Stop Fret Buzz - How far to turn your truss rod & the direction to turn it
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Got annoying fret buzz? This video shows you how to eliminate it by a simple truss rod adjustment.
It also shows you which direction you should turn your truss rod and how much you should turn it.
Three Keys To a Healthy Guitar
You probably already knew that adjusting your truss rod is only one of 3 big parts to completing a full guitar setup. To have a healthy guitar - a guitar that sounds great, feels great, and plays great - every time you play.
After you adjust the truss rod, you’ll still need to properly change your guitar strings, check and adjust the intonation, the bridge, and the string height. Only then will you have performed a complete guitar setup.
Most of the time, there will be a guitar shop near you who offers to do this for you - sometimes they will even scare you into thinking if you attempt to do it yourself you’ll break your guitar, or that to “properly” make the adjustments you need special and expensive guitar tools.
But the reality is - what they are doing to your guitar can easily be done by you, with tools you already own, in your home. And it will save you hundreds of dollars per year if you know how to do it yourself.
I discovered this myself when I was a teenager - I took my guitars to the shop and they were trying to charge me $400 to have my guitars adjusted. I didn’t have that kind of money when I was younger, and I didn’t have any other option than to figure out how to do it myself.
I did what any other hard headed teen would do - I told the guitar shop I’d figure it out myself even if I broke my guitar in the process and I went mission to figure out how to setup my own guitars. After hours of reading books, scouring the internet forums, and talking with other guitarist - I found that it was actually really simple to do myself.
In fact, it’s so easy to setup your own guitar most people make it difficult by over thinking it, which is why they have trouble figuring out the process.
Over the past 15 year I've perfected my process, and now I can setup my own guitars in about 5 minutes.
I finally realized that other people too want to learn how to setup their guitars themselves, but don’t have the time research it the way that I did when I was younger…
So I came up with this solution - The Complete Guide To In Home Guitar Setup - with it you won’t have to pay a guitar shop to do simple adjustments for you ever again and you’re guitar will sound and play like new every time you use this process.
You might have thought a course like this would be a costly because of the amount of savings it will bring you, and it used to be...
I really believe these are things every guitar player should know, so I refunded everyone who purchased the course. Just go to the link below to get your free copy.
Go here to get access to The Complete Guide To In Home Guitar Setup • Complete Guide to Guti...
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Update
There seems to have been some confusion on which direction to turn the truss rod on your guitar. While 90% of guitars function this way they don't all.. The point of this video is to just make it crystal clear which way to turn the truss rod in under most circumstances.
Some have commented that this video is incorrect and you should turn the truss rod the other direction. However it's a matter of perspective. The video is only correct if you are looking at the guitar belly to belly - from the body of the guitar to the nut of the guitar. The truss rod should be turned the opposite direction if you are looking at the guitar from the nut to the body.
Please take a look at these images from Sweetwater Sound and Taylor Guitars for further clarification.
www.sweetwater...
www.taylorguit...
Please feel free to comment or reach out to me directly if you have any further questions - Dave
some people think you got your directions backwards. I think it depends on where your truss rod adjusting nut is located. Either at the headstock or heal of the neck. At the heal
of the neck ( all the vintage stratocaster necks are at the heal ) you turn your truss rod screw clockwise to " tighten" the truss rod therefore straightening the neck wood i.e less neck relief. Counter Clockwise to take tension off the neck wood and allowing the guitars strings to have more tension on the wood pulling the neck back and giving it more "forward bow" i.e. more neck relief.
Exactly! And even if it is at the top - it depends on the direction you are looking at the nut - if your looking from head stock to body (directly at the nut) then the chart is backwards, but if your looking at if from body to nut then it's correct. It's just a matter of perspective and which way you did it the first time you learned. It's very confusing - in all honesty I made the chart for myself because I kept forgetting. I use it as a quick reference guide when I do my own adjustments.
I'd also like to point out, I cleared up the confusion with most of the people saying it was backwards as well as added some links to other charts at the end of description for further clarification.
Find Your Next Guitar dude you've got to learn the standard language of the industry you're making a fool of yourself and setting your people down the wrong path.
All industrial standards define clockwise/counterclockwise, ie: right/left as that direction while looking in the axial direction at the face (working access side) of the fastener.
Your "perspective" from any other position is meaningful only to you.
MetallicaFan0503 yes that's correct, backbow meaning the centre of the fingerboard (around the 7th fret) is curved up towards the string path.
Mike Porter it’s brand new I play everyday I do play heavily but the guitar is only a month old about
The screw top is the clockface, regardless of which end it's on, because you're looking down at the top of a screw. Clockwise always tightens the rod (tenses/straightens the neck) and counterclockwise always loosens the rod (relieves/bows forward the neck). It's a screw, so you always have to keep that rule in mind. No matter which end you adjust the neck on, relative to the design of the screw, the screw always turns DOWN (in/towards the object) to tighten, and UP (out/away from the object) to loosen, and relative to those directions, screws are standardized to turn clockwise to tighten and counterclockwise to loosen.
This rule doesn't change based on the orientation of the neck relative to your body when you adjust it, which end of the neck it's on, whatever. You're not turning the neck, you're turning the screw, and you always turn a screw from its top, so that will always be the reference point. Relative to its own design, the screw is still going to screw clockwise to tighten no matter which direction it is pointing, because a downward view of the top of the screw is always the reference point.
Even if a screw is pointing at you rather than away from you, you still have to turn it clockwise relative to its design to tighten it. You may be making what you consider to be a counterclockwise turn relative to your own position, but relative to the screw itself, it's always clockwise. The screw itself ALWAYS turns clockwise to tighten.
As many already pointed out, turning a screw clockwise or counterclockwise does not depend on your point of view, as it has to do with always operating from the perspective of looking at the screw from the head. Anything else creates confusion.👍👍👍
Pretty much common sense isn't it? Someone must have missed that day of the 5th grade where this was explained.
@@pay9011 I hope you both reported this backwards shit as I did.
So it DOES depend on your point of view. Are you looking at the head from the top (the obvious), or the bottom (not obvious, but certainly an option).
@@mliittsc63Turn the damn screwdriver clockwise, unless youre pointing the screwdriver at youeself (such as tightening something underneath a table) but if youre using the tool as a regular person and not icepick style itll be clockwise.
@@mliittsc63 Not correct. It doesnt matter. righty tighty, lefty loosey.
Tightening the truss rod (turning the screw clockwise) brings the center of the neck CLOSER to the strings. Or UNDOING a "U" shape. Loosening the truss rod ( turning it COUNTER clockwise) will remove tension and relieve a "hill" in the center of the neck. So if your strings are high in the center, it's CLOCKWISE, or righty tighty. If your strings are touching or low in the center of the neck, you turn it counter clockwise, or lefty loosey
How do i get the strings closer to the fingerboard
@@vavangzogene6096 by reading the above comment
@@vavangzogene6096 adjust the height action on the bridge after you adjust the trust rod the rule thumb is adjust the trust rod first second adjust the action height on the bridge and last adjust inotation on the bridge
I know to turn the truss rod counter clock-wise to bring the neck closer to the strings, but I do that when the guitar’s body is facing away from me right? On a Les Paul, I turn it right when the body is in further away. Like this
Guitar’s body
|
|neck
Headstock
|
Me turning it -> to tighten
@@TheTrollMastah yes, or turning wrench toward low e string to tighten, toward high e string to loosen.
Really glad i read the comments. I thought i was going crazy when my fretbuzz was getting worse after following his directions
I'm glad you figured it out, the whole purpose of this video to give you the understanding of how the adjustment works, remove any fear of breaking your guitar, and to have you go tinker with it - because that's the real way you learn. Once you get comfortable with it, it's way easier to just feel where the right spot is than to measure and some guitars are vastly different than others, some need adjusted more often some less often...
If you for the first time adjusted your truss rod after watching this, even if you had to go back and turn it the opposite direction I consider it to be a huge success.
Thanks for your comment - Dave
Find Your Next Guitar 🤡
@@Findyournextguitar what's wrong with you?
@@Findyournextguitar That's great, but you're describing the exact wrong way to do it; why not just say "go futz with it until it works'?
Clear as mud! The directions are wrong -> clockwise you tighten, anti-clockwise you relieve. Just like a screw. Simple.
"Clear as mud" hahahaha
So if my bass has a forward bow do I turn the truss rod clock wise?
I think he's referring to truss rods that adjust from the base of the neck, not the headstock
@@angelv5800 yes. For forward bow it should be clockwise. And backbow would be counterclockwise.
You're bang on mate! What sort of """" head makes an instructional video about something he knows """" all about?? Crazy? Stupid? Or cruel??
Agreed.. Everyone should learn to set their guitars. When adjusting truss rod with the strings is in pitch turn 1/4 at a time always. You are safe.. Some guys are charging ridiculous pricing for this basic setup.. Right now I'm learning to change my frets. I understand the amount of labour involved, but the cost is just insane!
I don't think people recognize and appreciate the importance of getting a no-fluff channel producing instructional videos without unnecessary chatter. Ad-libbing unrelated information distracts attention away from the demonstration making the simplest process seem difficult. Thank you for keeping it simple. I subbed when I found this and came back to refresh my memory loving the fact that I didn't need to fast-forward or rewind one time. I'm wondering why all of these experts are looking for truss rod adjustment videos when experts have truss rod adjustment videos of their own. Weird.
@donfaulkner852
Thank you Don! I really appreciate that you noticed this...
Believe it or not - it took me a good 20 hours or so to make this 7min video - I re-filmed it about a dozen times - I really tried to make it as simple as possible because when I was learning how to do this myself I couldn't find anything that was clear and to the point - after hours of looking I was just more confused, so then I bought a book and course and talked with a bunch of repair shop tecs... the problem was - Everyone is trying way to hard to be very technical for something which is literally as simple as turning a screw/alan wrench.
It really comes down to try 1/4 turn one way and if that doesn't work go the other way until you find where the truss rod wants to settle.
Most of the other things are personal preference, yeah it can be really precise, but I figure most ppl are just looking for a quick fix to stop their fret buzz, not a doctoral dissertation on guitar structure and physics...
It's also why i haven't really made any more "tech" videos - I have some other simple repair things in the hopper, but I'm mostly just doing cosmetic stuff now since it's more fun and I'm much better at painting than "fixing" or doing repair work.
@@Findyournextguitar I won't go into all the different issues on different platforms, but after all of those, I went through a series of camera issues trying to put the content together for my music theory series. Finally get that resolved and the monetization I had set up on 2 platforms changed the entire format for monetization that is so unbelievably difficult to navigate I'm stuck in a holding pattern about to run outta fuel.
@@Findyournextguitar after saying I wasn't going to talk about the platform issues, I received an email from the devils matrix reminding me that all of the photos, reviews and places I added to maps has just reached over 22 million views, so I replied thanks for reminding me that reward for all of that free labor is being locked out of my account for over a year now. I'mon here now with a visitor visa because I'm locked out of the account their fake copyright claims had destroyed the monetization with for complaining about that being the second round of fake copyright claims on my intellectual property., luckily I was able to get the most important content removed before the lockout, or would have had to file suit in an entirely corrupt justUS system.
