3 step guide to Truss Rod Adjustment
This is a step by step guide to adjusting your truss rod on your electric guitar. This article is intended to get you started in adjusting your truss rod and aimed at people who have a do-it-yourself mentality. First of all, I do not accept any risk of damage caused to your instrument, so make sure you feel comfortable making adjustments and using tools before you adjust your electric guitar.
Step 1.
Locate the truss rod cover on the headstock of your guitar and remove it. You will need a small phillips head screwdriver for this. Make sure to organize the cover into their own little bag or container so they do not get lost.
Step 2.
After the truss rod cover is removed, you should see either an allen head, or if you have a gibson you will see a 5/16 (I think) nut head that you should have a special tool that was included in the case of your gibson. Now, take special care in finding the right tool for this job, because you could create a bigger problem for yourself if you strip the allen or nut.
Tightening the Truss Rod
Turning the truss rod clockwise will bow the neck backwards. So, if the tension of the strings when fully tuned is bowing the neck forward, this is when you need to tighten the truss rod by turning it clockwise. Only turn the truss rod ⅛ of a turn each time to ensure you do not over tighten. After each ⅛ turn, your guitar will be out of tune...so take this chance to tune it. When you tune after each ⅛ turn of the truss rod, you are ensuring that you are adjusting the neck based on the normal string tension that it will experience.
You will need to measure your progress here, and here is a way to do just that. When you feel the neck is getting close to being straight, and after you have tuned your guitar up….use one finger to fret the first fret and use your other hand to fret the 12th fret on the same string. When you have both hands fretting these 2 frets, use another finger to press a few of the frets in the middle of the 2 frets. When you test the middle frets, the distance the string travels to the fret should be very little. If the distance is too great, you will know you have to tighten the truss rod more.
Loosening the truss rod
When you turn the truss rod counter-clockwise, you are allowing the strings to bow the neck forward more. So, you would do this if the neck is bowed too far backwards. Basically use the same logic here and only turn ⅛ of a turn at a time and tune after each turn. Also measure your progress in the same way, except here you will be looking to create more distance from the string to the fret.
Step 3.
After you have adjusted the neck to your liking, reinstall the truss rod cover. Give your guitar a couple days to settle and check your neck again, as it may have settled a little out of adjustment. If you notice you need to readjust, turn your truss rod in even smaller increments to ensure you do not undo the work you did just 2 days prior
So this should put you on the right path to adjusting your truss rod properly. Please do so in small increments, be careful and attentive to your instrument, and do not rush anything.
Hope this helps all of you DIY’ers out there! Rock on!
