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Featured Article :

Guitar and Bass Repair: Improving Tone, Action and Sustain Without Spending a Nickel Part Two

Part One of this article discussed how truss rods work and how to determine the neck relief of basses and guitars. Part Two of this article will go on to describe how to adjust truss rods to optimize neck relief and improve the playability and sound of basses and guitars. This article assumes that you have an understanding of how truss rods work and how to read an instrument's relief (refer to Part One of this article for a review of this material). It is recommended that you read Part Two of the article in its entirety before beginning adjustments on an instrument.

Please follow this link to view the figures for the article.

Guidelines for Rod Adjustment

Any time you are adjusting a truss rod be careful, go slow, and don't over tighten-never use excessive force when adjusting a truss rod! If you are the least bit hesitant or unsure about what you are doing, seek help from a professional luthier or repair technician. Repairing or replacing a broken truss rod is expensive and time-consuming, and in some cases it may be cheaper to buy a new instrument. Strictly following the guidelines below will help prevent damage to truss rods and improve their functionality.

 

Locate the adjustment nut of the truss rod. Some instruments' adjustment nuts can be found at the headstock just past the nut, either under a small cover (Fig. 1a) or exposed in a small groove (Fig. 1b). On other instruments, the adjustment nut will be at the neck's heel where it meets the body (Fig. 2a), or can be accessed under the soundhole in some acoustic guitars. (Fig. 2b).

 

Before turning the adjustment nut, mark it with a fine-tipped felt pen or marker to note where it started.

 

Use the exact size wrench/driver that fits the adjustment nut. Always loosen the adjustment nut slightly before tightening, as it may already be tightened as far as it can go.

 

Note: If you have a bolt-on neck design instrument whose adjustment nut is concealed by the body, loosen the bolts and strings as little as possible to tilt the neck heel upwards and access the adjustment nut.

Take the nut off the rod (keep track of the number of turns it takes) and clean and lubricate the threads of both the rod and the nut using a drop or two of machine oil (3 in 1 oil works well). Avoid getting the lubricant on the finish or wood of the instrument. Put the nut back onto the rod and turn it to the mark using the same number of turns.

 

Keep the strings up to pitch when adjusting the rod (if you have a bolt-on design instrument with a concealed adjustment nut, refer to number 3 above).

 

When tightening, turn the adjustment nut only about 1/16-1/8 of a turn at a time, checking the neck's relief after each increment. If the nut seems to be as tight as it will go do not force it further.

 

Check the tuning of the instrument occasionally during adjustment, re-tuning as necessary. Tightening the rod should make the strings go slightly sharp and loosening the rod should make them slightly flat.

 

Note: Some necks do not respond instantly to truss rod adjustments. The wood may take a little time to respond to the altered tension. If you made significant rod adjustments and do not see a change in relief, set the instrument aside for up to 24 hours then re-check.

Optimizing Neck Relief

The optimal neck profile for most guitars and basses is not dead flat. Strings vibrate in an elliptical shape, thus most guitars and basses benefit from a neck that has a very slight amount of relief, which will match the elliptical shape of the strings' vibrations. Read the relief of your instrument by fretting an outside string at the first and twelfth frets simultaneously. Generally, an optimized neck will have about a business cards' thickness worth of space between the string and the sixth/seventh frets. There are exceptions to this rule however; some instruments require more relief than described and some work perfectly with no relief at all (flat neck).

If your instrument's neck has more than a business card's thickness worth of relief, you may need to tighten the truss rod. If the instrument develops fret buzz from this adjustment, loosen the rod back to its starting position; it may already be optimized. If your instrument's neck has less than a business card's thickness worth of relief, but does not have fret buzz, it may already be optimized. If your instrument has less relief than the business card's thickness and the frets do buzz, you may need to loosen the truss rod to optimize the relief. An optimized neck will have better tone, sustain and action and will be less prone to warping over time.

While the business card method is a good standard for setting relief and improving the playability of most instruments, it does not take into account the unique characteristics of the individual instrument. The next Xylem article will cover how to fine-tune a truss rod and eliminate some fret buzzes using the truss rod. It will also present specific examples of how to correct upbowed, backbowed, flat and twisted necks by adjusting the truss rod.

Copyright © Anthony Olinger, Xylem Handmade Basses and Guitars 2008.

About the Author

Anthony is a professional luthier specializing in handmade electric basses and guitars. He owns and operates Xylem Handmade Basses and Guitars. You can visit Xylem on the web at http://www.xylembassguitar.com and contact Anthony via email at: anthony@xylembassguitar.com.

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