Picture how a guitar neck may be with all of the strings tuned to full pitch. By tightening or loosening the adjustable nut, the curvature will help to minimize this bowing effect. Along with single action truss rods, some guitars have dual action ones instead. Dual action rods are the ideal solution for necks that exhibit a back bow condition. Back bow is a condition where the straightness of the neck is higher in the middle, and the most typical cause is due to actual warping.
So what can you do if you have a back bow condition, but your guitar only has a single action truss rod? Unfortunately, this may be a situation where you would have to consult a pro or a good luthier. But there still are some guitars that do not come with them at all. Certain brands of electric guitars may not have a truss rod due to the materials that are used for the neck.
These models use some other material to help reinforce the wood, and they typically do not have any adjustment points. Many classical guitars do not have truss rods at all.
You may see a small cover plate that covers the hole as well as found on a Gibson Les Paul. Some electric guitars have the truss rod access at the bottom of the neck where it meets the body a Wolfgang is a good example.
The same is true for acoustic guitars as well. Most will have the cover plate on the headstock, while others may have the access point at the base of the neck accessed through the soundhole itself. The effect that a truss rod can have on how well your guitar plays absolutely cannot be overstated.
There are four major factors that a property adjusted truss rod can influence:. Neck relief is a measurement of how straight and true a guitar neck is a neck with a large up bow will have excessive relief. String action is nothing more than how high off the fretboard your strings are.
Typically a low amount of relief therefore a straighter neck will allow for lower action. A combination of adjustments with the truss rod and also with the bridge is what it takes to get it where it feels best. That being said, you may struggle getting where you want to be without having your relief properly set.
For more on guitar action, check out our full guide. Low string action can often mean one very common annoyance — fret buzz. For this reason it is often recommended that there is always at least a minimal amount of neck relief as this will help counteract it, particularly on the lower frets. If you get fret buzz higher up the neck, then reducing the amount of relief may correct the problem along with, again, some minor tweaks at the bridge.
I think this is one of the best articles on the subject. Do you believe that you really have to make minor truss rod adjustments AND let your guitar sit overnight to let it adjust itself? It seems a bit ridiculous to me. This should mean virtually no risk of over-doing it. If your frets buzz above the 1st fret but nowhere else, add some slight relief by loosening the truss rod.
I learned the hard way, if your truss rod is acting up, take it to a skilled luthier. To properly adjust your truss rod, you need to use the properly sized tool. What size hex wrench do I need for a Taylor acoustic? Do all acoustic guitars use the same size? I just learned that yesterday. Is it really necessary to remove a neck if the truss rod screw is at the heel? Is there a special tool I can buy to adjust my truss rod with the neck in-place?
Any plans to write a follow-up article on what to do when you have a broken truss rod? A lot of us need to know what we can do. Loosening the truss rod will allow the strings to create more pull on the neck. If nothing is happening while adjusting your truss rod, it may be a dual-action truss rod. Continue to make adjustments and you will eventually see changes in the neck.
Can you explain how to adjust a double-action truss rod with an adjustment wheel? Thank you for writing this! Luckily I have an inexpensive guitar that is teaching me these helpful skills. Do you know of a way to remove and replace the nut from a dual-action truss rod?
If you are comfortable taking on the project as a DIY effort, you should look into the truss rod rescue tool sold by StewMac. Your article helped me to understand how to change my truss rod tension to adjust my string height. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Find Us. Guitar Truss Rod Adjustment Guide This article provides a top-level view of how a truss rod works and how to adjust a truss rod.
Adjusting a guitar truss rod is a key part of maintaining optimal playability. Single Action Truss Rod Single-action truss rods are the most common truss rod in commercially manufactured instruments. Dual Action Truss Rod A dual-action, aka double-action, truss rod enables you to make neck adjustments in both directions up or down.
Single Action Truss Rod vs. Dual Action Truss Rod. Jan Kulczyk December 25, Reply I discovered your site on bing and read a few of your early posts. Jim Carson December 24, Reply Hello. I am loving it!! Will come back again. Robert Culpin November 26, Reply Fantastic blog! Conner Blume April 1, Reply Nice article. Rich November 4, Reply Does the neck bow upward toward the strings? Danny Rambin April 1, Reply Go easy when adjusting your truss rod.
Eleanor Tompkins October 19, Reply Why bother? James Moore October 18, Reply I tried to replace my broken truss rod. Geoff Parsons October 15, Reply Good article that covers the basics in decent detail.
Kristen Toome October 14, Reply This has always been confusing for me. Hunter Graft October 13, Reply This is an easy thing to do. Greg October 20, Reply So just curious….. Caleb Winters October 12, Reply When the truss rod is at the bottom of the neck do you turn it the same way to add or decrease relief? Marketing August 22, Reply Yes. The direction of turn and effects are the same as a headstock end adjustment. Sal Caruthers October 8, Reply I have an old acoustic guitar without a truss rod.
