when adjusting the truss rod. do u adjust it while the strings are tuned or u do it while the strings are loose and tighten them each time to check and loosen them agian to adjust?

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im not sure but...
if you dont know what your doing DONT DO IT, you can seriously fuck your guitar up messing with that

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Take it to a pro.....god dammit

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what exactly are you checking for? if the neck or someting is bent then the truss rod probably will be too.

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its really not that hard to do it yourself, just adjust it in really small increments at a time. All you do is take the truss cover off, then down tune your strings to make them loose, then adjust the truss by only making 1/4 turn adjustments at a time, then re tune your strings and see how your action is, and how bent your neck is. Yea it just takes time and small adjustments.

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Truss rod adjustments are not made for action. You adjust your action via the bridge.

Truss rod is for the bend in the neck. Your neck needs what is called relief. It should have a slight bow in direction how how the letter U is. If you have a dead straight neck, you will have dead notes on the upper register of the fret board. Yes, truss rod adjustment can make you action better, but that is basicly by coincidnce, the main thing you look for in adjusting the truss rod is the bow of your neck, and once you have your neck correctly adjusted, you make adjustments to action. If your guitar is seriously out of wack, you may have to go back and forth between the two adjustments serveral times. And if you have a floyd rose you may ahve to tweak the spring tension to get the brdige level, which should be done before action adjustments.

If you are lost, take it to a pro, and ask to watch so you can learn. But be careful, you need to be specific or they will set up to how they like it.

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Yep, I turned my truss rod on my Vanguard half a turn myself, and now it has better action. Its not that big of a deal, just dont do it if you dont have to.

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yea, the bend in the neck greatly affects the action, i know your bridge is the main thing to adjust for action, but you cant adjust action until youve got a straight neck

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i took my guitar to the "experts" at radio shack one time (hahah ya i know) because the neck on my junky acoustic was warped, so the guy tries adjusting it via the truss rod which never worked, so next, he lays it flat on the hard dirty floor and STANDS ON THE NECK!!! Im like what the hell are you doing? anyway, thats my story.

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WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!!? DID YOU SHOOT HIM?!??

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What the hell do you guys mean by a "bend in the neck". I mean, I think I know what you guys mean, but we're talking about an extremely small bend.....right?

yea it was more like a slight warp due to moisture damage. i sold the guitar for 50 dollars and bought a new one. then i sold that one because yamaha acoustics suck.

and no i didnt shoot him, i was probably only about 13 or 14 years old. now i would throw him on the ground and stand on his neck!

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1st off, since when did Radio Shack have anything to do with guitars?

And truss rod adjustment isnt that scary.

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its called relief. a super straight neck causes dead notes

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Suggestion for anyone wanting to learn to do that stuff themselves:

AWESOME book:
"Guitar Player's Repair Guide" by Dan Erlewine
Gives detailed instructions for how to do setups on most of the different bridge/tailpiece types and some ins & outs of trussrod adjustment. Doing a setup is something you have to develop a "feel" for, but the Erlewine book is a helluva place to start.

Another helpful book by the same guy:
"How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great"

From studying these books, I have developed a good enough feel to do all the maintenance on all of my guitars. (10? 12? I forget...) But before, if something was out of whack I'd be on the phone to my semi-pro luthier friend with a cry of "HELP!"

radio shack is the only of 4 music shops left here in the city, therefore i dont shop at radio shack and have had the same equipment for 5 years now

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