I just adjusted a truss rod for the first time

ibanezrocks

ibanezrocks

New member
After my Ibanez noodles signature had sat in the case for awhile it seemed it had really high action, so a few days ago I read up a bit more on the internet, just to check I had the basic information right, and decided to adjust the truss rod myself to straighten the neck as it had too much relief. I also lowered the bridge a bit, and now I must say I am quite pleased with the results, plays ALMOST as good as my SG, and is probably set up as good as possible aside from the intonation, and plays as easily as it ever has since I put 11s on it way back in the day (last summer). I haven't been posting as much lately, as Ive had my hands full deciding which guitar to play next. :D

I don't know the point to this thread. Perhaps I'll tackle the intonation next.
 
Glad to hear it went well. I've considered buying a bunch of $100 electrics and practicing on them. Setting the action, maybe even trying a fret dress.
 
Intonation can be a pain in the ass... I had to redo the intonation on my 5 string bass awhile back. It took about an hour, but the end results were awesome! There is nothing like being in tune all the way up the neck!
Let us know how it turns out if you do it!
 
Rokket said:
Intonation can be a pain in the ass... I had to redo the intonation on my 5 string bass awhile back. It took about an hour, but the end results were awesome! There is nothing like being in tune all the way up the neck!
Let us know how it turns out if you do it!
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This is where you learn that a low B string is really not something you need. It is, to put it simply, evil.

Tuners have a really hard time with notes that low, even Strobe tuners. I HATE intonating 5 strings.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
I find it funny how many guitarists out there are afraid to set up their own guitars. The only thing I haven't done many times is intonation, but even then, if I wanted to do it, I could and know technically how it should work.

It's crazy the number of guys I've heard of taking a guitar with a floyd rose to a shop because they changed string gauges or tunings and the bridge doesn't sit right anymore. They'll pay money over and over again instead of just thinking of how the whole mechanism works and trying it for themselves until they get it right.

Congrats on doing it yourself.
 
-=¤willhaven¤=- said:
They'll pay money over and over again instead of just thinking of how the whole mechanism works and trying it for themselves until they get it right.
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That would be because you can cause serious damage to your guitar if you do things wrong, particularly with truss rod adjustments. We have one in the shop right now with a broken truss rod which is almost certainly because someone over tightened it. That is a $500 repair, minimum.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
We have one in the shop right now with a broken truss rod which is almost certainly because someone over tightened it. That is a $500 repair, minimum.
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Probably a stupid question, but can't you just buy a new neck (bolt on, strat style) for about $250 if you jack up your truss rod? Obviously, acoustics/glue ons/neck-throughs would be much more costly to repair. Just wonderin'.
 
Thats the thing I was worried about, I'd always thought I'd do the rest of the set up myself, but would leave the truss rod alone, after having done it not only was I pleased with the results, I was pleased that I didn't screw it up horribly. As for the intonation, I have done it before on this guitar and on my SG (which came horribly set up, thanks Gibson :p ), but I thought I'd try to get it closer again before I think about getting that professionally done.
 
Light said:
That would be because you can cause serious damage to your guitar if you do things wrong, particularly with truss rod adjustments. We have one in the shop right now with a broken truss rod which is almost certainly because someone over tightened it. That is a $500 repair, minimum.
Click to expand...
A truss rod just doesn't snap out of nowhere(unless your rod is faulty to begin with). If the guitar needs an adjustment, and you give it what it needs in small increments without using a lot of force, you should never break a truss rod.

If you can't properly tighten the truss rod and the guitar is still unplayable, the truss rod might as well be broken. Then I guess you have to get a heat bending to help compensate. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.

All in all I've only seen one quality made instrument with this problem. A Fender P-Bass that my friend and I struggled to tighten into shape. He then sold it almost immediately. Who wants that trouble?

Guitars aren't made of glass. I'm surprised most guys don't get it set up, check the relief if it's where they want it, make a note of it. Then, when it gets out of whack, give the rod a 1/4 or 1/2 turn and see if it made it better or worse. Once they know which way to turn to get the result they want, it's just a matter of turning it until it gets where it was before.