Linton Parsons October 6, Reply I snapped off my truss rod nut when trying to make what I thought was a routine adjustment. Stacy Welch October 5, Reply Go easy on adjusting a truss rod. Val Fortney October 3, Reply My luthier always gives my truss rod a full turn to loosen and then reset when he does a setup.
Zac Cramer October 2, Reply Good article that is easy to understand. Debra Mercer September 30, Reply How do you hold a guitar to adjust the truss rod when it is hard to turn?
Van Halen Guy September 29, Reply If you can learn how to do this you are well on your way to doing your own setup. Marion Blackstone September 28, Reply Good stuff. I really like the articles on your blog. Phillip Malazzo September 28, Reply Well written, and easy to understand article. Thanks, guys! Spence Hawes September 27, Reply Why is everyone obsessed with adjusting their truss rod as some type of cure-all?
Lee Walters September 26, Reply Adjusting a truss rod requires more tools than just a wrench. Lenny DeCarlo September 25, Reply Spot on with this write-up, including the cautions about do it only if you are mechanically inclined.
Drake McGill September 25, Reply Reverb is a great place to find replacement truss rod tools at a decent price. Jeremy Howell September 23, Reply Well written but maybe add a few graphics or photos.
Rosalyn Neile September 22, Reply Is there a good source to buy cheap truss rod tools? Hollister Frosh September 22, Reply What is the average cost of a truss rod repair? John Weisner September 20, Reply Warning about using the Phillips-head end of the standard Gibson truss rod wrench. Brian Lucas September 19, Reply I bought an aluminum straightedge on eBay which helps a lot for checking the relief on my neck. Angie Cruz September 19, Reply Do I need to adjust my truss rod once in a while or only when I get a guitar setup?
Kevin Redmond September 18, Reply AllParts is a good source for replacement truss rods and truss rod nuts. Walter Cropp September 17, Reply Good info, well written. Amanda Manheim September 16, Reply Too much risk for me. Carolyn Deeds September 15, Reply Can you use the truss rod to compensate for the extra tension of heavy strings?
Quinton Varner September 14, Reply I recommend carrying a truss rod adjustment tool in your case, especially if you take your guitar on air travel. Vlad Popov September 13, Reply Is there a ratio of the amount you turn a truss rod to the amount a neck is changed? Steph Cagle September 12, Reply Great article! I took your advice and did it myself. Feeling proud, lol. Thom Maddox September 11, Reply If my truss rod Telecaster is adjusted at the base of the neck do I turn it the opposite way than if it was at the headstock?
Eddie Telfair August 28, Reply Truss rod adjustment is still confusing to me. Frances LaFleur August 27, Reply The tip to always loosen the truss rod a bit before tightening it is brilliant. Erica Gunter August 26, Reply If you have a broken truss rod should you replace it or buy a new neck? Joseph Cruz August 26, Reply Nice writing.
Can you translate a copy? Thanks and keep it up! Dwight Fisher August 7, Reply Good job presenting the information on this topic. Ed Fortier July 27, Reply I sent a link to this article to several of my friends. They all said it was a big help. Stephen Kuchta July 17, Reply Do you believe that you really have to make minor truss rod adjustments AND let your guitar sit overnight to let it adjust itself?
Tory Whitaker June 28, Reply This article makes me want to go adjust my truss rod just to do it, lol. I understand the truss rod thing much better now. Bo Smoak May 27, Reply If your frets buzz above the 1st fret but nowhere else, add some slight relief by loosening the truss rod.
Once this amount of time has passed you can check the relief once again and then turn the truss rod if necessary to make further adjustments. Checking relief on your guitar is very simple. Below we have given you an overview of how to check this on both electric and bass guitars. To check electric guitars relief you will want to take the top string and fret it at the first and last fret.
You can capo the first string if you are having trouble. Find the seventh fret and then measure the space between the top of this fret and the bottom of the string.
Fret the top string once again and then fret it at the first and fifteenth fret. You can capo the first string here if you want to. Count to the seventh or eighth fret and then measure the distance from the bottom of the string up to the seventh fret. This is your relief measurement. Normally you will want to be between. The amount there is will be completely up to you. After making adjustments like these you will need to check and then adjust the intonation.
If you are concerned that you cannot turn or tighten the truss rod then you will have to consult a professional such as a guitar technician or a luthier. You will need a few tools to adjust your truss rod and truss rod nut properly. Not every tool on our list is needed so make sure you check what kind of truss rod you have. You can get a box wrench, a hex wrench, a screwdriver or a nut driver.
Using the wrong sized wrench can cause untold damage to your truss rod nut. You must always make sure you are using the right sized wrench with the right shape that matches the truss rod nut. There are lots of tutorial videos online as well as articles such as this that can help you learn these skills. But of course you will need the right amount of experience to become confident in the process.
You may also end up breaking the truss rod cover, messing up the string height or damaging the truss rod barrel nut.
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