thunderbird13 Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 I've noticed a few posts about changing the truss rod tension if you change the guage of strings. I changed mine from medium to light last month and didnt even think adjusting the truss. As long as it plays Ok then I've assumed that the neck tension is correct but now I'm concerned that I might be doing long term damage to the neck. Should you change the tension as a matter of course or should I change it only when it becomes an obvious problem tbh I'd rather not muck about with these things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 If there's no problems with tone or intonation, leave it be C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_C Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 The neck is made straight (i.e. with an even fingerboard) and when the strings are tightened up to tune it exerts pressure on the neck, making it curve. The job of the truss rod is to counter the pull of the strings and this is done to fit the taste of the player, if you have heavy strings and a light touch you can have it pretty much flat, if you use light strings and a heavy playing style you might need more curve (relief) than std. If I'm doing a general set up then I'll tune to pitch and tweak the truss rod to give a small amount of relief, then set string height, as adjusting the truss rod will affect it. If you change strings then you might need to adjust to allow for a different tension, but if the relief is fine then you don't have to touch anything. The changes in weather and therefore humidity (also affected by the central heating) will also have an effect, and if nothing else has changed but the relief has increased or decreased, then you might need to adjust things to get the relief back to where it was. If the truss rod is stiff to adjust then back it off before tightening, and if necessary (and possible) add some grease to the threads to help it move. Sometimes it might be best to loosen the strings to adjust rather than break the rod, if you're adjusting a Fender neck with the adjuster at the heel end this might be the only option. You shouldn't need to fear the truss rod, if you tighten a little too much you only have to back it off, and while there might be the need to check after a while as things settle, you don't need to take teeny tiny steps - waiting a day between each step (as I saw suggested on another forum) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderbird13 Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 thanks guys - and yes I did read on another forum about waiting a couple of days between 1/4 turns on the truss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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