I'm going to try my first truss rod adjustment about midnight tonight when I get off work. I have a feeling if I don't learn to set up my own instruments I'll go broke, so I'm going to try on my bronco I've been modding. My main question how far and how fast can you turn that rod. Do you have to wait for the neck to adjust before playing again? Any suggestions would be welcome. Leaving for work now, thanks for your help.
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First truss rod adjust
- Thread starter notverygood
- Start date
so my local luthier set up my Epi Thunderbird. When he started, I could shoot arrows, the neck was so bowed. Since then it has gone the other way, to the point that the 1st string buzzes when open and goes "boink" at the 1st fret. I should loosen the truss rod? Just a little?
One way to approach it:
If the neck is too bowed, that means the strings are pulling the headstock more strongly than the truss rod is resisting. So you would tighten the truss to fight the pull of the strings.
If the neck is humped up in the middle, causing the strings to fret out, that means the strings are not able to pull the headstock enough because the truss rod is too tight -- so it needs to be loosened.
dual action truss rods aside, you tighten the truss to counteract the pull of the strings, so tightening the truss puts a hump in the middle of the neck (flattening it along the way, of course); loosening the truss lets the strings pull the headstock more, to create more of a gap between the strings and the neck (in the middle range -- don't confuse this with setting the action with the bridge saddles).
When I adjust a truss rod, I always loosen it a little first, then tighten it to where I want it. That takes the looseness out of the threads, and gives you a feel for the adjustment.
I'll adjust it in increments of 1/8 of a turn, assuming it's not too far out of adjustment. You can also adjust it by one flat on the hex wrench, which would be 1/6 of a turn. For greater adjustment, try a 1/4 turn. Give the neck a week or two to settle in and you may want to fine tune it a bit.
I'll adjust it in increments of 1/8 of a turn, assuming it's not too far out of adjustment. You can also adjust it by one flat on the hex wrench, which would be 1/6 of a turn. For greater adjustment, try a 1/4 turn. Give the neck a week or two to settle in and you may want to fine tune it a bit.
If you didn't get the garywillis post, here's what it basically means:
The truss rod essentially controls the action on the first 12 frets
The bridge saddles essentially control the action on the last 10-12 frets
So what does that mean?
If your bass has too high or low action from JUST fret 1-12, truss rod is the problem
If your bass has too high or low action from JUST fret 13+, bridge saddles are the problem
If your bass is bad all the way down then you will have to adjust both rod and saddles. Do both in small increments back and forth til you get it right.
The truss rod essentially controls the action on the first 12 frets
The bridge saddles essentially control the action on the last 10-12 frets
So what does that mean?
If your bass has too high or low action from JUST fret 1-12, truss rod is the problem
If your bass has too high or low action from JUST fret 13+, bridge saddles are the problem
If your bass is bad all the way down then you will have to adjust both rod and saddles. Do both in small increments back and forth til you get it right.
+1
Most of the time, 1/8 to 1/4 inch turn is all you'll need anyway. It doesn't take much to affect relief. To check and see how much relief you have fret the lowest string at the first and last fret then look at the gap between the string and the frets at the halfway point of the neck. You want there to be about a credit card thickness between the string and the fret. If you need more bend in the neck, loosen the rod. If you need less bend, tighten the rod.
Excellent info. But in the interest of spoon feeding me, do I need to loosen the strings first or can I just make the adjustment. Thanks
