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Old 02-14-2020, 06:35 AM
poitin poitin is offline
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Default Adjusting Truss Rod on a Martin D28?

Just want to check if anything can go wrong, my neck needs adjusting and i want to be sure i can do it at home? i use 13-56, i think that came like a factory setup, but the neck has given way

im not sure of the size of the wrench, ones i have at home dont seem to fit and i cant remember if i got one with the guitar?

cheers
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Old 02-14-2020, 06:53 AM
brianmay brianmay is offline
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5mm - long reach Allen key (hex). Accessible from inside the sound hole.

No real snags and loads of information on Google.

My D-28 is 12 years old and truss rod was only touched once by my luthier when he initially set it up.

[They don't send one with the guitar, so you haven't lost it]
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Old 02-14-2020, 06:54 AM
llew llew is online now
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You can certainly adjust your truss rod. It requires a 5mm Allen wrench. If the neck is way off it might be in your best interest to have a qualified luthier/tech have a look at it. best of luck!
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Old 02-14-2020, 07:05 AM
poitin poitin is offline
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i havent been using anything for hummidity as hummidity is not really much of an issue here(so i thought), but i guess i fcked it up a bit, i've been using factory gauge strings which was 13-56 i guess so maybe its due to hummidity issues?

its a fairly new guitar its a new 2019 martin d28... i would take it to the luthier but i dont live in the states and im not really sure about how much of guys around here are knowledgable about martins.

what im mostly interested in is getting the string height down actually as it seems be a bit above 3mm
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Old 02-14-2020, 07:18 AM
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JayBee1404 JayBee1404 is offline
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You don’t set action by adjusting the truss-rod alone.

A new guitar ‘moves’ during the process of forgetting it’s a tree and realising it’s now a guitar so your action-change may not be a symptom of anything ‘sinister’, it might just be an effect of the guitar ‘settling-in’.

”I would take it to the luthier but i dont live in the states and im not really sure about how much of guys around here are knowledgable about martins.

A guitar is a guitar is a guitar, and the set-up requirements for a Martin are precisely the same as for any other guitar. When I get a brand new guitar, I give it three months or so to settle-in, then I take it to my (very good) local luthier for a proper set-up, which involves checking neck-relief and adjusting the rod if necessary, adjusting nut-slot-height and, if required, adjusting saddle-height.

You don’t say by how much your neck-relief has changed - what is your neck-relief in 0.000”s currently?

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.
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Last edited by JayBee1404; 02-14-2020 at 07:24 AM.
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Old 02-14-2020, 08:15 AM
poitin poitin is offline
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dont know how to measure it? but i can see its concave, i mainly felt the difference through string action(but given your answers it seems i mistakenly blamed it all on neck relief)

so getting it to a local luthier and getting a humidifer(see a lot of talk on the internet about those) i guess?
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Old 02-14-2020, 08:26 AM
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Here ya go - Bryan is a great resource. Use feeler gauges to measure relief.

https://www.bryankimsey.com/setup/
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Old 02-14-2020, 08:54 AM
charles Tauber charles Tauber is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poitin View Post
getting a humidifer... i guess?
Don't humidify because you can.

Buy a hygrometer to measure the humidity of the immediate environment in which you store your guitar. You needn't spend a lot on the hygrometer.

Then, and only then, will you be able to make informed decisions about whether or not your guitar is too wet, too dry or just right. If it is too wet or too dry, you can then take appropriate action to bring it back to, and maintain it at, a suitable humidity level. Don't guess: as much damage can be caused by an inappropriate action as performing no action.
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Old 02-15-2020, 02:50 AM
nikpearson nikpearson is offline
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Default Whereabouts are you?

As a previous poster said, most guitars will need some adjustment after a few months. Seasonal humidity changes can also affect setup considerably depending on your local climate. A sensible safe humidity range (you need to measure where the guitar is kept) is between 40% and 60%. Even variations within this range will change the instrument’s setup but should be manageable. Useful to have a couple of hygrometers to check this. I’ve found the inexpensive digital ones can be quite accurate.

You need a few basic tools to check an instruments setup:

1) Feeler gauges to measure neck relief
2) 150mm steel rule that starts at 0mm, or better still a string action gauge
3) Capo

Before any other adjustments are made the neck relief needs checking and if necessary adjusting. If there is too much forward bow this will also bring the action up. By using a capo on the first fret and then fretting the string at the neck/body join, 14th fret in this case, the string becomes a makeshift straightedge and you can measure the relief at the 6th fret. An ideal range is 0.10-0.25mm depending on your playing style. My personal preference is towards the lower end of those figures.

Once the relief is set correctly you can measure the action at the 12th fret. To adjust this you need to lower or raise the saddle. A good general action is 2.2-2.5mm on the low E, 1.7-2.0mm on the high E. This is also in par a personal thing, depending on your playing style. If you use drop tunings and or play hard you might need more relief and a higher action.

I’ve deliberately left out nut slot adjustment as adjusting this needs more specialist tools and a little skill. If the guitar played well previously it’s fair to assume the nut is good.

Hope this helps.
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