No single part of a guitar is more terrifying or mysterious to many guitarists than the humble truss rod. For years we have been told that we can ruin our precious and fragile guitars by just looking at them funny. But truss rods are very simple devices and are nothing to be afraid of. The truss rod is a thin steel rod fitted into a curved channel within the neck of electric and acoustic steel-stringed guitars and basses see the diagram below.
Its purpose is to help counteract the forces on the neck from the tension of steel strings. Without a trussrod, the headstock would be pulled forward, bowing the neck and affecting string height and playing comfort. The truss rod can be adjusted with an adjusting screw or nut located either at the headstock or the body end of the neck.
When we tighten the adjusting nut, the truss rod is pulled by the nut, putting it under tension. This causes the truss rod to try to straighten within the curved channel, pushing the middle of the neck upwards and bending the neck backwards, countering the forward pull of the strings. At the low string heights favoured by modern guitar and bass players, a small amount of forward bow is useful. Without neck relief the strings may not vibrate freely without making contact with other frets.
This lowers the string height and increases string buzz. Turn the truss rod nut counter-clockwise to counteract this condition. Truss rod straight. When we say "straight," we really mean a very slight forward bow, as described above. Related Products:. Truss Rod Wrench. Symptoms of a Dry Guitar. Acoustic guitars typically provide access to the truss rod through the sound hole, but some provide access on the headstock, so check both areas on your guitar.
The above photo shows a wheel you insert a truss rod tool into to make adjustments. Now that you understand what a truss rod is, how it works, how it affects playability, and where to access yours, we can look at how to adjust it.
It takes a day or two for a truss rod adjustment to completely settle. For this reason, it is highly recommended you only make minor adjustments to the truss rod and give your guitar time to settle before you make further adjustments.
Before you make any adjustments to your truss rod, have a think about what you are trying to achieve. I recommend reading through this entire section before you adjust your truss rod. You can easily do this by looking down from the headstock and checking the bow of the neck against the strings:. Take note of the bow of the neck and how close the strings are at different points along the neck. If the bow is quite large, it means you need to tighten the truss rod. A large bow is caused by too much tension from the strings, so tightening the truss rod will compensate for this tension.
Tightening your truss rod means it creates extra pull away from the strings. This means it will pull your strings out-of-tune.
To avoid any problems, loosen your strings before you make adjustments to your truss rod. Loosening the truss rod will allow the strings to create more pull on the neck.
As loosening the truss rod reduces the tension on the strings, you will notice your guitar drops in tuning after any adjustments. Make sure you re-tune your guitar to properly check your adjustment before you make any further adjustments. To properly adjust your truss rod, you need to use the properly sized tool. Some guitars use standard Allen hex wrenches in various sizes, while others use specifically made cranks that only work on certain guitars.
It is important that you use the appropriately sized tool to adjust your truss rod. If your guitar uses a standard hex wrench, make sure you use the right-sized wrench. Using the wrong size wrench can strip the nut and cause a lot of dramas. You should be able to adjust a truss rod without much force. If it is able to turn the other way, it means your truss rod is at the limit.
How do I adjust the truss rod? Related Posts. Oct 25, By: Taylor Guitars. Oct 18, By: Taylor Guitars. A guitar strap is your ticket to full mobility.
0コメント