Stewart MacDonald 5297, Assembly Instruction Manual, Page: 37 / 42

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Use either medium or light gauge strings . Install each string
so that it seats into the bridge pin hole notch . The groove in
the bridge pin should hold the string as well, and the ball end
should snug against the bridge plate under the soundboard .
Thread the strings loosely into the tuners .
Seating the strings
Neck “relief,” the upward curvature of the neck in the direc-
tion of the string’s pull, is adjusted with the truss rod . You
should set the neck relief before final adjustment of the
nut and saddle heights . Although the truss rod will affect
string height, it shouldn’t be used to do so . It’s intended to
control the relief, which can affect “buzzing” in the lower
frets . Depending on your playing style and the accuracy of
the fret heights, the neck should have anywhere from zero
(straight) to 0 .012" of relief . A straight neck tends to play bet-
ter, but few guitars end up with no relief at all, and several
thousandths or more is perfectly normal .
Start with the nut and saddle roughed out to height, and
the guitar tuned to pitch . With a straightedge resting on
the frets, along the centerline of the neck, use feeler gauges
between the seventh fret and the straightedge to determine
the amount of relief . The heavier you strum, the more relief
you’ll need . Bluegrass players may need more relief, finger-
pickers less, and the majority of players will be somewhere
in between .
Turn the truss rod nut
counterclockwise to bring
the neck up, adding relief .
Turn the nut clockwise
to pull the neck back,
reducing relief .
Go slowly and carefully — a little
adjustment goes a long way .
Understanding neck relief
KIT TIP: Feeler gauges
Unwound guitar strings make excellent feeler
gauges for measuring relief . Turning the truss rod
nut clockwise straightens the neck and reduces
the relief .
Turning it counterclockwise bows the neck upward, adding
relief . Always adjust the truss rod with care — a little bit
goes a long way .
Select the proper size drill bit and place a tape stop on the
shank of the bit so that the bit does not go through the slot
walls . Be sure that the bit stops at least 1/32" short of going
through . Replace the tuning machines, and fasten them
with the small mounting screws . Clean out any excess finish from the tuner post holes so that
the tuning machines fit easily into their hole . With the tuners
in place on the peghead, mark the mounting holes with a
scribe or an awl through the small holes on the baseplate .
Remove the tuners, and drill the mounting screw holes .
Installing the tuning machines
35