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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 . De-
pending 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 better, 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 .
The first stage of setup will produce a medium-high action
(this may be suitable for bluegrass players, but can be low-
ered for other playing styles) . The heights of the nut and
the saddle should be adjusted together; changes in one will
affect the other . Adjust the truss rod to make the fretboard
playing surface as straight as possible . If your neck has un-
even fret heights, you must level them in order to “read” the
frets accurately (see “Leveling the frets”) .
Install the two outside E-strings to establish the string clear-
ance over the first fret and the saddle height above the top
of the bridge . The latter two measurements determine the
action height, judged by measuring string clearance at the
12th fret .
Install a guitar capo behind the first fret and tighten it just
enough to pull the strings down for clearance between the
Adjusting string action: nut slots and saddle height
bottom of the strings and the top of the first fret . Set this
clearance at about .020" below the treble E-string, and .030"
below the bass E-string . Use .020" and .030" guitar strings to
measure the clearance as the capo is tightened (pictured) .
Now measure the overall string action at the 12th fret . A
Use either medium or light gauge strings . Install each
string so that it seats into the bridge pin hole notch . The
ball end should be snug against the bridge plate under the
soundboard . Align the ball end with the string (pictured) .
Thread the strings loosely into the tuners .
Seating the strings
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