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First Truss Rod Adjustment (seeking advice)
Hey everyone, this is my first post on AGF, been loving all the content on here! I recently bought a Gibson L00, it arrived by mail and it had a slight fret buzz, and basically i took it into the store, the luthier looked at it and told the guy at the desk to loosen the truss rod a bit, but now that it has settled in (about five days from that adjustment) I've found that the action is a little higher than I'd like. I want to just do this adjustment myself, as i think just a quarter turn tightening would get it back to where i want it. Is it too soon after that adjustment? Should i wait a few more days to let the neck further settle? Am i overthinking this?
I'm just paranoid, as I have never adjusted the truss on my own before, though doing research, it seems pretty straightforward in this case. Just want any advice you guys might have for performing this. Thanks in advance. |
#2
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Not sure if truss rod adjustment would do much if the luthier already adjusted it, maybe post a picture of the saddle height? I'd leave the truss rod alone just because a luthier adjusted it and he knows best.
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Martin D-13E (2021 MiM) |
#3
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Welcome to the AGF!
Unless you trust the store you bought the guitar from, you might consider taking the guitar to another luthier/guitar tech and having a setup done. Let them know you're playing style and he/she can get the action adjusted the way you want. If you're comfortable working with a few tools, you can do the setup yourself. There are many youtube videos and descriptions here on the AGF to help you out. The truss rod is not used to adjust action per se. It is meant to adjust the relief in the neck, which will have an effect on the action. Fret buzz can be caused by a number of things. Simply adjusting the truss rod to eliminate the buzz may leave you with the wrong amount of relief. Google guitar setup, or search the many previous threads here and you'll get a boatload of information. And, BTW, if the "luthier" at the guitar store was going to adjust the truss rod to get rid of buzz I would look to a different tech -- unless they had already checked the relief and decided the neck needed more relief. That happened to me years ago when I bought a guitar at my local Guitar Center after I noticed some buzz on the high e string. The "tech" there spent all of 30 sec on it - gave the truss rod a 1/4 turn and gave it back to me. That was before I knew anything about setting up a guitar. I've never gone back after that. Last edited by KevinH; 09-25-2020 at 11:57 AM. |
#4
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If you tighten it a 1/4 turn --without forcing anything-- you're not going to hurt it, and it will be fine.
Give it a shot and let it settle for a couple of days. If that gets you where you want to be, then you're good to go. If not, take it back to the shop for a setup.
__________________
"What have I learned but the proper use for several tools" -Gary Snyder Bourgeois DR-A / Bowerman "Working Man's" OM / Martin Custom D-18 (adi & flame) / Martin OM-21 / Northwood M70 MJ / 1970s Sigma DR-7 / Eastman E6D / Flatiron Signature A5 / Silverangel Econo A (Call me Dan) |
#5
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But I agree a return trip to the luthier may help. In some cases, the luthier may do that for free or at a reduced rate.
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Martin X1-DE Epiphone AJ500MNS Alvarez AD30 Alvarez AD710 Alvarez RD20S Esteban American Legacy Rogue mandolin |
#6
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Thanks for everyone's feedback |
#7
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As warfrat says, tighten 1/4 turn and see what happens.
Before doing this, you should check the relief. That can be done easily: press the low E-string on the 1st fret with a finger of your fretting hand and at the same time press the same string on the 15th fret with your pinky of your right hand. Than tap the string with your right hand thumb on the 7th fret. There MUST be a space between the string and the fret. If there is a gap it will make ‚click’ when you tap. It can be close to zero but there MUST be a gap. In case there is none, don‘t tighten your truss rod!!! That might be the only way to damage your guitar, depending on the type of truss rod in your guitar. Otherwise don‘t worry. If a 1/4 turn is not enough do another 1/4 turn or even a third one, just give the guitar some time to settle. You can also ‚help‘ the neck with pressing it backwards - gently of course.
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Martin D-18MD, Martin OM-21, Martin CEO-7, Martin J-40, Martin 000-1, Guild D-55, Guild D-140, Gibson SJ-200, Gibson Hummingbird, Gibson Frank Hannon Love Dove, Gibson Southern Jumbo, Furch Gc-SR Red Deluxe, Furch Yellow Masters Choice, Larrivee P-03ww, Kawaii piano, mandolines, drumsets, doublebass, Fender Jazzbass, ... |
#8
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I've had guitars that I adjusted the truss rod every spring and fall to keep them playing well.
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Waterloo WL-S, K & K mini Waterloo WL-S Deluxe, K & K mini Iris OG, 12 fret, slot head, K & K mini Follow The Yellow Brick Road |
#9
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First Truss Rod Adjustment on a $2,699 Guitar
Personally, I would have an established relationship with your guitar tech, take the guitar in and have the tech explain how to adjust the truss rod and what it all involves and affects.
