(You can play during the adjustment time.) Some are soldered on. Threading both ends allows the truss rod to either increase or decrease neck relief before running out of adjustment. Sight the neck to see what condition it’s in. If it’s in a back-bow, loosen the nut until the straightedge lays flat on the frets. Doing this sometimes also reveals loose or uneven frets that need attention. Fender's most popular pick shape in different materials. Follow these steps and you’ll have your axe playing sweet! Turn the truss rod to the right to tighten it and straighten the neck. At this point, I like to loosen and remove the truss rod nut to clean and lubricate the threads before making any adjustments. This way, you’ll know how smoothly the nut will turn, and you’ll have a better feel for it when you do your adjustments. If the frets are too uneven to read with a straightedge, a notched straightedge sits over the frets, letting you read the wood of the fingerboard. For those players, a bit of relief is a good idea. The trick is knowing when you’ve got the neck the way you want it. If it’s in a back-bow, loosen the nut until the straightedge lays flat on the frets. BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING TO YOUR TRUSS ROD you need to have a reasonably good understanding of truss rods. Is your neck up-bowed or back-bowed? Insert the Allen wrench into the slot in the truss rod. The truss rods on Epiphone acoustic guitars are accessible through the sound hole where the neck joins the body of the guitar. You don't want to turn your truss rod more than a 1/4 turn at a time. Look for a gap under the string to see if you have an up-bow. This way, you’ll know how smoothly the nut will turn, and you’ll have a better feel for it when you do your adjustments. How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great! With a properly functioning truss rod, you probably won’t need more than 1/8-turn in either direction to get what you’re after. To adjust the truss rod, you’ll need to turn the nut a quarter turn at a time, enabling the neck to adjust after each turn. Now you’re ready to reinstall the nut and return it to its original position using your alignment marks. Keep the grease off of the exposed wood. If it rises with some relief, tighten the nut until the straightedge lays as flat as possible on the frets. Adjust the truss rod another 1/8 turn or less if necessary. Sight the neck to see what condition it’s in. Loosen the nut if the neck is back-bowed. This’ll give you a good idea of the neck’s current state. Adjust the truss rod with an 1/8 inch Allen wrench. When adjusting a truss rod, in either direction, you are changing the force applied to the rod. When a quality guitar leaves the factory, the truss rod is adjusted according to the maker’s taste in setup specs. Build the pedal that redefined overdrive. The necessary truss-rod adjustment depends on which way the neck bows: The neck of most guitars has what’s known as a truss rod, which is a one- or two-piece adjustable metal rod that goes down the inside of the center of the neck. By Dan Erlewine. You might also want to check out the setup specs of famous players in the last chapter of How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great! Mark the adjusting nut to indicate your starting point, and to show how far the nut gets turned. Whichever setup you prefer, a straight neck is a good starting point. The truss rods on Epiphone acoustic guitars are accessible through the sound hole where the neck joins the body of the guitar. Keep the grease off of the exposed wood. This might not apply in your case: not all truss rod nuts are removable. Find the right Truss Rod Wrench size needed in a database of over 75 guitar and bass brands including Fender, PRS, Gibson, Martin, Ibanez, Taylor, Jackson, Takamine, Schecter, Yamaha, Breedlove and … After adjusting the rod I’ll usually let the instrument “settle” into the adjustment for a few hours and then I’ll evaluate it again and tweak it if necessary. DON'T MISS A BEAT, sign up for StewMac news, Cyber Monday Sale! Don't be nervous about adjusting that truss rod! Tip This might not apply in your case: not all truss rod nuts are removable. Tune the guitar to pitch and hold the guitar in the playing position (not laying on its back), then use an 18" precision straightedge to see if the neck’s straight. Tighten the truss rod adjusting nut to straighten a neck that has an up-bow. Follow these steps and you’ll have your axe playing sweet! 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