2 questions actually: Truss rod and Action

[artCROSS]

I have a few electric guitars that suffer from serious fret buzzing. I wanted to adjust the truss rod on them to eliminate the problem, but every time I hear someone mention this, they say they would rather have a professional do it. Now, before I attempt it myself, should I be that concerned? Is there anything special I should know besides left loosey righty tighty?

Also, my acoustic guitar's action seems quite high....higher than when I bought it. I don't know how to fix it, b/c I don't know how to adjust the bridge (I'm an electric guy. I'm used to just doing a few rotations on some screw on ending it). Is it possible w/ acoustic? Thanks in advance

 

[gvarko]

Truss rod etc...

I have a few electric guitars that suffer from serious fret buzzing. I wanted to adjust the truss rod on them to eliminate the problem, but every time I hear someone mention this, they say they would rather have a professional do it. Now, before I attempt it myself, should I be that concerned? Is there anything special I should know besides left loosey righty tighty?

Also, my acoustic guitar's action seems quite high....higher than when I bought it. I don't know how to fix it, b/c I don't know how to adjust the bridge (I'm an electric guy. I'm used to just doing a few rotations on some screw on ending it). Is it possible w/ acoustic? Thanks in advance

Here is how I approach truss adjustments:

With the strings on the guitar, press down on the top E string on the 1st fret and down near the 14th fret. Look at the distance under the metal fret wire in the middle of the neck. There should be enough room to slide a thin sheet of paper under. If not you need to add some neck relief. Take a small turn clockwise, tighten to add relief. Make small adjustments at a time and let the guitar sit overnight to adapt to the adjustment. Then check and repeat until perfect. Don't rush this process.

Do adjust the action lower on your acoustic you need to remove the saddle from the bridge and sand it down a bit..

 

[Imaduck]

When adjusting your truss rod, it's important to realize that there are specific measurements you're aiming for -- you're not just looking for when the buzzing stops or it feels good (many times it takes combination of corrections to stop buzz/fix playability). There are a million-and-one books, websites, and threads on this board about this, so just google it and check it out.

Adjusting the action on an acoustic is usually a pretty tricky process. You may be forced to file down or add shims to the bridge. Point being, if you don't know what you're doing, take it to a pro. He can set up the truss rod and everything else for you too.

 

[Treeline]

With an acoustic guitar, you really need to know why the action is rising before you can feel comfortable with the best way to lower it. My guitar is humidity sensitive and the neck moves in the winter. The belly drops as well, just enough to mess up the setup. The best resolution for that guitar is for me to watch the humidity like a hawk; the other thing that works is the temporary fix - tightening the truss rod a bit in the dead of winter and loosening it in the spring as humidity is restored. If I had a better room or house humidifier, it would probably not be as much of a problem, and I've knocked it pretty much by keeping the case humidified through the winter.

But if the problem was a broken or loose brace under the belly, allowing the bridge to rise up and raising the action, the problem could look the same, yet fooling around with the truss rod might be the very last thing you want to be doing; it could make the problem much worse. The thing is to fix the brace. That won't be apparent from the outside unless there is an extreme problem or you start hearing body buzzing. So take it to a good setup person to look over and figure out why it's doing what it's doing.

 

[artCROSS]

Thanks for the replies. I actually think I will take it to a pro, as I don't want to risk anything. The bridge seems to be rising...there are what appears to be cracks under the finish, and the whole bridge seems like its being pulled upward, leaving a hump where the bridge is...I dont' think that's normal. But I would like to get further educated on this (kinda like how I like to know how my car works, since I drive it so much). Google, here I come.