Maybe there could be some YouTube videos on adjusting truss rods. I'd be hesitant to cranking that truss rod for the very first time on a guitar that has a value of $2,699. Internet advice is cheap (FREE) permanent damage to a $2,699 guitar that you bought is forever. Just my opinion, MGF |
#10
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I always slacken a truss rod before I tighten it. Ultimately you need to understand the geometry of a guitar neck. With a capo and a set of feeler gauges, you can measure relief for yourself by capoing at the first fret, pressing down at the 14th, and then measuring at the 7th. Do this and you can get a feel for how much a quarter turn affects your relief.
It is very important to understand this only has an affect on part of the fingerboard, and nut slots and bridge are more actually the parts that effect action. I have become a believer in fret leveling as the most important tool toward good action, but that's another subject.
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2007 Martin D 35 Custom 1970 Guild D 35 1965 Epiphone Texan 2011 Santa Cruz D P/W Pono OP 30 D parlor Pono OP12-30 Pono MT uke Goldtone Paul Beard squareneck resophonic Fluke tenor ukulele Boatload of home rolled telecasters "Shut up and play ur guitar" Frank Zappa |
#11
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See if you can have an experienced tech do a setup for the fret buzz and great action in front of you. Ask questions and make notes. I was a machinist for many years so I know how to properly assess my setups for corrections. All my guitar's necks are perfectly straight with no relief (my preference for max tone and volume), low action (1/16" at 12th fret), and zero fret buzz (also check for high fret areas). There are some additional tricks which comes with experience. Good luck!
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#12
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You should learn about all the aspects of setup before you start tweaking things on your guitar. If the guitar was buzzing too much with the truss rod was tighter, that means tightening the truss rod will get you back to a buzzing guitar.
You probably need to keep the relief you have now and lower the saddle, but guitar setup is a very methodical process that has to be done in the right order. Take the time to educate yourself about the entire process or you'll be spinning your wheels. Until you understand the full monty, I wouldn't touch the truss rod. If I'm really being thorough about setup, I'll have a good technician adjust the nut slots - that's where it starts: 1) Action at the nut is best adjusted by someone that knows what they're doing. If the nut isn't slotted deep enough, it'll be hard to play first position chords. My preference is 0.020" at the low E and 0.010" at the high E. Interpolated for all the strings in between. If the nut slots are too low, you'll get buzzing on open strings. 2) Relief. This is the amount of bow in your truss rod and helps to eliminate buzz in the lower parts of the neck up to about the middle of the neck. This is what the truss rod is for. I usually shoot for 0.006"-0.008" to completely eliminate buzz. 3) Finally, you adjust action at the saddle. If it's too high, you sand down the bottom of the saddle. If it's too low, you either replace the saddle or shim it. This all assume the frets are level, of course. Long story short, don't take shortcuts. Either have someone competent do the job or learn the whole thing yourself before doing any individual step.
__________________
Circa OM-30/34 (Adi/Mad) | 000-12 (Ger/Maple) | OM-28 (Adi/Brz) | OM-18/21 (Adi/Hog) | OM-42 (Adi/Braz) Fairbanks SJ (Adi/Hog) | Schoenberg/Klepper 000-12c (Adi/Hog) | LeGeyt CLM (Swiss/Amzn) | LeGeyt CLM (Carp/Koa) Brondel A-2 (Carp/Mad) |
#13
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__________________
Circa OM-30/34 (Adi/Mad) | 000-12 (Ger/Maple) | OM-28 (Adi/Brz) | OM-18/21 (Adi/Hog) | OM-42 (Adi/Braz) Fairbanks SJ (Adi/Hog) | Schoenberg/Klepper 000-12c (Adi/Hog) | LeGeyt CLM (Swiss/Amzn) | LeGeyt CLM (Carp/Koa) Brondel A-2 (Carp/Mad) |
#14
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Well, it kind of depends on how much the tech loosened it in the first place. But, while tightening it a 1/4 turn might get it buzzing again, it certainly won't do any harm.
__________________
"What have I learned but the proper use for several tools" -Gary Snyder Bourgeois DR-A / Bowerman "Working Man's" OM / Martin Custom D-18 (adi & flame) / Martin OM-21 / Northwood M70 MJ / 1970s Sigma DR-7 / Eastman E6D / Flatiron Signature A5 / Silverangel Econo A (Call me Dan) |
#15
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Not likely to do harm, but I really don’t think people should mess with the truss rod if they don’t know what it’s supposed to do. The best place to start would be to measure relief. If the guitar has an appropriate amount of relief, the effort should be directed elsewhere. I don’t advocate this uneducated, shot-in-the-dark approach to setup.
__________________
Circa OM-30/34 (Adi/Mad) | 000-12 (Ger/Maple) | OM-28 (Adi/Brz) | OM-18/21 (Adi/Hog) | OM-42 (Adi/Braz) Fairbanks SJ (Adi/Hog) | Schoenberg/Klepper 000-12c (Adi/Hog) | LeGeyt CLM (Swiss/Amzn) | LeGeyt CLM (Carp/Koa) Brondel A-2 (Carp/Mad) |
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Tags |
gibson, gibson l00, parlor, truss rod, truss rod adjustment |
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