Yeah. You got it back wards. Loosen the truss rod (counter clockwise) to let the strings pull the neck forward if you have fret buzz. I like your capo/16th fret business card system. Just did my custom acoustic by Del Langejans. It worked perfect. Retune, go play.👍🏻
report it dude, I did. This is dangerous info that will break people's guitars. Plain and simple.
Amidst this cesspool if comments, yours was the one that stood out to me as offering clarity and dispelling all my doubt. Thank you.
this guy's an a hole for sure
@@ballsrgrossnugly - It's not wrong. It depends on if you're looking from the top down or from the bridge up. I understood just fine and followed the instructions just fine. Take a deep breath...
@@jeffmartinaz Deep breath, the way it was described is wrong, 3 people here agree and you are the lone dissenting voice. I suggest you take yourself a deep breath of reality.
Had fret buzz and choking between the 10th and 14th fret and after a quarter(maybe a bit less) turn counter clockwise and bingo all is fine and dandy. Les Paul plays great and thank you.
Awesome man! I'm glad you got it adjusted and thank you for your comment :)
Sorry dude but you have the directions needed to turn the truss rod wrong in both cases! Turning clockwise tightens the rod, straightens the neck and reduces forward bow, whereas turning anti(counter)-clockwise loosens the rod, allowing the neck to bow forward and adding relief.
Perhaps they put the truss rod in upside down in your guitar, but what I've talked about in the video is how 99% of guitars are built. I even had the head of ESP's custom shop review it before I posted the video so I'll have to respectfully disagree with your opinion here.
Find Your Next Guitar No offence intended mate, but you are sorely wrong. And for your information, I own guitars from around 10 different manufacturers (including Gibson, Fender, Gretcsh, Jackson, Hamer and Guild) and each and every one of them works in the way I have stated! Also, if you would care to take the time to do a little research, every single guitar repair or how to set up a guitar book ever written, agrees with my description and disagrees with yours. Even try watching a few set up videos by some of the many respected professional repair guys and luthiers here on CZcams, and you will find they all disagree with your directions. Please understand, I am not trying to be awkward or disagree with you for the sake of it, but your information could potentially be dangerous, as it could easily cause someone to severely damage their precious or expensive guitar, causing a major repair bill or even irreparable damage. I appreciate what you are trying to do, and respect that, I even think the way you presented the information was very good, but unfortunately the information that you have provided to the public is ultimately wrong!
David, I've taken several years to research and develop my information and I've in person met with and even interviewed some of the top guitar builders in the world. My content here is correct, though there is one possible way I see we could both be correct on this issue...
Which way are you looking at the guitar? Because the way I'm describing it in the video, which to my fault I may not have made crystal clear - would be if your looking at the guitar from the bottom up - so your belly to belly with the pickups.
If you are looking at the guitar from the perspective of the neck down then we would both be correct here and it would in turn revers which way clockwise is.
If that's the case I should find a way to make the a bit more clear, but that's the only thing I can think of where we could actually both be right because the change in viewing perspective would alter which way is clockwise or counterclockwise.
That would mean that we're both technically correct, there was just a miscommunication. I bet that's what's going on because I've literally had dozens of people write to me and tell me their guitar plays perfectly now, as well as my own guitars all play flawlessly - that's not possible unless this part is correct.
David Sutherland - would you be willing to jump on a quick Skype call sometime to discuss this? I appreciate your comment and I want to get to the bottom of where the confusion is coming from. I take this very seriously - if something I said is creating confusion or harming peoples guitars I want to know why and fix it.
My graphic is showing the same as this graphic from Sweetwater - www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/media/2017/02/Adjusting-Truss-Rod.jpg though I intended it to be from the opposite side of the guitar... so if this is where the confusion is I think I can fix it with out having to take down or redo the video.
Find Your Next Guitar OK, this possibly explains everything. I have looked at the image from Sweetwater that you linked to, and that image is correct and agrees with the method I described. If you are looking at the guitar from the bottom with it lying flat, that would indeed reverse the perceived direction that you are turning the trussrod. When most people describe how they adjust their trussrod, they tend to describe it from the perspective of looking directly on to the head of the trussrod(as if they were describing addressing a screw with a screwdriver) This is easier to understand, as some rods are accessed from the heel of the neck and not the headstock, in this case it would appear to turn in the opposite direction from usual, if using your method. I hope you understand that I didn't intend any offence by challenging your directions, I was simply concerned that you were providing inexperienced guitarists with potentially damaging information. As it turns out, your directions are not actually wrong, they are just slightly confusing and maybe require some further information to explain how you are approaching the guitar. Once again, I do appreciate what you are doing, and that you are trying to get this information out to people new or inexperienced in guitar repair, and do enjoy your manner in presenting and the way you went about giving out this information. Apologies if I came across otherwise.
I came home today with a used Epiphone jumbo acoustic and the neck has a U shaped, forward bow. I’m a novice at adjusting truss rods however found this video and unfortunately did not read these comments but followed the illustration turning the truss rod counterclockwise. The nut became harder and harder to turn so I stopped and the bow remained the same. Going back to the comments I discovered it should be turned clockwise which is backwards from the illustration. The neck is corrected now. Thank goodness I did not break the weld or snap the nut off. To the fellow who provided the video, it’s well done except for the nut direction. I could not find another video giving clear directions on which way to turn the nut and relied on this video. May I suggest you add to your title something like ***READ COMMENTS FIRST.
Hey Brian, thanks for your comment. I'm glad you were able to get the neck to where you wanted it to be. I've done my best with trying to be as clear as possible here.
I do warn you in the video not to over tighten, as well as it's one of those things you need to play with and do a couple times.
Sometimes you will think the bow is one way but it's the opposite, and If you live in an area like me with wild temperature changes and high humidity sometimes you actually need to turn it both ways. The truss rod can get a bit stuck to glue reside, the wood cavity can swell with lots of moister... there is a lot going on.
I know the video isn't perfect, but you said it yourself there isn't much other there clearly explaining what's going on. The bottom line is, you will not break the truss rod unless you do anything stupid, you need to play with it until you figure out how that particular guitar likes to be adjusted.
The real answer here is you need to play with your guitar and figure it out, it's kind of subjective.
The directions I have are correct - pending on which way you look at the guitar as stated repeatedly in the other comments.
I'd also like to point out, you can typically take your guitar back to the shop (if they are a decent shop) and ask them to set it up for you when you buy it. You could also ask if they will let you watch them set up the guitar..... they might say no, but you can always ask.
Thank you for not being a jerk or saying I'm stupid.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I get it now. If the headstock is pointing away from you, turning the nut clockwise is the opposite direction of when the headstock is facing you.
You’re definitely a sharp guy and probably a perfectionist and again your video is very well done. I re-read your update on the confusion of which way to turn the nut. I wish to make a suggestion that you might consider valid and that is to move your update paragraph to the very top of your information. We both know that the majority of people read far too fast and skip over sections. This would bring the matter to their attention immediately. Just a thought. Take care.
@@briantcox lol I am for sure a perfectionist... I actually tried that - it seems most people quickly scroll to the bottom to look if there is anything relevant - when I moved it to the bottom I started getting less questions which is why I left it there.
This chart is one of the first that show up on Google images if you search for truss rod adjustment. As people have already pointed out, the vast majority of people are going to interpret the chart opposite of how you see it. That could be a problem. Just putting it out there.
Thanks for your comment Mats - you are more than welcome to make a better video and un-seat this one as the top google search, I beleive this would solve your problem :)
Until then, I guess it will just stay here...
P.S. I never planed for this to be the # 1 video on the subject, it's nearly 10 years old, I never thought it'd get more than 1,000 or so views...
I've gotten thank you mail for ppl all around the world with people thanking me for giving them some understand on how to make the adjustment, even if you go the wrong way the first way, it's pretty easy to figure it out and go the other direction.
Contrary to popular beleive, this will not damage your guitar in anyway unless you are being abusive with the adjustment.
Lastly, this guy has got to be #2 by now and will probably eventually kick this out of the #1 spot... czcams.com/video/NzEsWhdqvF0/video.html
Well done,took me 4mins. To get it. I'll still need to refresh alot.😊🎸👌
I'm glad it helped - I was hoping to make it very easy to understand what's going on - or at least to remove the fear anyone had from doing their own adjustment - just to note - sometimes you need to go one way and then back the opposite direction if the guitar hasn't been adjusted in a while - so if you get stuck - try one way, then back to where you were, then the other way - this way too don't need to look at the chart and then after not too much time it becomes like tying your shoes and you can do it by feel for your main guitar :)
WAIT don't try this yet!
Thank you, horrible directions could've cost me my guitar. I see what you did but damn man come on.
Dr. Hoffman, if your getting at I did it on purpose to get views that honestly wasn't the case... I actually got really angry with the first couple people who said it was backwards because I put a solid 10 years of research and trial and error into the video - I didn't want them to confuse others...
By chance the guy who taught me - adjusted from the base of the guitar and not the neck. The reality is both ways are correct so long as your looking at the guitar from the right direction.
There isn't really a set standard unless you've been working in the industry for 20 years, and even then some will say my way is correct and others will say the opposite.
I created the video because I really struggled learning this and I wanted to make it easier for others. I don't earn any money from the video or run ads on it. It was just too much work to recreate the video. Also, thousands of people have reached out to me telling me how helpful it's been for them.
With all due respect your one of 25 people out of near 100,000 who have said it's backwards so it seems like the other 99,975 understood the video well enough to properly make the adjustment.
@@Findyournextguitar you are a liar 25 people and 100000 I never who where are these mystery 100000 the only comments I see on your video is that you are wrong and a chance few non confrontational people or bored or idiots agreed with you your full of shit no one is claiming you helped them set there neck correctly with this video straight up bold face lies you are a liar period
Wow, you can’t just admit that you are wrong? I can’t believe what I just read from your comment. Think of all the people that believe you and end up damaging their instrument. Everyone makes mistakes. You learn from them and move on. Instead you’ve chosen to double, triple down on the bull shit. No integrity
@@charliedarwins exactly. Some people just suck at explaining things and dont take into consideration the term "point of view". Im so glad i read all of the comments before trying this. I was wondering why this is the only video thats says it backwards
@@Findyournextguitar You still don't explain why your "perspective" is wrong for acoustic and tele's and I don't see any changes made to the ACTUAL VIDEO.
You can argue views and comments all day long, FACT is that you got it backwards, didn't explain yourself enough to illustrate that fact and won't admit any wrongdoing.
Personally, all of the "I have 10 years experience and thousands of views" bluster is proof that your fragile ego can't take the hit and admit you are WRONG.
Once again, this video saved the day. Bought a used guitar that has pretty bad buzzing in the first three frets. Without thinking, I immediately went to adding a shim under the locking nut. It did nothing. Then I remembered this video that helped me a few years ago. Luckily, I found it again. A few turns of the allen wrench, and I was golden. Thanks!
