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Guitar Truss Rod Adjustment part 1

SETUP AND ADJUSTMENT MADE EASY

Weather, speciflcally temperature and humidity, may have a dramatic impact on the way your instrument plays. All instrument woods expand and contract with seasonal Auctuations in temperature and humidity, and naturally, string height and playing action are affected. Depending on the climate where you live, your instrument may need routine adjustments a few times a year. Fender®/Squier®/Olympia™ instruments have several points of adjustment which are there to control the effects of these environmental changes, and more impor­ tantly, these features allow you to tailor the action of the instrument to your own personal playing style.

Note: The following factory specifications are minimum specs, and are meant only to guide you. They should not to be taken as hard and fast rules. If you want your action higher, set it higher!

 

Truss Rod Adjustment

 

String tension exerts a tremendous bending force on the neck of

 

the instrument. The adjustable steel truss rod in the neck employs a counter-force to the pull of the strings. If these two opposing forces are not in harmony with each other, the result will be a poorly play­ ing instrument.

Note: A truss rod that is too loose wiJ/ result in a concave neck bow and high action (Figure A). A truss rod that is too tight will result in a convex neck bow and buzzing strings (Figure B).

 

 

Figure A. Concave "Bow" (Exaggerated View)

 

 

Figure B. Convex "Hump" (Exaggerated View)

Figure C. Measuring relief with Feeler gauge

To check the adjustment of the truss rod, first tune your instrument

to pitch. Next, install a capo at the 1 st fret. For electric guitars and basses, depress the "E" string at the last fret. For acoustic guitars depress the "E" string at the lAth fret. With the feeler gauge, check the gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the 8th fret (Figure Cl.

Note: It's a good idea to loosen the strings prior to making any truss rod adjustment. If you don't have feeler gauges, don't give up. You can approximate the gap, which is about the thickness of a regular business card and a piece of paper put together.

 

Instrument Fingerboard Radius Relief at 8th Fret
Electric Guitars 9.5" .010" to .012"
Acoustic Guitars 12" .008" to .010"
Electric Basses 9.5" .01A"
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