Acoustic Guitar Setup: Truss Rod Adjustment

Video Transcript

"So the first of the issues that we want to look at is whether or not the neck is warping or bowing in any way. And so we'll use our steel rule, and lay it on the frets themselves in between the strings, in this case, and while it's laying on the edge, we will look through this, and I usually will do this against a light source like a window, and see if there's any gaps. If the neck is warped, we will start to see gaps under the straight edge in the area of the greatest warp. And on this instrument, there are no warps, this is a good, level neck, so it does not need to have a truss rod adjustment. But let's assume that it does need a truss rod adjustment. The way that we would address that is to use the truss rod adjustment tool, find the truss rod Allen socket, and very carefully, insert this in there. And if the neck is warped, bowed a little bit, we will make a slight adjustment, no more than one quarter of a turn at a time, and then let it set for ten minutes, and see if that adjusts the neck to a level, and then come back and test it again. The only danger with a truss rod adjustment is don't go too far, and don't force it, no more than a quarter turn at a time. Usually the truss rod adjustment will be toward the counter-clockwise, or clockwise in this particular case, because it's backwards, in order to create a leveling. Your instruction manual should tell you which way to go, different truss rods go different ways."