Truss Rod Adjustments

[blahhxblah]

Disregard the last comment I sent about an hour ago. I think I've located the truss rod on my Taylor. I assume its located on the head of the guitar. :0

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@blahhxblah Yeah, most all the time on acoustics they are on the body end of the neck. Glad you found it!

[blahhxblah]

I can't seem to find the truss rod on my Taylor. Is it possible that it's hidden somewhere in the sound hole because it most certainly is not visible like in your video or my other friend's guitar. :(

[mario4526]

Hello my guitar neck has too much relief truss rod is not maxed out but pretty tight should i keep turning it untill neck is straight?

[vjlord]

I've an acoustic guitar, just one thing to ask, if the Guitar is upper Bowed then "Lefty Loosy" & if its Lower Bowed then "Righty Tighty" ?? :)

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@vjlord There is back bow and forward bow, no upper and lower bow. By upper bow if you mean back bow, yes. By by lower bow you mean forward bow, yes again.

[vjlord]

@TheGospelGuitarist thnx got it... :)

But seems like my truss rod doesn't work, tried to turn it but didn't feel any turn & the funniest part is, sometimes the guitar doesn't buzz & sometimes it does...

Well thnx again Sir :)

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@vjlord You could have a broken truss rod which is vibrating inside the neck causing the buzzing you hear. You might want to have a shop look at it for you.

[vjlord]

@TheGospelGuitarist Ahan, Thnx for the info...

[bluegrasssingingman]

LOL Thank You, the first and the only one I have heard say losen the string tention first.

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@bluegrasssingingman That's kind of important yes ;) 

[rampage222555]

this is the only lesson that actually explained this well, thx

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@rampage222555 Thanks! With all the videos on this, I take that as a real compliment. ☺

[BTayache]

Thanks man, that really helped

[Jasaxos]

Hello I have a problem with my guitar. Does a truss rod have to do anything with intonation? Because icant seem to get it right. Even though I've been trying to adjust the screws. How can i know if my guitar neck has warped if it's to close to call? It's a shcecter Damien elite. Fairly new got it mid september(2010) I wanna see if I can fix it before I take to a professional

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@Jasaxos If your string height is too high (and that would be way high!) yes it can effect intonation because the string is stretching to far before hitting the fretted note causing it to go sharp. Intonation is setup at the bridge. The harmonic and actual fretted note should sound the same at the 12th fret. If the neck is twisted, you can visually check for that. You need a very good tuner and some patience to set your intonation properly. Hope this helps.

[AlexStenka]

thanx dude best vid on this subject.

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@AlexStenka Thanks! Appreciate the comment. ☺

[nonfractal]

The best vid on truss rods on youtube. Clear and succinct.

However, probably best to distinguish between "action" (which is adjusted at the nut and bridge (or tremolo) and "relief" which is adjusted by the truss rod.

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@nonfractal Yeah, that's a good point. Action and neck relief are two different things but not unrelated. Thanks for the comment!

[dvnobles]

I think this just brought new life back into my Yamaha acoustic I bought in 1984 in the military. Thanks!

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@dvnobles Glad it helped!

[sanctuary1221]

dude you are a lifesaver

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@sanctuary1221 You're welcome!

[eflatmin7]

excellent video.....straight forward..makes the process a lot less complicated than other videos ...like the background music too...(:

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@eflatmin7 Thanks for the kind comment!

[wildwestpoint]

righty tighty lefty loosey thanks for the tiip. clockwise - tighten; counterclowise - loosen. i hope i won't be confused anymore.

[journeyquest1]

I bought a Takamine EG mini jumbo guitar new at Guitar Center. I didnt know much about guitars when i bought it so i didnt have it set up. Now i notice the neck is underbowed between the 5th fret and body. I tryed to adjust the truss rod with an allen wrench and it wouldnt budge. I sprayed some WD40 down into it and tryed the next day. Its tight as can be. I dont want to mess up the neck. Is it possible that a neck cant be straightened? Have you run into this problem?

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@journeyquest1 Return it. Something is amiss if you can't budge the rod on a brand new guitar. If you force it you can snap the rod or damage the neck. Let their techs deal it and get a replacement.

