Follow us on Social !!
how to perform a
Seasonal Truss Rod Adjustment
The ability to do simple and easy seasonal adjustments to a truss rod is an essential skill for any serious player to know. However, if you're working on a vintage guitar, or a particularly delicate instrument, if you're uncomfortable with the idea, or the truss rod is very stiff then it would be best to see a professional technician to service it for you. If you can move the truss rod nut to the left with not too much resistance, then you can start working on the neck relief yourself.
When do I perform a truss rod adjustment?
If you suddenly find that your instrument is harder to play, or there's a lot of noise and and buzz from the strings, it could simply be due to these seasonal changes. The change from dry winter weather to warm and humid summer weather may cause some guitars to take on moisture. When this happens it can really change the way a neck plays and feels. On some guitars, as they respond to the moisture intake, the neck can become more bowed, causing the action to become stiffer and thus making the instrument harder to play. Conversely, the neck may get more 'back bow', in which case the strings could be resting on the frets causing buzzing.
Note: Always adjust the truss rod at your normal string tension and tuning. There are two main types of truss rod access, and they're based upon the style and model of guitar. There's the Gibson style which has a cavity, usually hidden under a plate on the head stock, or there's the Fender style which is an open cavity usually on the head stock up near the nut, or in some older vintage models, down near the base of the neck. Either way, remember that a right turn adjustment will tighten the truss rod, and a left turn will loosen it. A quarter turn may be all that's required to make the difference needed. However, this will depend on the severity of the bow in the neck, and the amount of relief required.
How to evaluate your neck:
Resting the instrument on a bench top or table top, view the neck, holding it by the head stock and pointing it away from you towards the pickup area. Sight the edge of the neck all the way down from the nut to the base of the neck. Now angle the neck to a point where all the frets appear to merge into one shiny metallic surface. Now you can see all the way down the edge of the neck. Try to avoid looking at the ends of the frets themselves as these can cause waves or illusions due to the way the frets are finished. Also disregard any binding that there may be. What you really need to be sighting is the true edge of the fingerboard itself. That's what gives you the true evaluation of the straightness, or otherwise, of the neck. which should appear fairly straight. However, there is a point where there is some degree of curve (or relief), usually at about the 12th,13th 14th fret. So a properly adjusted neck is actually very slightly curved.
There will usually be one of two scenarios:
One - the neck will be bowed up at both ends up with the middle of it cupped underneath, causing a lot of string action height at around the 12th fret. To correct that, you will need to tighten the truss rod. Firstly - find the correct tool, Allen key etc for your truss rod adjustment nut - and remember that right turn tightens, left turn loosens. Before you do any adjustment at all, it's always best to loosen the truss rod off a little bit first.
After you've evaluated the straightness of the neck, insert your Allen key and take it about a quarter turn to the left. This will help make sure it's working properly and loosen the nut threads on their own without too much pressure. Now, to correct the bow, and you want to flatten it, you will want to tighten the truss rod. To do this, tighten the truss rod to the right, at about a quarter turn increments at a time.
Two - The neck is too flat or slightly bowed back, and the strings are buzzing - adjust the rod to the left, again about a quarter turn at a time. Adjust in small increments. Let the wood relax between adjustments. Wood doesn't change its form or shape under tension quite as fast as metal does, so it may take a few minutes for your neck wood to readjust itself to the new degree of straightness or curve that you've introduced by adjusting your truss rod.
Three - After you've made the truss rod adjustment and checked that the neck looks and feels nice and straight with a good string action height that is suitable for your playing, you should be all set to go. If the neck and truss rod adjustment doesn't completely solve the problem, your instrument may also need saddle correction to get the string height and truss rod tension back to their proper specifications. If so, please speak to your local luthier or guitar technician.
More to come on how to perform seasonal truss rod adjustments soon...
When do I perform a truss rod adjustment?
If you suddenly find that your instrument is harder to play, or there's a lot of noise and and buzz from the strings, it could simply be due to these seasonal changes. The change from dry winter weather to warm and humid summer weather may cause some guitars to take on moisture. When this happens it can really change the way a neck plays and feels. On some guitars, as they respond to the moisture intake, the neck can become more bowed, causing the action to become stiffer and thus making the instrument harder to play. Conversely, the neck may get more 'back bow', in which case the strings could be resting on the frets causing buzzing.
Note: Always adjust the truss rod at your normal string tension and tuning. There are two main types of truss rod access, and they're based upon the style and model of guitar. There's the Gibson style which has a cavity, usually hidden under a plate on the head stock, or there's the Fender style which is an open cavity usually on the head stock up near the nut, or in some older vintage models, down near the base of the neck. Either way, remember that a right turn adjustment will tighten the truss rod, and a left turn will loosen it. A quarter turn may be all that's required to make the difference needed. However, this will depend on the severity of the bow in the neck, and the amount of relief required.
How to evaluate your neck:
Resting the instrument on a bench top or table top, view the neck, holding it by the head stock and pointing it away from you towards the pickup area. Sight the edge of the neck all the way down from the nut to the base of the neck. Now angle the neck to a point where all the frets appear to merge into one shiny metallic surface. Now you can see all the way down the edge of the neck. Try to avoid looking at the ends of the frets themselves as these can cause waves or illusions due to the way the frets are finished. Also disregard any binding that there may be. What you really need to be sighting is the true edge of the fingerboard itself. That's what gives you the true evaluation of the straightness, or otherwise, of the neck. which should appear fairly straight. However, there is a point where there is some degree of curve (or relief), usually at about the 12th,13th 14th fret. So a properly adjusted neck is actually very slightly curved.
There will usually be one of two scenarios:
One - the neck will be bowed up at both ends up with the middle of it cupped underneath, causing a lot of string action height at around the 12th fret. To correct that, you will need to tighten the truss rod. Firstly - find the correct tool, Allen key etc for your truss rod adjustment nut - and remember that right turn tightens, left turn loosens. Before you do any adjustment at all, it's always best to loosen the truss rod off a little bit first.
After you've evaluated the straightness of the neck, insert your Allen key and take it about a quarter turn to the left. This will help make sure it's working properly and loosen the nut threads on their own without too much pressure. Now, to correct the bow, and you want to flatten it, you will want to tighten the truss rod. To do this, tighten the truss rod to the right, at about a quarter turn increments at a time.
Two - The neck is too flat or slightly bowed back, and the strings are buzzing - adjust the rod to the left, again about a quarter turn at a time. Adjust in small increments. Let the wood relax between adjustments. Wood doesn't change its form or shape under tension quite as fast as metal does, so it may take a few minutes for your neck wood to readjust itself to the new degree of straightness or curve that you've introduced by adjusting your truss rod.
Three - After you've made the truss rod adjustment and checked that the neck looks and feels nice and straight with a good string action height that is suitable for your playing, you should be all set to go. If the neck and truss rod adjustment doesn't completely solve the problem, your instrument may also need saddle correction to get the string height and truss rod tension back to their proper specifications. If so, please speak to your local luthier or guitar technician.
More to come on how to perform seasonal truss rod adjustments soon...