Ace one bud,solved my fret buzz out in a couple of minutes thanks
thanks Colin, glad it helped
On my guitar it is opposite of what your saying. Clock wise brings the strings closer and counter or loosening raises the strings. Mine were too close or backbowed and your adjustment made it worse so I figured out I needed to loosen the truss.
Were you able to get it adjusted and stop the fret buzz?
@@Findyournextguitar Yea it's better now. I've done this before but couldn't remember which direction to turn the bolt. I watched a vid before yours and the guy was going through the history of truss rods. I didn't want to hear all that. Yours seemed more direct which it was but unfortunately it was just wrong. My guitar is just a Fender Squire so nothing weird. You have other commenters saying the same thing so you might want to edit your video. I watched another guy and he had it correct. It seems like I have to do this adjustment about twice a year just my bad memory on which way to go. I think it's changes in humidity. Thanks for trying to help.
This guy is EXACTLY CORRECT! I have a completely straightened neck. Of course, it is now in 2 pieces along with the fretboard...make that 4 pieces!
His shit was wrong or you over tightened?
Just fixed my Epiphone Korina Flying V after watching this video - thanks a ton
Thanks man I'm glad it helped, every time hear flying V I think of the crazy train music video - happy shredding 😎
I think you got your clockwise vs counter-clockwise backwards. Tightening the truss rod (clockwise when looking at the end of the truss rod) reduces the distance between the strings and the frets. Loosening does the opposite, of course.
He did and this video should be reported.
I just adjusted 2 vintage 80's MIJ Yamaha guitars and both require a clockwise turn 2 tighten the truss rod which pulls the headstock backwards and lifts the middle of the fretboard. This gets rid of the sag in the center of my fretboard. This may b due 2 both guitars being made in Japan, but it's the opposite of what is recommended here in this video.
It depends on the direction you are looking at the guitar from - in hind sight I would have described it from a different angle... I also specifically say in the video that some guitars are different and you should always test yours first. because sometimes they are the opposite for example if you have a strat with a bottom adjustable truss rod...
@@Findyournextguitar"""" It depends on the direction you are looking at the guitar from...." What a succesfull and helpful video...every time someone destroyes his guitar you have to tell him """" It depends on the direction you are looking at the guitar from"""" hahahahahah its really pathetic
@@Findyournextguitar Thanks 4 ur reply. I did follow ur advise 2 stop turning when it gets hard 2 turn. I didn't want 2 push the rod through my neck or have my neck separated from the fretboard. It's probably due 2 the age of the guitars as the reason one is hard 2 turn, but why chance it.
@@legalsolutions07 It really depends, a lot of it has to do with the moisture content of the neck and how well the guitar was kept. Truss rods are made of steel - some really cheap ones rust and corrode because they weren't coated properly or it was just really cheap steel. If the guitar was in a high moisture environment (like anywhere in the north east USA or really humid climates like Florida weather) they can get "sticky". There's always going to be a small amount of glue / lacquer that gets into the truss rod cavity. With high heat and humidity it can gum up the pocket a bit making to truss rod stick.
^^^ All this being said, please do not force or overturn your truss rod, because when you work on enough guitars your know what the "sticky" feels like - if it feels way too tight it probably is...
Some of the tightest truss rods I've seen have been on new necks - especially maple necks. I've had 20 year old PRS's that almost felt loose. I'm a huge PRS fan if you couldn't tell :) I've have owned 7 different ones over the years and they are all almost identical when it comes to adjustments - most PRS use dual action truss rods - most of the time you only need 1/2 of a quarter turn.
If your necks are dual action (probably not if they are over 20 years old) then that could be why they feel tight. I've also had cheaper guitar that feel like the truss rod is going to break when there's still a lot more you could turn them.
If the truss rod hadn't been adjusted for several years, that could also be why it's tight.
The bottom line is it really just depends on the guitar, how it was made (quality of materials), heat / cold, humidity, and how well it was taken care of.
@@Findyournextguitar wrong way fuck stick
I’m sorry, I mean no disrespect and I certainly do not claim to know more about guitar setup than anyone else, but I followed your methodology and made a complete mess of my guitar. I turned the truss rod, in small increments, counter-clockwise to remove excess relief, (backbow) until the truss rod became completely loose. After doing more research, I discovered that I was adjusting the truss rod in the opposite direction required. I agree with the comment below that the graphic on the Sweetwater site is the opposite of what your graphic depicts. In the Sweetwater graphic, turning the Allen wrench to the right (to gain less relief) would be a CLOCKWISE direction. Fortunately, I caused no damage to my guitar. Does it matter that my guitar is an LP style and the truss rod adjusts from the top?
Yes it does matter - which is the reason I posted the picture from Sweetwater to go along with this - the day I filmed this I was working on my bottom adjustable strat - which adjusts in the opposite direction of your les paul - at least if you are looking at it from the headstock down.
Did you by chance follow any of the instructions from the complete guide to guitar setup video series - also linked in the description.
I'm asking because there's about 4 hours of detailed instructions and I want to know if you found any of that confusing - I split it up into three sections for different guitars, including bottom adjustable and top adjustable truss rods, strats and les pauls.
I'm specifically asking if you used any of those videos because there is a specific order in which you need to setup your guitar so you don't have to redo/undo work.
Sometimes you don't need to adjust the truss rod at all, you need to tweak the string height, bridge, etc...
Sometimes you need to adjust the truss rod, and then adjust all the other things and the act of adjusting the truss rod will completely throw all the other stuff out of whack.
I'm really glad you figured it out, that was really the point of the video - to remove the fear of working on your guitar so you can do it yourself.
I stress tested multiple guitars before posting the video to make sure no one could break their truss rod...
I mean I man handled the necks, put them in a vise, and cranked the alen wrench with a level until failure.
The only one I got to fail by hand was my first guitar - a $50 behringer strat - the truss rod didn't fail, but the weld did - the nut snapped off after about 20 turns.
The thing is - you know have the ability to adjust your own truss rod so all in all did my video help you understand how guitar work a little bit better and help you make your own adjustment or hurt it?
^^ I'm not being passive aggressive here, I genuinely believe by the comments and messages I get that this video helps many people adjust their guitar for the first time. I'm just curious if you would consider yourself in that category.
If you have any issues or specific questions - I'm happy to help the best I can - Dave
HELPFUL FACT: ALL truss rod nuts have a right-hand thread. (as nearly everybody commented -- "righty-tighty, lefty-loosy" It doesn't make any difference whether they are located in the guitar's neck or its body.
Ok , but you just contradicted yourself - what about a bottom adjustable truss rod which is the polar opposite of a top adjustable truss rod in every way - the directions are reversed... Which I might add you wouldn't know unless you've ever worked on one. In that instance it does matter very much where the nut is located.
@@Findyournextguitar:: I did not contradict myself - Perhaps you weren't schooled in English comprehension (the nuances, meanings and definitions) as spoken in North America and much of Great Britain.
You asked about bottom and top-adjustable truss rods. I'm assuming you mean the top truss rod is accessible in the head, just above the nut, and that the bottom truss rod is located within the (Acoustic) guitar's body, accessible through the sound hole.
True the directions are reversed. But they are NOT "Polar Opposite". If you take a truss rod and then you pick it up and turn it 180 degrees, you have changed its hypothetical 'polar position' -- the direction is reversed, but its physical characteristics have not changed. The hex nut adjustment is still on the same end. The threads are still right-hand threads . . . which I might add, sarcastically, I DO know, since I have worked on quite a few (apparently more than you). I am a retired mechanical engineering instructor, so please don't try feeding me and approximately 450 other people a line of your BS.
Apparently you are quite fond of guitars. Your guitar advice is lackluster, but at least you plagiarized some of the better websites.
Here's some advice: before you post something, please try to research it as much as you can for correctness, clarity, conciseness and interest. Lastly, read David Sutherland's remarks. They are an example of being clear, concise and to the point. Good Luck - I'll be watching you.
@@thepandeslar8062 Look man polar opposites is a figure of speech I used which most people would understand. Of course this referees to magnetism which we were not discussing.
Here's the thing, I'm not claiming to be infallible here - I'm not going to argue engineering terms with you like a moron or claim to have that kind of specialized knowledge.
The Bottom Line is - the vast majority of people who watch the video, leave figuring out how to adjust there own truss rod, when they were not able to do this before.
Not one single person has reported to me a broken or damaged guitar, and just last week someone who was suicidal contacted me saying that my video helped them get through the day and not kill them self. So that being said my video does a lot more good than harm.
Honestly I feel bad for you if all you have to do with your free time is post negative comments on people videos. I hope it makes you feel better about yourself, but you missed the big picture.
It's not just a matter of perspective of which direction your looking at the guitar from, it's the perspective you look at life with. Now you can get mad all you want and rant here until your blue in the face, but in the end I really don't care how bad you think the video is and many others find it helpful.
I might add... I've also posted links in the description and all over the comments to a chart from Sweetwater sound which is much clearer and easier to understand as well as I've made sever more videos in the The Complete Guide to Guitar Setup playlist where you literally watch me make the adjustment on my own guitar (the way I speak about it in the video) so there is ZERO room for any confusion.
It's all linear man, as much as it may offend you this video helps lots of people.
And I'll leave you with this, if you've got this much free time and want to be in the spotlight lets hop on a video call sometime and you can rip apart the video and I'll upload it to my channel.
@@Findyournextguitar :: You have a brilliant ability to evade a solution to the root cause problem in all of the comments to the part of your video instruction dealing with truss rod adjustment. Be a big boy and tell everybody you screwed up. No amount of inductive reasoning on your part will give your answer any legitimacy. Live with it. Strive to be better.
@@thepandeslar8062 I invited you to hop on a video call with me and share you point of view and I'll post the video on my channel - what more could you possibly want?
I'm being 100% serious, really I'm not being and ass - I'd love to hear you out from an engineering perspective.
My goal with all of my videos is to cut out the technical BS that people get stuck on and simplify it as much as possible so people actually learn how to work on their own guitars. Sometimes things get a bit confused, but over all unless your doing really stupid stuff your going to learn how to adjust your own guitar from watching my videos.
But I'd love to hear an engineers point of view and I'll give you a platform to speak and share your thoughts.
You be a big boy and come on the show!
Any sissy can post a negative comment on someone's video...
As you requested, here is a spread sheet (of sorts). I counted the first 78 comments I came to, I excluded my own. Of the 78 comments there were 51 that had an obvious opinion as to the correctness of your post. 45 disagreed with your instruction and 6 agreed. Sorry but those are the facts.
This is a screen shot I just took - 8/22/2019
drive.google.com/file/d/1NWmPXwfvnr4Yb--q-P2weDLvEhDjlktv/view?usp=sharing
Your missing the other 500 comments there are 577 total so call it 90 negative comments (including yours) and that comes out to about 15%.
Typically even if your video is fantastic your going to be 10% negative in general so I'm quite happy with that it means I'm helping the majority of people who watch the video.
The likes are roughly 2000 (the actual number is 1.92k) to less than 400 dislikes.
