t h e ga s

station

Fix Your GuiTAr

ProPerly Set
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Top Tip!
your truSS rod Tweaking the tr
can be confus
this simple rule
Loosen the rod
forward curve,
ussrod
ing, so keep
in mind:
to add

Got truss issues? Heres a guide to setting and tighten the

rod to introduc
resistance
e more

maintaining your guitar necks relief

Words: Jack Ellis

T
he humble truss set-up - whats worse is the
rod might seem a neck will move with humidity
bit intimidating to and temperature too so its
the uninitiated, but worth keeping an eye on it.
its not really Weve all heard horror
anything to worry about. In stories, and yes it is possible to
truth its simply a very handy break a truss rod. If that does
part of your guitar whose job happen thats bad news, but
it is to control the general fret not avoiding it is easy.
curvature of your neck. As Dont apply loads of pressure
Meet Your expert
the neck is a long and skinny on the truss rod, the odd Jack ellis runs Jacks
piece of timber, fighting the creaking is normally okay but Instrument Services
pull of six strings is a lot to if its getting harder and
what you need: from his workshop in
Fresh set of your The correct size Skill level Manchester. In his career
ask for - the truss rod allows harder to turn thats a chosen strings truss rod tool for Intermediate he has worked on
thousands of instruments,
us to fight back. warning. Well show you how String cutters your guitar from simple fixes and
The truss rod setting (ie to check your progress with a Tuner Automotive upgrades, to complete
Two capos feeler gauge rebuilds. For more info, see:
curvature of the neck) is feeler gauge to stay out of www.jacksinstrument
PH1 Screwdriver
critical for the entire guitars trouble - TGs got your back. services.com

ToTal GuiTar May 2017

 fix your guitar

1 Well, where is it then? We know the truss rod is inside the neck but the adjustment
nut can be in one of two places, at the headstock end or at the body end. You may
have a decorative truss rod cover, a mysterious hole or the dreaded body-end one
2 Its very important that you have the right tool for the job. Your truss rod
adjustment nut may have an allen key, a cross head, a small brass nut or the rarer
spoke hub type (as found on Stingray basses). Look in the pockets of your case, your
(top right) which means having to take the neck off to adjust it! guitar often comes with the right tool for the job.

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3 On the Ibanez RG were using as a test subject, the truss rods under the truss
rod cover (no surprise!). Weve removed the locking nut string clamps and retainer
bar to de-clutter it. This truss rod adjuster is a brass nut (which is the same as most
4 Its time to fit your chosen pack o strings and wind them up to the tuning youre
after. You are free to use any tuning, but remember that the gauge of string and
the pitch youre after will present a certain tension on the neck. If in the future you
Gibsons, too), and it will require a 7mm box spanner. want to go up or down a size of strings, youll need tweak the truss rod to suit.

5 Attach the two capos at the 1st and 15th frets. This allows you to use the string
as a straight edge, which will show up the curvature (or lack of) in the neck.
Attaching the capos here takes the added height of the nut and the height of the
6 We will measure the gap between the string and the fret top at 6th and 7th fret.
Heres an example of an exaggerated slack truss rod setting with a large gap
between 7th fret and the string. This would make a great slide guitar setup but a
bridge out of the equation so you can be confident. very poor shredding action!

May 2017 ToTal GuiTar

 t h e ga s
station

7 If youre thinking, Er what gap mate? this may be because your neck is already
bent into a back bow. This pic shows a naughty truss rod setting that is way over
tight. The strings are already touching the fret tops meaning they will not play without
8 The mantra righty tighty, lefty loosey applies here. Turn your truss rod adjuster
nut clockwise and you will add more pressure onto the neck pulling it into back
bow. Turn it anti-clockwise and you will loosen the truss rod allowing the strings to
fret buzzing. This truss rod setting needs loosening to get the necessary forward bow. pull the neck into a forward bow. Some forward bow is needed for sure.

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9 How do you know when youve got it right though? Yes, well need the neck to bow
forward a little. You cant have a flat truss rod setting because the string vibrates
in an elliptical pattern, we need to mirror this to some degree. Use the 0.006-inch
10 For this player who is using standard tuning and 0.011s weve gone for the
James Bond setting 0.007 inches. Feed the feeler gauge in between the string
and 7th fret. Make sure the feeler gauge can pass without lifting the string up. If its
(0.15mm) to 0.012-inch (0.30mm) feeler gauges for this. got too much gap tighten the truss rod, if too little; loosen the truss rod.

11 Doing it by eye is a handy technique for you, too, so you can quickly check
pre-gig if your neck is out of whack. Choosing the relief setting is in part down to
personal preference based on your playing style. A hard hitter will need more gap
12 Operation truss rod is complete! TG advises checking your truss rod the next
few days too, some necks will settle down over the coming days particularly if
your truss rod had to be moved a lot; adjust as necessary. Having worked though our
(maybe 0.010 inches) while a tickler can get away with 0.006 inches no problem. truss issues we can now build a meaningful and lasting set-up.

ToTal GuiTar May 2017