[journeyquest1]

@TheGospelGuitarist Its not a brand new guitar. Ive had it at least a couple years now. I just bought a Gretsch Jumbo Rancher 5022c a few months ago and its a very nice guitar thats setup well. But i want to get rid of the Takamine. The trussrod is in the soundhole. So i tried clockwise. No budge with a long wrench. Maybe it was tightened to the max at the factory? The Takamine is in mint condition. I hate to have to regard it as garbage. Thanks

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@journeyquest1 Get it to a repair shop to have it properly fixed. Check that your bridge isn't lifting, that will raise the strings as well. The truss rod only controls action for the forward part of the neck (nut -> around the 7th fret. The bridge needs adjustments to lower the string action between 7 - the body. Lower end guitars are never setup to play very well in that area. You can file the bridge to lower the string action but if you go to far you have to buy another one.

[journeyquest1]

@TheGospelGuitarist Thanks. It has a compensated saddle (nylon or plastic) I will have a shop check it. Another question: if the neck has been underbowed for years can it be fixed?

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@journeyquest1 I don't see why not. The pros know all about that stuff. ;)

[GaryNull]

@TheGospelGuitarist "The truss rod only controls action for the forward part of the neck (nut -> around the 7th fret. The bridge needs adjustments to lower the string action between 7 - the body."

Thanks for saying that. I've been reading about this subject for a while and your the only one who stated that important fact.

If the action by the first 2 frets it stiff, like difficulty doing pull-offs and hammer ons, even with open string, should I shave down the slots of the nut?

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@GaryNull If the action is too high in that area of the neck re-cutting the nut or a new nut is in order. It is a VERY precise thing to do however and you should do it with the proper nut cutting tools. Go too far and you're buying a new nut. You may want a luthier to do the work for you. Thanks for the comment!

[CJsoccer4]

how does turning the truss rod a lot hurt the guitar neck? like by stripping the truss rod? or something else too?

[TheGospelGuitarist]

You can actually snap the rod itself or the rod can bust upward right thru the fingerboard or strip the threads.

[GulfCoasta09]

lol my truss rod sticks out O_O i cant plug in my allen wrench because theres a metal rod sticking out, its a male piece within it

[zythug]

hello ....uh i ve been havin a big problem for 2 yrs now!! i tried a famous guitar tech here and he did crap....the action was damn high and now i tightened the truss rod to its max. and got a low action with an infinite buzz but no buzz thru the amp tho...how ever pinch harmonics and note sustain remains a problem ......and wat i play includes all of these ...please help !!

[TheGospelGuitarist]

@zythug If you have buzz of any kind it is stealing away your sustain. Take it another tech. Does the guitar have good pickups? Have a quality fret job? You should not have to max out your truss rod. Bridge adjustments may be needed as well.

[MrAssbaron]

Thirty years ago we didn't have much knowledge on guitar mechanics available

to us. Today thanks to people like yourself

the darkness has been lifted and a ray

of sunshine breaks through. God bless

you all.

[TheGospelGuitarist]

Well, thank you kindly, more light is always a good thing.

[bubbleabee]

Hey buddy

i dont no to much about setting up guitars

so if you can help me out, it would be much appreciated,

anyway

my guitar action was really really high, it hurt to play.

so i lowerd it so it feals nice to play

but all i get is buzzs that sound the same on every note, i don't no what to do, i tryed loosening it just makes the action high as in the middle

and then im tightening it, and it still buzzes but i don't wanna tighten to much, in case it slaps the neck or whatever it does,

HELP :)

[TheGospelGuitarist]

It is a balancing act to get it just right, considering your neck has no problems like a twist or warpage. I can't diagnos a repair on the net. If you can't get it right with a simple 1/4 to 1/2 turn to ad just the action just a litte bit, you may have other problems, possible the bridge is not set up properly as well. Take it to a store and have it lookied at by a guitar tech.

[paulie1412]

So would tightening it lower the action, or raise it?

[TheGospelGuitarist]

Tightening it will bring the action lower.

[paulie1412]

So if the neck has a back bow. We should loosen the truss rod?

[TheGospelGuitarist]

Yes. Loosening the truss rod will allow the string tension to pull the neck into a slightly foward bow.

[RLtherichman]

i love the righty tighty thing, but uh, i dont understand; do i tighten the truss rod to make the guitar neck bend BACK or forward? do i loosen it to allow the strings to pull it back?

[TheGospelGuitarist]

TIghten to move back and get the strings closer to the fretboard. Yes to the second question.

[anupnick]

LOL... they r all confused!!

[TheGospelGuitarist]

Glad I could help!

[panicbow14]

This is a good video, it helped me alot

Thanks