stupid truss rod question

[Misifus]

Taylor, Gibson, Martin, or whatever, Whether you should adjust your truss rod, doesn't depend on the brand, It's just one part of a proper setup. The truss rod is there to make your neck straight - that's all. Check out frets.com and see how the truss rod figures into the total picture of getting the neck to play well.

[KevinH]

Exactly. First, set the relief with the truss rod (though, as Mandobart noted, it won't likely help much with buzz on the first frets). Regarding shims, they are used to correct an improper neck angle on Tayors. So, check the neck angle by laying a straightedge on the frets to see if it lands about on top of the bridge. If so, the neck angle is OK and you can go ahead and sand the saddle to get the action where you want. Check out this forum post for more info.

Originally Posted by rllink

When you switch from the mediums to the lights it will throw the relief off because there is not as much tension on the neck. You adjust that with the truss rod just as the OP did. There is a Taylor video showing how to do that. You can also make minor adjustments to the action on the Mini by taking a smidge off of the saddle just like any other guitar. You don't necessarily have to re-shim the neck.