So I really don't get your point... you can never please 100% of people, but I'll take 85% any day.
On top of that, I also have the ability to delete all the negative comments if I want, but I chose to leave them because I wanted to create an open and clear channel of communication.
Full disclosure I did delete a few, where some suggested I kill myself also with some other vulgar things, but other than stuff like that everything stays.
I guess my point is, if I was trying to hide something or be malicious, why keep the negative comments when I could just wipe them away with one click?
@@Findyournextguitar thats why there are so many positive comments huh I guess you cant count im,sorry
My guitar was the opposite direction, but the business card trick helped so much. THANK YOU!!! No more BUZZ.
Hey Judd, I'm glad it helped.
@@Findyournextguitar YOU COULD HAVE BROKEN POOR JUDD'S GUITAR WITH YOUR POOR ADVICE IDIOT.
report this excuse laden egomaniac piece of shit people.
All six of my guitars turn the truss rod clockwise to tighten. Turn counterclockwise to loosen. If there's too much relief tighten clockwise. If there's not enough relief loosen counterclockwise. In other words 'righty tighty lefty loosey'. Also loosen the strings before touching the truss rod. Then retune and check. And just turn 1/8 or 1/4 of a turn at a time.
Hi from sunny south west FranceI figured out my Epi 339 thanks to you buddy! I thought I would never have it sorted, so thank you so much! Some of us appreciate it!!
Hey Dave, I'm really glad it helped and you got everything sorted out it - I really appreciate comment and thanks for taking the time to share - Dave
HE DOES HAVE THE DIRECTIONS BACKWARDS. UNREAL>. LOL
Thanks, I was trying to figure out what might be causing buzzing, up bow or back bow, I didn't know up bow could cause buzzing as well as back bow, alrighty 🙏
Nikao, thanks for your commnet, I'm glad you were able to figure it out and stop your guitar from buzzing. :)
Don't use a business card. They commonly range from .010" to .016" inches (.254mm to .40mm). They can be thinner or thicker. I'm a printer and we daily print cards of varying thickness.
Julian, thanks for sharing that - I didn't realize business cards varied that much in size. Although if you have too much back bow it might still be useful to use one - if you can't get it under the strings at all then you for sure need to make an adjustment. I guess it a business card could still be helpful in a pinch if there isn't anything else to measure string height with.
Julian do you have any suggestions on something similar that might be more consistent that people might find just laying around?
That's a darn good question. Even the thinnest picks are too thick. I've heard of people using a piece of one of their strings. The paper that you buy for your home printer is typically 20lb bond which is .0035". So you could use 4-5 layers of that. Make sure it's labeled as 20 lb bond. However it isn't going to lay perfectly flat so it may be difficult to use. Anything else I've heard of using, like a Minila folder, could be varying thickness also (usually .011" but sometimes .014"). I've also had repair techs tell me they don't measure they just want there to be a little bit of play between the string and fret. So it depends:
1) If you're anal about it and it has to be perfect you are going to need a feeler gauge.
2) Does it have to be exact? If not then you can probably use the thickest business card that you have laying around and give it a little more space. Again, the majority of business cards are 10pt to 12pt so they aren't really thick enough.
3) In general paper products are a good idea if you have the packaging because it will either say how thick it is or you can google it.
If I think of a common item that has a reliable thickness I'll post it.
Regarding which way to turn the truss rod. My neck was flat so I needed to add bow to it. On my Epi Les Paul. looking down the neck from the head stock, I had to turn it CCW. Which is exactly what your diagram(4:04) says to do. (and the opposite of how I would have guessed it to work so thanks for the diagram).
Edit: I read your diagram to mean turn it CCW to ADD forward bow. I guess it could be interpreted the other way though. Maybe that's confusing.
Julian, for my own guitars - especially my go to which is my PRS Mira (one of the 2008 ones before they had the S2 line) for one I haven't needed to adjust it in 6 months. And secondly it typically needs such a minor adjustment I can do it by feel. Not so much by eye - but I know what it's supposed to feel and sound like when it's setup properly.
So unless it's way off or if when I do it by feel the adjustment doesn't go the way I think it should then I'll measure it with a mechanics ruler - you can get nice aluminum ones on Amazon for like $2.
Sometimes the neck will look like it should turn the opposite way it should and it's a bit trickier with the PRS because almost all the core PRS guitars have a dual action truss rod (it's noted by a steel nut - if you see a brass nut on a PRS it's a single action truss rod). I say trickier here because a tiny turn goes a long way - a 1/8 turn could be too much with the dual action rods I normally end up turning it just a tiny amount and it's good to go.
I guess ultimately for someone wanting to know what they should use if a business cards aren't consistent - probably fold a piece of paper in half two times and use that. Were talking about measurements that are hard to see with the naked eye so feel is the next step towards the perfect setup here, although it's probably way overkill for most people who just want their guitar to play like normal again.
A lot of those tools like feeler gauges aren't really used by working pros for basic adjustments - absolutely yes when you get into cutting the nut, fret leveling or more advanced things, but most people will buy these tools then never use them. I learned that the hard way myself when I bought a kit a few years ago. After the second or third time you begin to realize it's an extra step you don't need - at least if your always working on the same guitar.
Julian Wells agreed! Automotive feeler gauges work perfect!
@@Findyournextguitar don't forget to tell her how wrong your directions are if she made it this far and is still willing to have a conversation with you is astonishing in itself
thanks a million for this. Just got a Schecter and Jem Jr both with Floyd rose and they're my 1st.
I just installed the Tremmory on the Schecter and not really knowing what I'm doing. After it was all set up. I had fret buzz on low E around 7th 8th and 9nth fret. It's a shredders Guitar so low action. Turned the rod Clockwise just a little bit twice as you said just to get the feel of it. and it worked great. No more buzz :)
Now I need to do the same with Jem Jr as I dropped the tuning half a step and the action is really higher than id like. I have been messing with the trust rod on that one, I need to go back and follow your steps. As there's still a little bit of buzz. Also, the Jem Jr frets came a little rough out of the box. So they need to be polished and a full restring. Schecter came in the mail ready to play with no problems.
Hey man, thanks for your comment.
I would highly suggest maybe not polishing the frets or at least don't do anything to the top of them, you might sand off the crown and mess up the harmonics...
If they are sharp on the side you can take a finger nail file and gently file down the sides - any throw away one will work just fine.
As for the action, I never owned a floyde rose - I'm sure there are some specifics you need to do in the setup that I didn't cover - stuff thats specific to a floyde - Rabea Massaad might have a video that covers some stuff about a floyde. I'm completely ignorant about them so I wouldn't want to steer you in the wrong direction.
I would also point out - there might be some tweaks you need to make after dropping the tuning. If it was strung in standard tuning for a long time they neck might need some time to settle - I highly recommend not constantly switching tunings - you guitar will never play right if you keep making big tuning swings.
Ideally you don't want to switch more than a half step, and even at that you don't want to do it often. You might be able to get away with it a bit more with a floyde but ideally you want tuning to stay the same.
I'm happy to try and answer any questions if you have them - Dave
@@Findyournextguitar thanks for comment.
As for polishing frets? They were rough when i bought the guitar. Feels like im griding on the frets when I bend them,all over the fret board. Other youtube videos i watched said they need polishing as they wernt polished to begin with. Mine do look like they havent been polished?
I believe I've made my point and others agree. Verify and read comments before listening to one opinion. Thanks and better luck next time with a video.
Thanks, I really did enjoy our chat - even if you were mean and incorrect 🤓
Sorry bro, but think about it... Tighten the truss rod turn right (Clockwise) makes the gap smaller, I use .010 to .012 feeler gauges with a capo on the first fret and hold down the fret closest to where the neck meets the body and hold the guitar in a playing position while checking! Loosen the truss rod, Left (counter clockwise) and the strings tension pulls the neck forward (More string relief). A truss rod works like a floyd rose or a seesaw. You have to get the tension pulling the same on top (strings) vs. bottom (truss rod). Just think of it as a seesaw or balance beam bro.......... Mike (Ipswich River Guitars).
Hey Mike, I appreciate your comment.
I think it's a good explanation about how the truss rod works. Like I've said before - it's a matter of perspective - which angle are you looking at the truss rod and from which side.
I've added a link to the description to a chart from Sweetwater Sound so It's completely 3rd party.
It's showing the same things I'm saying, just in a much clearer way.
@@Findyournextguitar Sorry bro, I must have heard you wrong...
Clockwise to tighten and anti clockwise to slacken and give relief, on everyone of my guitars. In fact, I'm yet to own a guitar that is the way round in the video
I hope you reported the video for blatant incorrect information. I am betting he has made money from the ads for the last 2 years. This should not be the case.
The video is right!If you want to reduce back bow, hold the nut still and turn the truss rod clockwise. Of course, since the truss rod is fixed to the neck, you need to turn the whole neck (and body, if that’s attached) clockwise.
The easy way to remember is this. The truss rod tension counteracts the tension of the strings. Loosen to let the strings bend the neck more. Tighten to oppose the strings. Double action rods are more complicated, but the direction is the same.
@shallnotbeinfringed unlessuvotedem You are completely right. Maybe I should have been clearer. To reduce truss rod tension (and hence reduce backbow), if you are looking at the nut end, you can hold the guitar (and hence the truss rod) still and turn the nut counter-clockwise, as you said. Or you can hold the nut still and turn the truss rod (and hence the guitar) clockwise (from your point of view). Personally, I would do it the way you said.
Clockwise is tightening the truss rod. You dont put yourself with the screw pointing toward you and say im going to thread it in anticlockwise.. your info is backwards
Part of everyone's confusion with the direction to turn the truss rod, comes from perspective. For example, if you are looking at your guitar in the middle, with the body to your right and headstock to you left, turning it "clockwise" is actually COUNTER clockwise if you are looking at your guitar straight down from the headstock. You are turning you Allen wrench the same direction, but from one side it is clockwise, and from the other side, it is counter clockwise. And depending on who is teaching you, they may be doing it differently. So having a video where you can see where they are looking at the guitar helps.
Thanks for pointing that out Jeff - your 100% correct and where it gets really tricky is if you have a top or bottom adjustable truss rod it's reversed.
When I filmed the video I did it from that angle because I thought it would be the easiest to understand lol - and I was really wrong on that!
I did however attach links in the description to a chart from Taylor guitars and a chart from Sweetwater sound which much more clearly show the direction from the top of the headstock (like you suggested)
I even embedded the links in the video to pop up - CZcams removed the annotation feature so I had to make it a card, but it's the best I can to do help fix any confusion.
Thanks for your comment.
@@Findyournextguitar well well well your on the right track now thank you for coming around and fixing the video soon I hope
Before I get shouted down by FYNG... yeah, that image is totally unclear and misleading. I'm glad I checked other resources and didn't rely solely on this diagram. But judging by his caustic replies to other people with the same issue, that tells me all I need to know. People want to trust their sources for information... this ain't it. ✌
I got a new ESP Black Metal Arrow and changed the 9s to 10-52. I admit, I didnt do truss rod or intonation, just action height. Well I have been having fret buzz exactly in the area of when theres too much bow. Thanks for the vid and helping me figure it out
You should be able to seamlessly switch between 9's and 10's on most guitars... some might need a minor tweak, but since you went up in string gauge then I would look at string height first - might need to slightly raise the action - I would double check that before a truss rod adjustment and then adjust the truss rod if it's still not where you want it.
