Re: Just a little turn of the truss rod ... Wow!
Originally Posted by
ccravens
I assume that "relief" means turning the truss rod to the left, and "tightening" turning to the right?
Right?
Some definitions:
"Relief": How you feel upon learning that your new $3,000 instrument is supposed to have a bent neck!
"Righty tighty, lefty loosey": Most screws & nuts tighten when turned clockwise, or right at the top, and loosen counter-clockwise.
- Loosening the trussrod allows the strings to pull the neck into relief, a forward bow that follows the curve of the vibrating stings, however slight that may be.
- Tightening the trussrod reduces relief, and yet more tightening can cause back-bow.
Picture the curve of a turning jump-rope; vibrating strings do the same thing, just less pronounced. Theoretically, that slight curvature / relief of the neck allows the strings to be closer to the fretboard all the way up the neck than if it were absolutely straight.
Since most instruments' relief, or lack thereof, WILL change over time due to stress, wear, temperature, humidity, age, etc., it's really worth knowing how to adjust yourself. And the fact that it's fully reversable (as opposed to, say, filing down the nut slots) means there's relatively little risk.
Last edited by EdHanrahan; Sep-05-2011 at 5:19am.
Reason: spell
- Ed
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