It's not like a guitar shop has some magic powder they sprinkle on the neck to make it move into the proper shape. They just turn a wrench just like the guitar owner can.

The only way you can run into trouble is if you aren't careful enough to not force the rod, and if you think you want a 1/2" reverse bow. :p
 
scrubs said:
Probably a stupid question, but can't you just buy a new neck (bolt on, strat style) for about $250 if you jack up your truss rod? Obviously, acoustics/glue ons/neck-throughs would be much more costly to repair. Just wonderin'.
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It's an old Gibson archtop.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
-=¤willhaven¤=- said:
It's not like a guitar shop has some magic powder they sprinkle on the neck to make it move into the proper shape. They just turn a wrench just like the guitar owner can.
Click to expand...


Nothing magic, no, but we (in my shop) have been doing this for 35 years at an average of 2000 guitars a year. We have learned a thing or two.

And you would be amazed at how often I see guitars which are other wise very nice come in with broken truss rods. Sure, it is more common with the Framuses and Silvertones, but they are all over the place. Some times it is worth fixing, frequently it is not.

Oh, and heat pressing a neck almost never works. The right repair, if it is financially practical, is a complete refret with a lot of truing of the fingerboard. The heat press may get the neck back into place, but more often than not, it takes six months for it to be back where it was in the first place.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
Nothing magic, no, but we (in my shop) have been doing this for 35 years at an average of 2000 guitars a year. We have learned a thing or two.

And you would be amazed at how often I see guitars which are other wise very nice come in with broken truss rods. Sure, it is more common with the Framuses and Silvertones, but they are all over the place. Some times it is worth fixing, frequently it is not.

Oh, and heat pressing a neck almost never works. The right repair, if it is financially practical, is a complete refret with a lot of truing of the fingerboard. The heat press may get the neck back into place, but more often than not, it takes six months for it to be back where it was in the first place.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Click to expand...
I have never done the heat trick with a 2 piece neck but have done my maple strat. I wrapped the neck with small towells and built it up about 2" all the way along, I then poured boiling water on the towells and gave it a couple of minutes and using a preset clamp tensioned the neck to press the fretboard to a packer I had placed under it so as to prevent it going too far. Whilst still clamped I adjusted the truss rod to a light tension and let it cool, I had removed the towells at the time of clamping.
As Light said about 6 months later I had to do it again, but it has been several years, roughly 4 years, since I did it.
I must point out that I have had experience with steam/water bending of wood as I built an 18 foot canoe some years back and all the strakes were done this way(towells) but we then did the same on another canoe and used pipe capped at one end in a fire with water in the pipe and a screw on restrictor to build up steam pressure but not too high a pressure and that worked very well too.
Clive
I would not be too keen to try this on a glued fretboard.
 
Clive Hugh said:
I have never done the heat trick with a 2 piece neck but have done my maple strat. I wrapped the neck with small towells and built it up about 2" all the way along, I then poured boiling water on the towells and gave it a couple of minutes and using a preset clamp tensioned the neck to press the fretboard to a packer I had placed under it so as to prevent it going too far. Whilst still clamped I adjusted the truss rod to a light tension and let it cool, I had removed the towells at the time of clamping.
As Light said about 6 months later I had to do it again, but it has been several years, roughly 4 years, since I did it.
I must point out that I have had experience with steam/water bending of wood as I built an 18 foot canoe some years back and all the strakes were done this way(towells) but we then did the same on another canoe and used pipe capped at one end in a fire with water in the pipe and a screw on restrictor to build up steam pressure but not too high a pressure and that worked very well too.
Clive
I would not be too keen to try this on a glued fretboard.
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We have an aluminum heating element designed for doing this, and it is (at best) an OK solution for a cheep guitar when the customer doesn't want to shop for a new guitar. We usually advise they go shoping.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
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