How do you adjust truss rod?

No, we won't give you any flack for asking a dumb question.

But we WILL give you some flack for not reading the stickies at the top of this forum first. I would suggest you start with the one that says "All Basic Set-Up Questions Answered Here" in large, friendly letters.

The Stewart-MacDonald link will answer your question considerably less time that it would take me to answer your question.

Ed

 

Rotate it counter-clockwise to bow the neck away from the strings; raises the action. 1/8 turn at a time will usually work.

 

MOST truss rods work with regular threads. That means "righty-tighty, lefty-loosey". Now THINK about how the truss rod works. It's a curved rod inside the neck. One end is fixed in the neck, the other end has the nut on it which presses against a fixed point in the neck too. So, if you tighten the nut, it shortens the truss rod. The rod's working to pull the neck more straight.

Therefore, if the neck has too much bow in it you need to shorten the rod, and that means tigthen the nut by turing it clock-wise (that is , to the right). If the neck doesn't have enough releif, then you need to loosen the rod by turning the nut counter-clockwise.

There're some other things you should know before you attack your neck. Things like how far to turn it, how to get to the nut without damaging your bass, how to tighten it so you don't compress the wood at the nut (i.e. how to pre-bend the neck), how to check it correclty so you make sure the truss rod is the problem, etc.

Look in the stickies for details, and if you're going to own a bass for more than 2 years, invest in a copy of Dan Erlewine's "Complete Guide To Guitar Repair". That book will save you a ton of money, a lot of frustration, and lots of time.

jte

 

Gary Willis has a very informative setup page on his website here. He uses his Ibanez signature bass as the prop, but you can easily interpret the directions for any bass.

 

Keep in mind not all truss rods work in the same direction. For example a Pedulla. If you turn it clockwise, you are loosening the truss. You will be able to feel the tension as you adjust it.

 

Hi,
I have a 6strings model as Aria Steve Bailey with two truss rods.
Possibility of adjustement can be found at the body, close to neck pickup, and not the end of neck /not at nut/.
If you have pic I would be happy.
thanks,
Kohan