koula901 Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 for the first time. All this humidity is making my strings sharp. Do I need an alan wrench to do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunote Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 If your strings are sharp, just tune them down. There's no need to adjust the truss rod unless you're getting some buzzing due to the a change in neck relief. Are you getting some buzzing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Ron Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I agree with Blunote, tho getting comfortable with minor truss rod tweaks to get the exact relief you are looking for is a good thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 well, not only that, but the action is way too low. my guitar tech said to loosen the truss rod a little bit to bring the action up. it's all this humidity. but not sure I can do it tonight because it seems i might need a 5/16" truss rod wrench, which I don't have. any suggestion about where to order one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 I think the action got too low from the neck pulling away from the body, due to the humidity. the thought is, loosening up the truss a little bit will allow the neck to come forward, and perhaps then the action will snap back to where it was before. I know I never set the action this low before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 is this what I need to adjust the truss rod? A 5/16" hex wrench, for my 150? They have them at stew mac. Since I don't have this tool right now, I'll just loosen the strings for a few days and see if the neck moves. There was no buzzing, just sharp, and all of a sudden, the action got too low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim W Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I'd read up a bit on it; it's not that hard. A little at a time is good. http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musician/GenSetup/TrussRods/TrussRodAdj/tradj.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulk1 Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 is this what I need to adjust the truss rod? A 5/16" hex wrench, for my 150? They have them at stew mac. Since I don't have this tool right now, I'll just loosen the strings for a few days and see if the neck moves. There was no buzzing, just sharp, and all of a sudden, the action got too low. I haven't had to adjust any of my guitars lately. But .. doesn't Heritage use an Allen wrench? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 No, there's a nut inside, that needs a hex wrench. I believe you use allen wrenches for strats and teles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TONEHOUND Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Wow, Are you sure the bridge isn't just set a little low? Have you sighted down the neck by holding the guitar up to a light source? If your are sure raising the bridge slightly wont help out you can follow these instructions for truss rod adjustment. If not hold the guitar up so the headstock is nearest to the light source and look from the end of the body along the neck to see if you have any bow ( relief ) and if so note which way the bow occurs... Ideally, we all would like to have our necks as flat as can be but many guitars will not allow this condition without some buzzing. The relief will want to be ever so slight from a practically flat ( straight ) condition with any bow allowing a slightly larger gap that will begin to eliminate any buzzing. Usually tightening the truss rod flattens the neck profile if excessive bow ( gap ) exists. Likewise loosening the truss rod with introduce bow if the neck is either flat or is bowing forward ( too little gap usually near the midpoint of the neck ) so you need to know where things are before you tighten or loosen the truss rod nut.... Do this inspection first and post what you see....I'll hang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flying Bird Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 It would look like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 yes, indeed. or, this: But, actually, what's cool about the one you posted, Bird, is there's a phillips screw driver on one end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunote Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Koula, A change in the neck due to humidity can make the action seem a bit lower. And I suppose, if the action used to be good and now it's too low and you've made no other adjustements, then loosening the truss rod a bit could bring it back to the action you want. However, it's much more likely that the bridge height adjustment may have gotten changed during a string change or when you polished the the guitar. In that case you're better adjusting the bridge height. To check the neck bow, lay the guitar down and fret it at the 1st and 17th fret where the neck meets the body and measure clearance at the 8th fret. Most recomendations I've seen call for less than 1/64" clearance. I've probably got twice that on some of my guitars. The point is, you shouldn't need much neck relief; certainly not the amount required to appreciably change your action. Setting string height is different. That's usually measured at the 12 fret, or mid scale. Depending on your playing style, string heights of 3/64 -3/32" are normal. It depends on your playing style and preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunote Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Just want to add: The string height is adjusted at the bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flying Bird Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 .... But, actually, what's cool about the one you posted, Bird, is there's a phillips screw driver on one end. Dat's why I'm the brains of dis' operation........ I had one in my 357 case when it came from the factory. I need to order one for each of my guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 HFB's pic and yours of the T-bar wrench are the right types to use. With these, it's easy to see how much of a turn you have applied. The socket needs to be a 'thin wall' type as there's not much clearance at the sides of the hex nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitArtMan Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 You don't use the truss rod to adjust the action. You use the truss rod to adjust the straightness of the neck. You adjust the action at the bridge and nut. Luthier extraordinaire Ron Thorn has a great little acronym for setting up guitars: TRAIN T - tune R - adjust the truss rod A - adjust the action I - adjust the intonation N - noodle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmeyrick Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was the line from an old Blues song, maybe a Blind Melon Chitlin' classic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Ron Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 yes, indeed. or, this: But, actually, what's cool about the one you posted, Bird, is there's a phillips screw driver on one end. I prefer this style as you don't have to worry about clearance between the strings. Actually, I use a standard socket on an extension. I did grind the outer lip of the socket so that it fits the tighter truss rod recesses with ease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Thanks, everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Let us know the final result... I typically only adjust the truss rod for high action after the 6th or 7th fret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was the line from an old Blues song, maybe a Blind Melon Chitlin' classic... I'm gonna go downtown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HRB853370 Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Heritage and Gibson guitars ship with the hex wrench that has the philips screwdriver on the opposite end. I just adjusted my truss rod on my Heritage 535. The action was already low, but the E and A strings were buzzing slightly. No bridge adjustment needed. I adjusted it 1/8 of a turn at a time. I had to do three 1/8 turns to eliminate the buzz. Just be careful and go slow as is reiterated constantly on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212Mavguy Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 One thing I've noticed from doing truss rod adjustments is a settling in period after a significant adjustment is made. +1 on the OP thang abut humidity, increase/decrease can cause neck to change more than a little bit. My 555 had a tiny, tiny hump where the fretboard met the body when I first got it, to fix that I redid the setup and stuck in a humidifier in the guitar case, one of those round black ones with the clay inside, put four 1/4 inch holes in the lid for more effective dispersion of moisture. Year later, hump gone, been gone for quite some time now. Dry wood can contract over time. Could also have been the hump was contributed to from improperly set truss rod, too loose causing the problem because that thin neck can flex except from where it is attached to the body. Pulling the neck back by adjusting the truss rod first then adjusting the bridge height helped greatly in this particular instance. I discovered on my own the order that works best for me, exactly like the acronym posted earlier in this thread. I have a 12 string acoustic that the TR is very hard to turn when strings are under tension, so I loosen all the strings to floppy, make the adjustment and tune strings back to pitch and check neck relief. It has an Allen Socket that might strip if too difficult to turn. I adjust truss rod if I change tuning, but nowadays leave tuning alone and leave it at standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Heritage and Gibson guitars ship with the hex wrench that has the philips screwdriver on the opposite end. I just adjusted my truss rod on my Heritage 535. The action was already low, but the E and A strings were buzzing slightly. No bridge adjustment needed. I adjusted it 1/8 of a turn at a time. I had to do three 1/8 turns to eliminate the buzz. Just be careful and go slow as is reiterated constantly on this forum. Mine are all used Heritages except my 137, which didn't ship with a hex wrench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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