How to Examine The Neck Set of a Used Guitar

Video Transcript

"KIP BRADFORD: Hi, my name's Kip and I'm here on behalf of Expert Village. In this clip, we're going to take a look at the neck externally and how it is set to the sound board. You're going to want to take the instrument and you're going to want to sight down the neck. And what we're looking for is whether the neck twists off to the left or the right or whether the neck is setting the headstock down lower than the edge of the sound board. That would be a negative neck set. Now, it's a little bit more difficult to determine this when the instrument doesn't have strings. So my advice would be to string the guitar and take a look at it. If you've come this far and you think it's a pretty good buy, either purchase it or bring a set of strings with you and get permission to go ahead and put strings on the instrument for them, but remember, once you put strings on the guitar, it's really hard to take 'em off and use them again. So, if you have a twist then you can a lot of times determine that to a degree without strings on, if you have a twist it's really not going to be worth using unless the twist is very, very minor. You might be able to get away with it for just an inexpensive clunk or instrument. But for the long term, you will not want to use that instrument. There again, take a look at the neck. Once the strings are on the neck or on the instrument, then you can determine the relief of the neck. And what you want is just a little bit of a dip around the 8th fret or flat. You don't want to hump this way, and that's what that truss rod is for, is that if the strings are pulling the instrument too much, putting too much relief, you tighten that truss rod and it flattens it out or brings it near flat. If the truss rod is too tight, it'll create a hump around the 8th fret and then you will loosen the truss rod to bring the neck flat or have a little relief, a little dip around the 8th fret. And that's pretty much how I take a look at a used instrument and determine whether or not it's something that I want. And of course, being in the business, I'm always looking at it in terms of something that I want to re-sell unless it's something super special that I might like to just keep. But that should get you headed in the right direction in determining whether or not you have found a gem in the rough or just something plane rough. Thanks again. And I'm Kip on behalf of Expert Village."