View Post
I can take a photo of the neck to show, but need to know what's the best angle of taking it so can all see if it's bowed or not?
Have you checked it for yourself? Most players like between 0.005” and 0.010” of relief (forward bow), if you have significantly more then you need to reduce the relief by adjusting the truss-rod. You need a set of feeler gauges to check relief - put a capo on the guitar at the first fret, hold down the 6th (E) string at the 14th fret, and use the feeler gauges to measure the gap between the top of the 7th fret and the underneath of the string.

Y’know, reading through this thread, I really do think that the guitar needs the attention of a professional luthier/tech. My advice would be to have it checked over and assessed.

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