It's important to do the action first because it will save you from having to change it again after adjusting the truss rod.
I realize you said you already adjusted those - I'm mainly just saying it for anyone else reading this - thanks for your comment - Dave
YOU KNOW, EVERYONE ELSE, STEW MAC, JOHN FROM ELIXER, ALL SAY OPPOSITE TURN FROM WHAT YOU RECOMEND...THIS COULD CAUSE BIG PROBLEMS FOR NEWBIES....GET YOUR WORDS STRAIGHT BEFORE COMMITING TO THE YOU TUBE.
Also get a fret board ruler - I just used it to check the straightness of my neck as I adjusted and it helped me get my action back after adjusting fret buzz out.
Any straight edge will do here - you don't need to buy the $75-$100 stew mac one...
I got mine from a metal smith in Ohio a few years ago - just search for an aluminum straight edge if it's more than about $20 your probably getting ripped off for no reason.
You want something roughly 14" long, but not longer than 20" - otherwise it will be too long and potentially scratch parts of the guitar when you are trying to measure.
Also, the straight edge isn't essential to do a truss rod adjustment, but I can sometimes help you see the neck bow more clearly. It can also help you see if your frets are un-even or need leveled. I would recommend having one getting one, but you can do it without one.
If your in a pinch you can use a 2x4 turned on its side, a normal ruler, or even a string. Anything that can give you a true straight line will help you see whats going on so long as you measure the correct spot - for more specific details on this check out the complete guide to guitar setup - where I go into much more details about how to do a complete guitar setup, as well as which tools you need to do a complete guitar setup.
It's 100% free, here's the link:
czcams.com/play/PLrSYW7_mqXddxQHNljZAY7uK-FAi37uaI.html
You are helping confuse guitarist break there guitar ! If it's forward bow, you need to tighten (clockwise) while facing on your hand (nut/bolt) you are working with, to have proper relieve of your choice. Your middle pic says the opposite..
Thanks for your comment Nath, I'm sorry you feel that way...
...so far the opposite has held true.
Of course the directions could be more clear, but not one person said they broke their guitar from this video. Thousands of people have contacted me saying they finally now how to adjust their own truss rod even if the went the wrong way the first time.
@@Findyournextguitar every one feels,that way dumb ass ego maniac take it down
HIS DIRECTIONS ARE RIGHT!! If you guitar has access to the truss rod threw the hole pass the strings, clockwise will tighten it snd counter will loosen. If its at the head than obviously its the other way around guys just use ur head…
Thank You!!!
As I've gotten a bit older, I have come to the realization that so few ppl are working with their hands or know how to use tools that they actually were not able to figure it out... they literally just don't understand because they've never worked on anything... and then a small handful think the truss rod will actually break and are afraid of that...
I do have a vidoe I'm going to put out before the end of the year, where I'm just going to break a few truss rods to elimanate any confusion or fear... If I knew this many ppl were going to see this, I would've spent a lot more time on it, I just never thought it'd get more than a few hundred views at the time lol.
Thanks for having common sense and taking the time to write your comment :)
I feel like I need to chime in as another voice saying you are wrong about what direction does what, just so less people think this part is correct. Turning the rod to the right always flattens the neck (bring the strings down), and turning it to the left gives the neck bow (brings the strings up). No matter what side the truss rod is on this is how it works. The images in the description are correct. Your video is cool but you area spreading misinformation about a part of guitar maintenance most people are needlessly afraid of. Here's a challenge- Show us a guitar that when you turn the rod to the right bows the neck (makes the strings higher). I don't doubt that there may be at least one guitar in existence like that, but I'd like to see one from a big named maker that works like this.
Hey Russel,
Thanks for your comment - would you do me a favor and pickup you guitar stick your allen wrench in the truss rod nut and then turn it clockwise - now flip the guitar over and turn it clockwise again the same amount - let me know if it's in the exact same position you started or if you turned it the same way twice.
@@Findyournextguitar give it up your an idiot you tighten and loosen 1 way for each no,matter how you hold look at etc... To the right to tighten to the left to,loosen and it is only 1 way of looking at it the correct way the way any one who tightens a screw bolt nut etc.. Looks at it you know your wrong ego maniac take it down
Yes he has it ass backwards. Lol
you made a mistake on the internet, it should be brought to your attention forever
Ok Ruddy - what was the mistake? Leaving comments open on this video lol???
How is this still hotly debated. It's one tiny step above righty-tigjty, lefty-loosy.
This is a good social experiment. The creator of this video is potentially 100% incorrect about his advice. I truly do not know the answer to this question, which is why I am looking for a video about it, so I'm seeing it unbiased by default.
Especially after reading some comments, I am continuing my search now somehow less educated than I was before I started.
this should help
www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/media/2017/02/Adjusting-Truss-Rod.jpg
You got it backwards. I drew the same diagram and I labeled the nut (where my truss rod adjustments are made on all my guitars). Also I drew a diagram as seen looking from the headstock down towards the bridge. Then I drew and labeled CCW and also CW on that diagram, to make it completely clear.
Hey Peter - there was some confusion about this... I don't have it backwards - it's just were look at the guitar from the other side... please refer to the comments below and this chart www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/media/2017/02/Adjusting-Truss-Rod.jpg
Ok, I Saw the link showing the Sweetwater diagram. Thanks for clearing this up.
I made several drawings a few years ago to help me understand this. I used terms like concave, convex when talking about the bow in the neck when viewed from the side, and drew pictures from the side and also the top end point of view, just to clarify in which direction (from the nut looking down to the bridge point of view) that clockwise turns the rod and in which direction counter clockwise turns the rod.
Hey Dave, do you realize that the diagram you linked to (which is correct btw), OPPOSES what you said to do in your video.....review what you said starting at around the 1:40 mark.....it does not agree w/ what that Sweetwater link shows!!! Those of us disagreeing w/ you are not crazy lol
Hey Andrew - again - it does if your looking at the opposite side of the guitar... from the body of the guitar to the nut instead of from the nut to the body of the guitar. I'm not quite sure yet how to best address it with out taking down the video to make it more clear. But I very much appreciate you pointing that out because the last thing I want to do here is create more confusion for an already very confusing subject.
I think part of this comes down to it depends on how you were taught to do the adjustment - I was taught to do it this way and I didn't ever think to look at the guitar from the other side. If you were taught the other way then you would think the same and I could just as easily take an image from the opposite side of the guitar and say the Sweetwater chart is wrong, but they would both be saying the same thing - clockwise and counter clock wise are reversed from the opposite perspective of the guitar.
Unfortunately CZcams does not let you make major edits to videos with out making you create a new video so I'm going to see if there is a way I can insert the Sweetwater image somewhere and do a voice over to clarify this. I'm open to any other suggestions as well.
I mean I could just delete all of these comments and ignore it but I don't think that helps anyone and I want to make sure all of my content is clear and easy to understand. Eventually I'm probably going to just redo it.
Thanks, eventually I saw your exchange w/ David Sutherland where you explained the source of the confusion. I think you are making a sincere effort to clear things up & I hope I wasn't being too disrespectful in disagreeing w/ you publicly. I don't know exactly how to clear things up, maybe a few sentences in the video description describing in which direction you were looking when you turn the truss rod? But idk if YT would allow you to edit the video description after it's already posted? No one ever taught me how to do it, I taught myself via experimentation, watching YT videos & reading guitar repair blogs & posts. And this particular video/article published by Taylor Guitars might be helpful when people find there way here in the future:
www.taylorguitars.com/support/maintenance/truss-rod-adjustments
Hey @find your next guitar, sorry for leaving a harsh comment a few weeks ago that you're giving wrong information.
I guess I was reaaaaly relying on your rotation direction instructions and it turns out:
truss rod rotation might vary from one guitar brand to another, so there's no "rule of thumb" written in stone torotate clockwise or anti-clockwise, you just gotta test it and see how the guitar responds, and adjust accordingly.
Hey, thanks for this - seriously - most ppl don't give it any thought and just say mean stuff. I could've filmed it from a different perspective to make it more clear, I did link some charts in the video and in the description and comments to try and give other perspectives as well.
The problem with a video like this is you can't ask me "hey is this what you mean?" and i can't give and immediate yes or no response. Then you have the secondary aspect of all the guitar shops putting the fear of god into you that you'll break your guitar if you don't let them adjust it for you - implying that you're to stupid to figure it out yourself.
That was really why I made the video, when I was about 14 some mean old guitar shop guy told me I'll break my guitar trying to figure it out, turns out he was just a mean old guy and anyone with half a brain can work on their guitar. The only thing I'd advise ppl not to attempt is a fret level because you can really quickly take off too much and actually ruin the guitar as well as you need to understand how to shape the top of the frets etc... it's a lot more technical. But truss rods are pretty easy and they don't break unless your abusive with them.
Here is correct info on truss rod adjustment. First, it is important to note that the truss rod exerts effective pressure on the neck either up or down in the middle of the neck. No movement occurs at either end for obvious reasons. A perfectly straight guitar neck is not what you want. The neck should fall away from the strings at around the 10th fret. This is called "relief" and allows the string to vibrate freely without touching a fret...(buzz). 'Relief" is accomplished by turning the truss rod nut to the left as you view it from the headstock down the neck. Adjust the neck with as little relief as possible to suit your playing style.
These instructions are way more clear than the ones I used in the video or the charts that I linked in the descriptions 😝
@@Findyournextguitar they couldnt be any,more confusing as yours though,
My initial research indicates that Fender guitars issued after 1971 had truss rod access at the headstock with no mention of "special orders". I'm sure Fender will accommodate and feasible request for the money.
They have this thing called the fender custom shop... it's where people go to pay much higher prices for guitars, even though the guitars aren't actually any better, and in some very sad cases they are worse than the Mexican built ones.
Also, the Fender USA guitars are made in Korea.
But here's the link to some super overpriced guitars www.fendercustomshop.com/
@@Findyournextguitar fix it or take it down,ego,maniac
These directions for counter or clockwise adjustment is totally backwards.
Thanks for your comment Danny - please take a look at some of the other comments as well as the links at the bottom of the description - it depends on the perspective you are looking at the guitar from. The directions are correct if you are looking at the guitar from the opposite side you are referring to.
@@Findyournextguitar no shit no one is looking at it the way you describe it is that what you think the way you describe it is wrong hold guitar as you are playing it toward the ceiling or toward the floor remove this video you are ruining guitars
Jeff Smalley if you play a vintage strat, like the guitar in the illustration, the truss rod nut is at the heal of the neck, not the headstock. So the directions would be correct.
@@JethroBoDean can you edit this so it makes more sense?
