Adjusting Truss Rod Details

I get several emails per day about adjusting a guitar’s truss rod. Many of these questions come from people that want to make their guitar play better without taking it to a technician. If you feel comfortable or have a little experience this is not a very difficult procedure. The benefit of a properly adjusted truss rod is a great playing guitar.

I shot a couple videos on how to adjust a truss rod so we will not get into that very deeply here in this post. You can check the videos below for a step by step tutorial on how to adjust a truss rod.

What I want to cover here is a detail or two about the after effects of the adjustment. I find that after adjusting the truss rod on a guitar (particularly one that is far out of adjustment) it needs a little time to sort of “settle”. What I mean by that is this. Take for example you have a guitar that has a neck in an under-bow condition. After you tighten the adjustment mechanism the neck gets straighter and the guitar plays better. But what happens 12-24 hours after the adjustment? I notice that after the settling period the neck seems to usually drift further in the direction you were adjusting it. So in this example the neck gets even straighter or possibly back-bowed. I use the analogy of stopping a boat. You’re going along in your motor boat and you suddenly cut the engine. Yes, the engine stops but the boat keeps going for a bit until it glides to a stop, overshooting the point where you cut the engine.

To remedy this you can do one of two things. Adjust the rod to just shy of where you want it to be. Stop the adjustment before it gets to the perfect sweet spot so in the morning it will be where you want it. The other option is to adjust the rod where it is perfect and then re-adjust the next day. Why not do it one way and not the other? Well if you have the time you can adjust it shy and have it perfect the next day. If you don’t have the time because say you or your repair customer has a gig then you need to have the guitar play perfectly and then deal with the adjustment after the settling period.

Now here comes the tricky part. Not all necks drift past the adjustment after the settling period! So what do you do? This is where experience and some trial and error comes in. If it is your personal guitar you will get to know it from maintaining it throughout the years. Otherwise your tech will know how your guitar behaves to adjustments by his or her experience and taking care of it. Either approach will yield a great playing guitar!

So remember to be aware of this little detail when you are maintaining your guitar and adjust the truss rod accordingly. Get to know your guitar and all it’s anomalies so you can keep it playing at its best. The time is worth the investment!!!

My shop is located at 1 Executive Dr Unit L Toms River, NJ 08755 Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or are in need of some tech work.

• Monday: 10am - 5pm
• Tuesday: 10am - 5pm
• Wednesday: Closed
• Thursday: 10am - 5pm
• Friday: 10am - 5pm
• Saturday 10am - 2pm. (I am in every other Saturday).

I am also an Eminence, Mercury Magnetics, Mojo Musical Supply dealer. I do all the tech work myself so you deal directly with me. I am a one man shop and my hours can vary so please contact me to confirm that I will be open. Email me: billy@300guitars.com Call or text me: 848-218-0362 Shipping Info for all repair work: Please ship all repairs to: 1 Executive Dr Unit L Toms River, NJ 08755

I am currently offering all phases of guitar work which includes:

• Set-ups
• Fret dressing
• Re-fretting
• New hand cut custom bone nuts & saddles
• Electronics work

And amplifier work which includes:

• Basic maintenance
• Bias adjustment
• Repairs and restorations
• Modifications
• And more....

Testimonials:

David Nicholas - The 20watt amp is sounding fantastic! Delivered the goods at the gig and I'm finding cool tones all over the place with it. Love the cab w Emenince Tonkerlites too- perfect for my sounds! Makes the 12 string sound like a grand piano!

Peter Lacis - I had an audition for something recently that was all about Led Zeppelin I -- my custom Pennalizer BLEW THE MINDS of the guys I was playing with. They couldn't believe the sounds coming out of that amp. That album was never in my mind when I came up with the idea....so that's yet another testament to the amazing work that you do.

Scott Goldberg - I am very satisfied with the set-up, and the fast turn around.  With the "lower" action it feels easier to play.  I will definitely spread the word.