I hadn't thought about it much, but this seem about right. I've worked my way through lights' to 11's, now up to 12-14-18--52's over the years on my 355. Adjust at the bridge, refit the nut for width and height in some cases. I don't recall having to touch the tension rod on my guitars.
kevin6string
New member
It is because the neck was set up for medium gauge strings. Therefore the lighter gauge strings are not pulling enough on the neck ( truss rod adjustment ) to keep things 1) in tune 2) strings are probably snapping off from a fret that may have a normal wear burr in it... you would be surprized what can snap a string... i was snapping .026 gauge wound dstrings left and right and swore i had a burr in the sddle ..NOPE.. i am an agressive country picker and often angle the pick and they wear down through a given set and will actually cut a string... yes this does happen... but in your case get a qualified tech tha can make the proper adjustment and double check to make sure you do not need a fret dressing as well "depending on where they are breaking" when you switch from 17 pound test to 4 lbs test fishing line with the drag all the way tight am 8 pound bass will snap off everytime... just saying it is the same principle with too much neck tension with lighter gauge strings... i appologize if i rambled on but i hope it helps
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
I'm curious how some people decide that they don't need to touch the truss rod when switching strings....?
Do you just just go by feel and general observation....or do you actually use a feeler gauge and *measure* the change in distance between the frets/neck and the string at the same mid-point position of the neck, when changing string gauges.....?
The thing about truss rod tension....there is no one exact number, so it could be anything say, from 0.2mm to 0.5mm for an electric guitar....but for a given guitar and your preferences, there will be an optimal number that you would want to maintain when changing string gauge...and without a feeler gauge or other precise way of measuring, it ends up being just guesstimating.
Of course....if the "optimal" number for your guitar is off by 0.1mm or 0.2mm, you may not be obviously bothered by it when playing, and therefore you assume that there is no need to adjust the truss rod...but that doesn't mean that string gauge changes have no effect or that you don't need to readjust the truss rod and maintain your optimal number, which gives the best feel/play.
I've always adjusted the truss rod when I switched gauges...and there WAS always a small change in that fret/neck-to-string height in the bow of the neck when I switched gauges.
Going from light to heavier didn't seem as problematic, though enough of a change could cause intonation problems if th neck bowed more significantly....but if you go from heavier to lighter, the neck could go flatter and therefore cause more fret buzz in the upper/lower portions of the neck.
It does depend on the guitar/wood too....some react more, some less to minor tension changes....which is why a feeler gauge is an easy/precise way to check. I have a small blade feeler gauge from back in the days when car tune-ups and spark plug changes/adjustments where more common. These days, you go for over 100k miles and not need one....so that feeler gauge found a home in my guitar tool box several years ago, and it has just the right choice of feeler sizes for guitar work.
Hey...if you're happy with the guitar action/intonation regardless of any string gauge changes, and you don't want to be bothered checking it with feeler gauges and doing all that micro-adjusting....then leave it alone.
Do you just just go by feel and general observation....or do you actually use a feeler gauge and *measure* the change in distance between the frets/neck and the string at the same mid-point position of the neck, when changing string gauges.....?
The thing about truss rod tension....there is no one exact number, so it could be anything say, from 0.2mm to 0.5mm for an electric guitar....but for a given guitar and your preferences, there will be an optimal number that you would want to maintain when changing string gauge...and without a feeler gauge or other precise way of measuring, it ends up being just guesstimating.
Of course....if the "optimal" number for your guitar is off by 0.1mm or 0.2mm, you may not be obviously bothered by it when playing, and therefore you assume that there is no need to adjust the truss rod...but that doesn't mean that string gauge changes have no effect or that you don't need to readjust the truss rod and maintain your optimal number, which gives the best feel/play.
I've always adjusted the truss rod when I switched gauges...and there WAS always a small change in that fret/neck-to-string height in the bow of the neck when I switched gauges.
Going from light to heavier didn't seem as problematic, though enough of a change could cause intonation problems if th neck bowed more significantly....but if you go from heavier to lighter, the neck could go flatter and therefore cause more fret buzz in the upper/lower portions of the neck.
It does depend on the guitar/wood too....some react more, some less to minor tension changes....which is why a feeler gauge is an easy/precise way to check. I have a small blade feeler gauge from back in the days when car tune-ups and spark plug changes/adjustments where more common. These days, you go for over 100k miles and not need one....so that feeler gauge found a home in my guitar tool box several years ago, and it has just the right choice of feeler sizes for guitar work.
Hey...if you're happy with the guitar action/intonation regardless of any string gauge changes, and you don't want to be bothered checking it with feeler gauges and doing all that micro-adjusting....then leave it alone.
Bop Stop Studio
New member
Stellar post of saying nothing. Well done.
+1
XploZiveToyz
All American Un-American
LOL! An exercise in futility!Stellar post of saying nothing. Well done.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
There's enough info in the post for anyone that really reads it.
Simply pointing out to those that say string gauge changes don't require truss rod adjustments...and that unless you measure the fret/neck to string distance with a feeler gauge or other tool, you can't make the assumption that string gauge changes have no effect on the neck and the need for truss rod adjustments.
Simply pointing out to those that say string gauge changes don't require truss rod adjustments...and that unless you measure the fret/neck to string distance with a feeler gauge or other tool, you can't make the assumption that string gauge changes have no effect on the neck and the need for truss rod adjustments.