@@pmayh3m if your truss rod is at the headstock hold the guitar as if you were playing it adjust by turning it toward the ceiling or toward the floor way easier than the dumb ass who won't correct his stupid instructional video and wont admit that he tells you to adjust your truss rod the wrong way every one who has ever turned a screw bolt nut knows you turn it as orientated over the top of the screw bolt nut not from,behind it. Pissed off he is telling mostly new players to turn their necks to,make,them,even more unplayable so they just give up guitar all together he claims he is trying to,help well he is doing quite the opposite
Here is more information for you. It is generally agreed that 1971 marked the end of Fender truss rods being accessed from the heel. The change was to make neck adjustments without removing the neck from the body. A previous post by you suggests that the truss rod access point is a buyer option. I know of no guitar in production today that offers this option. Perhaps you could enlighten me. Looking forward to your reply.
Thank you for further proving your complete lack of knowledge about guitar manufacturing and the market... they are hundreds of major artists who swear by the bottom adjustable truss rod and won't play any other guitar which is largely why they are still made - Fender sells them, Warmoth sells them, ESP sells them, All Parts sells them (licensed by Fender)... hundreds of thousands of guitars with bottom adjustable truss rods are made each year a quick google search will prove that so thank you for showing your incompetence in the subject because it allows everyone else to see your argument holds no weight. 😎
In case anyone else is reading this and missed the other comments here's the link to fenders website where their 3rd most popular guitar manufacturer today comes stock with a bottom adjustable truss rod.
It's not a remake of a 60's model - just the American Elite Strat...
shop.fender.com/en-US/electric-guitars/stratocaster/american-elite-stratocaster/0114002783.html
@@Findyournextguitar despite all that your video is wrong wrong wrong
The way you described adjusting the truss rod was a bit confusing, I eventually got it but I think I almost snapped my truss rod in the process
If you had snapped it, you might have had a case with the other 50,000 people who probably broke theirs to get class action going against this backward shit.
Just listen for buzz . Then pull back or push neck in untill it goes away .
If you get it to stop in push or pull, adjust the truss rod accordingly . If not, you have another problem .
Pretty much - I think it's so difficult for beginners to understand because of the fact that it's actually that simple and ppl want it to be some complex secret or they were told by the guy at their local guitar store they would ruin their guitar if they tried to do it themself.
At first i thought this was a good video until i saw the comment section. Now i don't wont to mess around with my guitar.
Hey Jorge, sorry for any confusion here - I don't have time to redo the video and make it more clear and even if I did perhaps you'd think I was wrong so here's an outside source from Sweetwater Sound -
www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/media/2017/02/Adjusting-Truss-Rod.jpg
I wish I would've used this angle in my graphic for this video.
I never imagined it could create so much confusion - please know many people commenting aren't actually listening to what I'm saying - they are just jumping on the band wagon without looking at the facts.
If you look at some of the first comments you can see several people who said I was wrong, now agree with me after I showed them why they were wrong.
The purpose of this was to help eliminate confusion not create more, but there are a lot of people who don't know what they are talking about when it comes to guitars.
Anytime I've ever worked on a guitar I'm always told how much better it plays. I was trained by one of the esp custom shop tech's.
I hope you do end up working on your guitar - it's very easy once you do it once or twice and aren't afraid of breaking anything.
If you have any questions I or something you're confused on I'm happy to directly answer them, just reply to this comment.
Yeah!
@@donniekellerman5833 look if your old enough to own a guitar - then you owe it to yourself to figure out the correct way to adjust it otherwise you become a bit of a slave to your guitar shop for adjustments... there are tons on videos on this subject - I tried to make mine as clear as possible but the problem is it's really subjective. Sometimes it looks like you need to turn your truss rod the opposite direction. You're never going to figure it out if you don't tinker a bit. You're not going to break your truss rod unless you abuse it, man handle it, or have a really old fragile guitar where it was already going to break anyways because they used cheap parts. I beat the hell out of a few of my guitars, tore them apart and put them back together. I learned a lot of what not to do and my goal was to share that with you guys so you don't have to make the same mistakes I did. I never broke a truss rod, but I have ruined a few fret boards.
If you're going to play guitar, you owe it to yourself to learn this stuff because if you don't you'll be capped and never get to the next level. Once you try it and see how easy it really is to do yourself - I hope you look back and see how ridiculous some of the negative comments are. Read some of the first comments or the pinned comment at the top from Mike Porter. Then make your decision. If you honestly get stuck and can't figure it out then reach out to me. I'll make time to help you.
@@Findyournextguitar hey bro, it's cool. I was only playing around. We're good. Just a joke toward some of these other comments.
@@donniekellerman5833 I appreciate you say so... I just want to help people not be afraid to work on their guitars :)
The diagram is very confusing because; for example, the bottom neck that is called "backwards-bow," says 'turn trussrod clockwise," but that doesn't tell you if that the way you turn it to GET it that way, or to counteract the back-bow ... same with the one in the middle.
So, I still don't know which way to turn it. And the conversation below with David Sutherland confused me even more.
Yes it it, I'm sorry for that - I added a link to the description to a much clearer diagram I wished I would have used to begin with.
Unfortunately CZcams has removed the annotation feature I did add in a card saying to look for the diagram in the description, but It's easily missed.
There isn't any other editing magic I know of to help solve the issue so sorry for any inconvenience.
Magmanaz if your guitar has backwards bow you need to loosen the truss-rod to relax the neck and create some relief. This is done by turning your truss-rod anti/counter clockwise! If your guitar has too much relief or forward bow you need to tighten your truss-rod by turning it clockwise. Remember always treat the truss-rod nut like you would any other nut or screw, consider it as if you are facing it with the tool inserted, turning clockwise tightens and turning anti/counterclockwise loosens(lefty loosey, righty tighty). For further information on this topic please look up any of the other videos on youtube on this subject. I suggest Stew-Macs videos, they are simple and to the point and made by professionals. Please dont use this one, it is too confusing at best and at worst its simply wrong as it goes against all the recognised standards. Following the directions in this video could easily significantly damage your guitar!
Your theory may be on point, however, the visuals are inaccurate. Keep in mind that from the bridge to the nut strings don’t bend up or down.
Fair enough, I'm terrible at graphic design I should've just drawn it by hand and taken a photo as well as shown it from the top of the nut to prevent any confusion.
@@Findyournextguitar holy shit did you just admit you are confusing people wow thats a first your not going to argue a futile point or flat out deny your wrong maybe your coming around still need to take this video down
my guitar only has fret buzz on the low E string at the 15th fret which i almost never use when i play songs but should i try to adjust a bunch of stuff nonetheless? it's already perfectly intonated and setup just the way i want but that one fret annoys me.
honestly it's probably a fret issue - whre either you need a fret level or one fret is a bit too high - the problem is that's kinda hard to diagnose without seeing your guitar - it's pretty technical - for example my schecter from 2012 - I wore out the 2nd fret - I still play it, but I tweaked it to where it doesn't bother me that much and I don't feel it's worth my time to do a re-fret or fret level for that particular guitar.
But if it's driving you nuts try to find a serious guitar shop - don't take it to a big box store - if they tell you anything under $200 for a fret level run away... to do it properly takes a good 4-6 hours. Unless it's a really nice guitar I'd probably just leave it. You can play and play and maybe get 10% better or so but if the issue is the frets, you'll never get it where you want.
Not to say you can't do it yourself, but if you don't know what your doing - trying to do your own fret level is by far the fastest way to ruin your guitar.
I went through every comment. He has replied to and told him he has given bad advice. And that his direction is without a doubt wrong he has spent more time responding with poor reasoning or telling you to look at links or description at bottom of page when he could have just taken it down and did an accurate one his ego knows no bound
The Sweetwater image makes things much clearer. Too bad no one would see it without reading a comment that mentions it's there.
@@pay9011 then we should just go to sweet water then why even do the video if you have to go to sweet water to get it right and then he is telling you one thing sweet water is telling you another add some more confusion to it it's not appropriate to rely on this kind of nonsense he is the #1 video when it comes to this how to video that's why he won't take it down no question about it he knows it's wrong his ego won't let him fix it
Fucking oath man, I am going to keep replying to every fucking 300 or more comments if I have to. This shit has to be deleted. Flag it if you haven't already.
A guy just pointed out that Fender is again making truss rod access at the heel. I checked it out and the familiar walnut plug does seem to be missing from the headstock. Wonder why they reverted to this again? Thanks for the update.
They never stopped making them, some guitarist want true "vintage" spec guitars because they think they sound better. It's opinion and personal preference. It's the same reason someone would drop over $100,000 for a 60's les paul... There isn't much logic to it at that point
@@Findyournextguitar nor,is,there in your video not much,logic,that is
I also thought you should tighten ( clockwise) to relieve forward bow ...
Hi Alisa, please see the "update" section in the description of the video for further clarification on this... sorry for any confusion :)
@@Findyournextguitar remove this video all ready good Lord how are this many people getting it wrong they are not you suck
Remove this video. You’re a joke. Just admit you were wrong and move on
@@Findyournextguitar Please "clarify" the wrong information in the video rather than hide behind excises that don't stand up mr "10 years experience"
report this video.... PLEASE!
Thanks, so many how tos do not address the most simplistic way to address this. You did and having the visual helped.
My goal was to simplify it as much as possible, it can bit a bit confusing the first few times you do it. Feel Free to Reach out if you have any other questions :)
@@Findyournextguitar also feel free to take this video down and make a correct one
DO NOT FOLLOW THIS VIDEO IN FACT TURN THE OPPOSITE WAY TO WHAT THIS FUCKWIT SAYS. He thinks you turn a screw by looking at the pointy end, and won't admit he is wrong about it. Please report this trash.
I'm glad to see a lot of ppl think as I do. You're making this more complicated than it is. Clockwise to take relief out and counterclockwise to give relief. I listened to your video 3 times and each time I got more confused.
Hey James, you are correct - I thought I was being clear, but it seems I wasn't as clear as I could have been...
Which is why I made 12 more videos - I used to sell them, but I feel like it's something every guitar players should know.
I hope you find some more clarity from these ones. In particular "how to adjust a top adjustable truss rod"
czcams.com/video/SKNy8a51mwA/video.html
The Complete Guide to Guitar Setup Playlist:
czcams.com/video/Gdevq5Q35Hs/video.html
DO NOT FOLLOW THIS VIDEO IN FACT TURN THE OPPOSITE WAY TO WHAT THIS FUCKWIT SAYS. He thinks you turn a screw by looking at the pointy end, and won't admit he is wrong about it. Please report this trash.
It is true that Fender will do most anything you are willing to pay for. My point is that Fender has not used Heel truss rod access in regular production since 1971.
I have a Dan Smith era 1982 reissue and it has a heal truss rod. Now those guitars were reissues , but they were in regular production for a few years. Pardon the random triva point, but thought I'd note that.
And just to chime in on the other comments, The diagram is incorrect based on industry standards. And it does not matter if the truss rod is in the neck or heal. To the right is tightening the truss rod, to the left (counter clockwise) is losening the truss rod. Maybe take the video down and re-do it? Just a tought. The commentary was good and really described the topic well.
Thought you’d mention the importance of the nut cut for the first few frets and saddle heights for the end frets. All three are needed for good action without buzz.
Cutting a nut is the absolutely last resort. I'd replace it with a new one before I'd think about cutting a nut.
i like lots of relief i give relief and raise saddles till no buzzing on higher frets
You can play like that if it feels better to you, with in reason - most guitars are adjustable to play either high or low, it just depends on your play style and what feels best to you. Though if you're doing lots of fast picking or solos you will want them as close to the neck as you can get.
These instructions are on a par with your instructions on truss rod adjustment. Both are wrong!
its really nice info... except for adjustments being backwards on the clockwise and counter clockwise stuff.... acoustic taylor..
Literally is the thing that makes this DANGEROUS info that amateurs could break guitars with. Please report this shit so that it can be taken down. He doesn't think it's "priority" to stop giving bad advice to everyone. His "10 years of experience" counts to no more than an ego trip and quoting it to anyone who questions him.
Congratulations. You have taken the confusing topic of truss rod adjustment to a whole new level of clusterfuckery. This is a spectacular train wreck you've created here in the comments section.
Thanks man!
@@Findyournextguitar not going to,deny it good
Strings pullit forward tighten holds against forward poolfull
#thankyou. I usually set my guitar face down to keep it from a U bow. The hard part is you have to detune the strings then retune them everytime you make an adjustment one way or the other 😀
Thanks for your comment Nathan, you actually do not need to de-tune the strings, your supposed to make the adjustment while the guitar is in tune under the pressure of the strings because that's how the neck will be when you play.
Just be sure to not break the strings if they get super tight then de-tune them a bit.
But you should make the adjustment while the guitar is in tune - the same way you would check intonation.
It is the wrong way round for 99.99% of people; with anything that requires screws, nuts, bolts, allen keys or spanners it is assumed that you are looking at the top of the thing you're turning. We can't have a situation where someone says "turn it clockwise *depending on your perspective" or "turn it towards the sky in the northern hemisphere, but in the southern hemisphere turn it the other way" This is just ridiculous!!! There's a universally accepted way of ascertaining the tightening and loosening turny things! :)
Yeah he's looking at it from where you play the guitar not like anyone who uses tools lol. I guess know your audience?
Exactly.
He seems to be hiding behind ego and some dumb sense of "perspective" and forgets that for a Tele, for example, the screw IS at the base of the neck, on the pickup end. So either way he is confusing SOMEONE with the way he has described it.
I hope you flagged this one for misleading text or something, as I did.
I guess the money from a quarter million views in ad revenue is more important than actually giving people clear information.
And in the pinned comment he says the HEAD of the ESP custom shop vetted this video... Tsk tsk... If that is the case I think I might have to sell the LTD I rescued from (I think) a stage smash (pawn shop cheapie) and customised into a beast! XD
@@troysorensen1089 Not really though, what about telecaster owners who have the screw AT that end of the neck and STILL turn it the other way from that perspective?
This is bad info, no matter what "perspective" he wants to say he is using.
I found this video to be clearly explained. Of course, once I finished watching and saw the comments, I realized the error. But that's easily rectified (just crank the truss opposite of what he says). The entire rest of the description- and diagrams- are spot on!
Thanks Lance - it was one of those things wehere I thought the frist couple people who said it was backwards coudln't possibly be right - i mean I wnet out of my way to double and tirpple check it before I uploaded it - as well as lots of people were saying it was really helpful - then I realized when I was creating the video I was working on my bottom adjustable strat and that if you were working on a top adjustable truss rod - it could seem the directions were backwards.
I think the sweetwater sound chart was a much better perspective - I just wish I had shown both perspectives instead of just the side view. It would have eliminated a lot of confusion.
Clockwise or counter-clockwise viewed from which end of the instrument?
please refer to this chart for more clarity... www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/media/2017/02/Adjusting-Truss-Rod.jpg
Exactly numb nuts describe it correctly in a new video and quit trying to justify your ego get some aspect of you did this video for the purpose of helping people with there guitar then you should have no problem with taking the video down and starting over
It SHOULD be looking at the head of the screw, as truss rods can adjust from the body or head end depending on the guitar, and he has it backwards because he is looking at it as if screwing in a screw into his own eye... not good. report this please this has been here giving bad advice for 2 years and it's not his "priority" to fix it.
acousticguitar.com/how-to-adjust-an-acoustic-guitar-truss-rod/
This is the correct way to go, whether you are looking from the body or head end, as long as you are looking DOWN on the screw you are turning.
report this trash if you haven't already.
Thanks now my new bass sounds good
Thanks for your comment - Please be aware - the more indepth adjustment videos are guitar specific - if you try to straigten your bass neck as much as a guitar neck it can damage it - bass guitars by desing bow a lot more due to the neck lenght.
Also nice Hoffner - is that a short scale too?
I have watched this video three times and have decided it should be taken down because it is wrong. At 4:25 in, this guy tells you to loosen the truss rod (counter clockwise) to correct "forward Bow"
(excessive relief). This will only increase the relief. Turning the truss rod clockwise to correct Backwards Bow could damage or break the truss rod.
Hey Cyrano - it depends on the setup of your guitar- in the next 5 seconds in the video I go on to say it depends on whether you have a top adjustable / bottom adjustable truss rod... they are backwards from each other.
I'm going to try and make that more clear in the video - youtube removed annotations, but I think I just found a way to add this into the video with cards...
Having played Fender guitars for over 50 years, I know exactly what I am talking about. My point is this: Your post on how to adjust a truss rod is wrong...Period!
Perhaps you could explain why all the comments to your post point out the fact that you are wrong. I just want to help others avoid BS advise like yours!
@@tboy630 please explain in explicit detail what specifically you think is wrong because my video is correct. Thousands of other people also think it's correct...
@@tboy630 All the comments? Kind of like All the Fender guitars with top adjustable truss rods? Their are 560 comments on my video roughly 450 of them are positive and thanking me for the video and helping them fix the guitar - clearly you didn't really read any of them just like you didn't look up if Fender sold guitars with bottom adjustable truss rods...
I had a forward bow (Concaved) I turned it clockwise on my acoustic guitar and now it's fixed.
Awesome! Was this the first adjustment you did yourself?
@@Findyournextguitar you betcha!
Awesome, the next best thing to do is to setup your whole guitar and check intonation and string height
You can find the videos on how to do this in this playlist - czcams.com/video/CP814dHXOdk/video.html
If you get stuck or have any questions please let me know.
@@Findyournextguitar well he got lucky or is a dumb ass like you and cant tell his left from,his right
Mayor Meeks what you did is correct! If your neck has forward bow turning the truss-rod clockwise/tightening it will straighten the neck out and remove the concave bow. This is actually opposite to the directions given in this video, so by the sound of things you got lucky by not following this videos directions. In future, for your sake please dont try to follow these directions again, as you may not be so lucky! Please look up any of the hundreds of other videos available on this subject on youtube. I suggest Stew-Mac as their videos are always clear and easy to understand and made by professionals.
Add me to the group who thinks you have your instructions reversed as far as which way to turn the truss rod. I do my own setups, have watched a number of instructional videos on the subject & also (more importantly) have dealt w/ the issue on just about all the guitars I've ever owned. Unfortunately, I think you are mistaken. In fact the rule of thumb is "righty tightly, lefty loosey"....do yourself a favor & look it up!
just to be clear, turning the truss rod clockwise stiffens the rod & reduces the relief caused the the string tension pulling the neck forward. Conversely, turning the truss rod counterclockwise will INCREASE relief by making the neck less stiff (easier to bend) & thus more susceptical to string tension.
This explains it best!
Well, there seems to be a bigger confusion among guitar players and techs. I mean, saying clockwise and counterclockwise is kinda confusing, if one doesn't specify from which direction they look at the neck. If you are looking down your neck from headstock side, it agrees with what you said about the direction. However, if you look up your neck from pickup side, it's the exact opposite. I guess the confusion of which way to look at the guitar comes from differences between electric and acoustic guitars. Acoustic guitars are usully adjusted from the sound hole, so that's why some people look from pickup side. I always look down from headstock, so i don't mix the directions.
If you are looking at the truss rod as you are making the adjustment, there should be no confusion.....I'm not sure why one would NOT look at the tool as it's being inserted? If your adjusting at the headstock, look at the tool as you insert it & make the adjustment.....same holds if you have the truss rod adjustment at the soundhole (as in most modern acoustics)......look at the tool as you insert it & make the adjustment. Right tighty, lefty loosey. CW = tighten = less relief, CCW = loosen = more relief.
Your group is the entire rest of the human race that doesn't look at a screw from the pointy end when they are trying to screw it.
EDIT: Unless you WANTED to screw something into your eye I guess.... XD
Just did the truss rod adjustment coz of my fret buzz 14th fret. I tried both counter and clockwise motion, ends up ok. Depends on the guitar. You also have to check the alignment from the bridge up to the neck. Its my first time btw.
Congrats man, you did your first truss rod adjustment. I'm glad you figured it out.
If you have any questions I'm happy to answer them - Dave
It doesn't matter where your adjustment is located. A forward bow needs a clockwise adjustment and backward needs a counter clockwise adjustment. Wow!
Succinct 2 the point Thanks.
Yes, exactly. Please thumbs down and report if not already, I am making the rounds of the whole comment section because this needs to GO NOW!
This video should be titled "Stop thinking of clockwise and counter clockwise the way you were taught and have always understood it".
Thanks for your comment, but I like the title the way it is :)
If you only watch one video on truss rod adjustment, I hope it's not this one.... This video should be removed before someone damages their guitar. Directions are backwards!
I have string buzz on my Ibanez electric guitar. It's only near about the first 5 or 6 frets. Visibly, I do not see any strings touching the neck of the guitar. You say adjust the truss rod. Another person video says raise the string height on the allen screws in the bridge. So, I'm at a loss for what I should do to get rid of the string buzz. My guitar is fairly new. The neck is perfectly straight. I tried to raise the nut higher but it still buzzes even with the strings nowhere near the fret board. Good video, but I am getting frustrated.
Raising the nut wouldn't affect buzzing from anything but open strings. The string resonates between your finger on ANY fret to the bridge once you fret a note.. the nut is then behind your fretting hand and the height is inconsequential .. need to adjust action at the bridge or adjust your truss to allow the neck to flex a bit more
I guess this thread can go on forever. My advise for the creator of this video is to just edit the spoken words (everything else is just perfect and fine) and instead use the explanation of turning in or out the screw according to a screws natural behaviour. There are screws that act in the opposite way but i have never heard of that on a trussrod.
More straight neck can mean both to lose or tighten the trussrod depending on how the neck sits before you adjust it. The picture and your explanation describes that very well so that's no problem.
I don't say this to blame you, i just think it will be an improvement, and the video will be top notch the whole way.
And to give you a break instead of guitar necks ;-)
Have a great day!
Tommy - they are in cheap guitars where the truss rod was mistakenly installed backwards by the manufacturer...
As for redoing the audio, I re-did the whole video....