XploZiveToyz
All American Un-American
Hell Miro, you're preaching to the choir! LOL! Every luthier, guitar tech I've ever talked to has recommended adjusting the truss rod when changing string gauges. Some guitars are manufactured with specific string gauges in mind and recommend not changing string gauges. I have a Gibson from the their custom shop that's like the aforementioned.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Then I'm glad we agree.
Actually...I wasn't trying to preach to the choir.
It was that I noticed a couple of people saying that you don't need to adjust the truss rod with string gauge changes. Someone even said "DON'T TOUCH" the truss rod unless the "neck is warped"...huh....WTF???.....
....so I was really asking THOSE people to explain how then do they measure the neck/string differences to reach those conclusions that you don't need to adjust the truss rod....?My initial post was directed to them.
muttley600
Banned
Please ignore this post....
Miro has a knack for making huge posts that ride the fence and don't actually say anything. It's an art. I do give him props for that.
muttley600
Banned
Yes but a lighter string for the same force applied will need more relief than a stiffer string because it will travel further for the same force applied.
Seriously guys.... I stop posting here for a while and you all start talking bollox again... What gives???
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
I don't know that you ever even read any posts longer than one sentance to know what's in them.
Like I said....there's plenty of info in the posts, and initially directed at the folks who said you don't need to adjust the truss rod.
muttley600
Banned
I'm curious how some people decide that they don't need to touch the truss rod when switching strings....?
Do you just just go by feel and general observation....or do you actually use a feeler gauge and *measure* the change in distance between the frets/neck and the string at the same mid-point position of the neck, when changing string gauges.....?
The thing about truss rod tension....there is no one exact number, so it could be anything say, from 0.2mm to 0.5mm for an electric guitar....but for a given guitar and your preferences, there will be an optimal number that you would want to maintain when changing string gauge...and without a feeler gauge or other precise way of measuring, it ends up being just guesstimating.
Of course....if the "optimal" number for your guitar is off by 0.1mm or 0.2mm, you may not be obviously bothered by it when playing, and therefore you assume that there is no need to adjust the truss rod...but that doesn't mean that string gauge changes have no effect or that you don't need to readjust the truss rod and maintain your optimal number, which gives the best feel/play.
I've always adjusted the truss rod when I switched gauges...and there WAS always a small change in that fret/neck-to-string height in the bow of the neck when I switched gauges.
Going from light to heavier didn't seem as problematic, though enough of a change could cause intonation problems if th neck bowed more significantly....but if you go from heavier to lighter, the neck could go flatter and therefore cause more fret buzz in the upper/lower portions of the neck.
It does depend on the guitar/wood too....some react more, some less to minor tension changes....which is why a feeler gauge is an easy/precise way to check. I have a small blade feeler gauge from back in the days when car tune-ups and spark plug changes/adjustments where more common. These days, you go for over 100k miles and not need one....so that feeler gauge found a home in my guitar tool box several years ago, and it has just the right choice of feeler sizes for guitar work.
Hey...if you're happy with the guitar action/intonation regardless of any string gauge changes, and you don't want to be bothered checking it with feeler gauges and doing all that micro-adjusting....then leave it alone.
I read two paragraphs and then quit...
tl/dr but largely speaking the feeler gauge you refer to should be your fingers and you ears.
Why are you like everyone else failing to recognize what the real problem is? It's nothing to do with truss rod or "feeler gauges"... It's to do with bridge pins popping out of their worn/ badly seated bridge pin holes..
You can have the last word...
I don't know that you ever even read any posts longer than one sentance to know what's in them.
Like I said....there's plenty of info in the posts, and initially directed at the folks who said you don't need to adjust the truss rod.
Don't start getting all mirohurt. I gave you a compliment.
muttley600
Banned
There's enough info in the post for anyone that really reads it.
Simply pointing out to those that say string gauge changes don't require truss rod adjustments...and that unless you measure the fret/neck to string distance with a feeler gauge or other tool, you can't make the assumption that string gauge changes have no effect on the neck and the need for truss rod adjustments.
This post is also bollox...
muttley600
Banned
Correct. And it will be at the same tension if you shorten the string length by fretting.
The problem is not truss rods or string tension. Hang on I'll post that in big letters....
muttley600
Banned
The problem is not truss rods or string tension.
muttley600
Banned
Then I'm glad we agree.
Actually...I wasn't trying to preach to the choir.
It was that I noticed a couple of people saying that you don't need to adjust the truss rod with string gauge changes. Someone even said "DON'T TOUCH" the truss rod unless the "neck is warped"...huh....WTF???.....
My initial post was directed to them.
Some times, in fact often, you do not need to adjust the truss rod. You definitely do not need feeler gauges. You are not gaping spark plugs....
That is not the problem here. It has nothing to do with the truss rod.
The problem is not truss rods or string tension. It is bridge pins popping out of worn or badly reamed bridge pin holes...
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Maybe if you DID read my earlier post....you would comprehend that I wasn't responding to the original topic of the popping strings....but rather specifically to the comments about the need for truss rod adjustments with string gauge changes, and I asked a question to those people who said you don't need to adjust truss rods with string gauge changes.
If you weren't too focused on just making some negative comments in my direction....you would see that the topic segued a bit to truss rods/string gauges in general.
I'm sure you'll have more to say though....