Here's 2 hours worth of how to do a full setup on your guitar.
I used to sell this, but I think every guitar player should know how to do these adjustments so I made it free: :)
The Complete Guide to Guitar Setup
czcams.com/video/Gdevq5Q35Hs/video.html
@@Findyournextguitar Ok, I didn't know that. I guess that's an exception though. Hopefully :)
Great work man! You put a lot of effort in this work.
Cudos!!
Have a great day!
@@Findyournextguitar did you really re do the whole,video then,why is,this still up take it down
Thanks a lot I almost broke mine cause I should’ve been going counterclockwise which is the opposite of what you said!
No problem :) - I'm glad you took my advice to only use light pressure and 1/8th turns (which makes it impossible to break or damage your guitar in any way)
But wait, did you actually figure out how to adjust your own truss rod after watching this? Because in that case you learned exactly what you came here to learn - you didn't break your guitar and now you have a new skill...
If that's the case what are you really complaining about?
Find Your Next Guitar, I didn’t break it, but it’s still not playing good. I turned it both ways and it never changed. It’s got major backbow still , the frets aren’t dead but the harmonics are no matter which way I go.??
@@Findyournextguitar see dummy your piss poor advice is damaging guitars
Wrong direction! Ok, I’ve read the updated description. Now I know what you mean. But this is not a best way to describe turn directions. This video should be remake so no one would damage their guitar by NOT reading the entire description and comments.
The video needs to be changed or taken town, people come here to watch videos, the information should be in the VIDEO. and the VIDEO is wrong and dangerous to truss rods everywhere.
Omg this helped me SO MUCH- I was getting so annoyed because all the videos I watched before kept confusing me
Thanks for your comment, I'm glad it help 😀
If you are not familiar with "righty tightie, Lefty Loosie" then do not attempt working on anyone's guitar, lawn mower, toaster oven etc etc
My new fender p-bass neck is straight on G side, but is concave on the E side. It's brand new but I like this bass so much and not whant to send it back!
I really hate to say this, but if I'm understanding you correctly - it sounds like you have a twisted neck and you 100% need to take it back. - I couldn't verify that without seeing it in person, but if it's bowed on one side near the top and the other direction near the bottom - it can't be fixed, it's defectives and your bass will never stay in tune or be intonated properly.
I bought a bass a few years ago at a guitar shop and they did a final inspections on it before I was leaving and the neck was twisted - if it's twisted it's the way the wood was cut or the end piece of the tree - they should've caught that at the factor, but sometimes a few bad ones get through.
Backwards instructions
Forward bow = tighten the truss rod. Backwards bow = loosen the truss rod. If you can't figure out which direction to turn the screw, then you shouldn't be adjusting your truss rod, take it to a pro.
come on dude...lefty loosy, righty tighty.
I hope you reported this video as I did.
Hahahaha did you watch the spanish/italian guy??
Thank you. All the other dudes kept trying to impress with a paragraph of “engineer” jargon, but you broke it down simple in one sentence.
Is it the same on a left-handed electric guitar?
great information!!!! thankyou!!!!
Thanks Spencer - glad it helped - Dave
Have you tried following your own advice ? or even post a video of you following your own advice ?
When the fret buzz is on the first 3 frets, at what point is the bridge height adjusted while adjusting the truss rod counter-clockwise? The nut is still new, so I don't suspect it. Just want to be sure not to over-adjust the truss rod when height could be adjusted at the bridge.
Hey Don,
I'd recomend a quarter turn in both directions - sometimes when we get into the fall weather changes it just needs to be "re-seated" if you will - or sometimes the truss rod can get a little stuck on residual fret board glue - especailly if the guitar was recently built.
Try that and see if it doesn't just work it self out - you might notice one way is a lot better than the other and go back in that direction.
As far as the nut goes - I have seen quite a few brand new guitars where not only is the nut not properly cut, but the frets down the side of the neck aren't even sanded down - you could even cut your hand quite badly on them... it's really hard to say without seeing the guitar.
The only brand I don't see these kind of abuses with is PRS...
That being said, you really don't want to mess with the nut at all unless you have already checked everything else.
The order of operations would be - lubricate your nut with grphite powder at the nut and the bridge - you want michronized graphite poweder which you can buy as "lock lubricant" it's a powder, not a spray and you will detune your guitar, move the strings out of the nut, sprinkle some powder in there, replace the strings, wiggle them around in the powder, then re-tune the guitar and see if it fixed your issue.
Sammy Bones has a good tutorial on how to do this:
czcams.com/video/y9duUevB7R0/video.html
if that didn't stop the buzz - make a slight truss rod adjustment, then re-tune and re-check - if the buzz is gone your good to go.
If there is still buzz after the truss rod adjustment, check the string height - adjust if needed.
Then re-adjust the truss rod if the strings are too low or too high - most of the time you DO NOT need to do a second truss rod adjustment, but sometimes you need to do a second adjustment after the string height.
If you can't get the string height worked out or it's clear the issue is the nuts are not cut deep enough - then you can take a look at those, but only last - now if you do not know what you are doing DO NOT attempt to cut the nut yourself on a nice guitar you love... it takes some time to learn and you can really mess up your gutiar - granted replacement nuts are pretty cheap, you really do not want to go down that road if you don't have to.
I'm thinking the nut lubrication will get you 90% of the way home, but you might need a slight adjustment as well - unless you've got a really old, or really really poorly built guitar - it's probably not the nut, but might need a slight truss rod adjustment.
If this didn't fix your issue - please let me know - I will help the best I can.
** please note - your profile pic has a bass guitar - if you are doing this on a bass guitar, the truss rod is likely NOT the issue - there is a lot more play and bend in a bass guitar neck and truss rod the principals for adjusting a bass are the same, but you don't want your bass to have as little bow as a guitar neck, it won't play correctly - they are designed to have a much larger bow on purpose due to the lenght of the neck. In the past 10 years I think I adusted my bass neck one time - granted I don't play it nearly as much, but my gutiars probably need a slight tweak at least one time per year **
@@Findyournextguitar @Find Your Next Guitar Thanks for all the information. Good observation from my profile pic that I am using a bass (S.B. Music Man). I turned the truss rod 1/8 turn and still buzzed, then another 1/8 and buzzing stopped. No string height adjustment at this time. Re-tuned and intonation are right on the mark. When this bass was first setup over a year ago, the Luthier said the neck tension will be high with the Labella flats. I also watched the nut lubrication video in the link you added and that's good to know if the strings get out of tune often or tuning changes while playing. Happy to the buzz is gone. Thanks!
Yeah.......... these directions are completely backward.
Respectfully - please read the bottom of the description and many of the comment - especially the first one - it's pinned first for a reason... The directions are either correct or backwards pending on which way your looking at the guitar.
At the very bottom of the video description you'll find two links one from Taylor Gutiars and one from Sweetwater sound - they will take you to a different chart which should clear up any confusion.
@@Findyournextguitar sorry you are dead wrong explain it differently like as your holding it as your playing it toward the ceiling or toward the floor you should remove this video and start over you really are screwing people's guitars up
Dude... Respectfully, you're diagram is giving reverse directions. If someone is facing you and you say "to the left/right" you would give the direction based on their perspective. As with clockwise/counter clockwise, you base those directions as if you were FACING a clock, not standing behind it. Its hard for some to admit error.
@@Bedroom_Studios Wow, I just commented something like the "take it down and re do it because it is confusing" comment, but apparently people have been saying this for months now and he hasn't done anything. I guess my thumbs is going down and I'm NOT going to look into his videos more! Some egos can't take the hit I guess, and are happy to just leave confusing information out there for everyone to get mad at them about while arguing perspective that he didn't illustrate in the video at all and isn't the accepted standard one to use! Way to go man!
@@Findyournextguitar stop saying they are either correct or not. that also is WRONG. your LEFT hand is YOUR LEFT hand. It is on the right looking at you, but we don't call it right sometimes. NO. Get it through your thick head and stop trying to excuse a mistake. You are just being doubly stupid. Refusing to acknowledge absolutely clear mistakes is a problem itself.
How do I set the bridge height on a floyd before adjusting the truss rod . . .
Sorry, I do not know. I've never learned how to adjust a floyde rose because I've never owned a guitar with one.
Rabea Massad has a decent video on how to re-string a floyde rose - it might be helpful to you.
sorry I don't know more on the subject.
czcams.com/video/aGn-xmCduNU/video.html
It’s pretty straightforward, tightening a truss rod tensions the guitar in an n-shape, away from the tension of the stings.
Most cases it’s clockwise turn of the rod bolt to tighten, so clockwise = to create more n-shape, aka to fix a u-shaped bow. Guitars generally have a slight u-shape to avoid buzz, so it’s best to leave the truss rod slightly loose (turn it clockwise).
So basically do the opposite of this video 👍🏻
THIS. finally someone can say it in english lol
Dude I feel like what you said is 50% correct
got to adore the thumbnail, must straight forward thing ever
once you have that basic understanding map in your head
you ll start doing it yourself without any major issue
is all about having the neck Flat for starters then star slowly experimenting and then adapt the bridge to how it feels right to you
orientation must be revers
it depends on which direction you are looking at the truss rod from...
@@Findyournextguitar wrong again you have described it just as we interpret it you are ruining guitars you need to remove this video all ready
@@Findyournextguitar Jeff is correct, the fact that you have not made the changes or taken this down is honestly your own fault. There is no perspective to be argued here. Do you screw in a screw by going around the other side of the wood and reaching back around to screw it into yourself? No. Case closed. If you do you're a fool.
If this is wrong why it worked on my guitar? i have extreme buzzing in the 3rd fret and some buzzing after the 12th. Adjusted the rod counter clockwise (looking from the headstock to body) and the buzzing got better. gonna wait and see what happens in a couple of hours.
Thanks for your comment Alejandro.
If your guitar needs a second adjustment in a couple of hours there's probably somtheing very wrong with it unless your touring outside in high heat and humidity and then taking it into an air conditioned (much cooler) area right after.
There are really only a few reasons you ever need to adjust your truss rod.
Vibration - from excessive play, and I mean hours of hard playing. Normally this ins't enough to move the truss rod by itself, wood is very versatile, though it's rigid and hard it normally wants to snap back to place.
Temperature Changes - going from high heat to low heat, or visa versa. For example if it's winter time and you take your guitar out to your car and it's 70* in your house and 30* outside. It can cause the wood to warp and bow.
In some extreme cases it can even cause the paint to crack.
*** Fun Fact *** if you want to "relic" your guitar take a can of compressed air, turn it upside down and spay a light coating on the paint, It will look like water, then quickly freeze. It will immediately cause the paint to shatter. I would highly recommend not doing this, as it will make it flake off and destroy the resale value of your guitar.
Last, but most important - moisture content (humidity) changes.
The more water wood retains the more flexible it is.
If you've ever done and wood work or needed to bend wood - then you know it must be wet while your making it bow otherwise the wood will crack, break, or splinter.
The more moisture content in your wood the more your going to have to adjust the truss rod, this is also why a maple neck, vs rose wood or mahogany needs adjusted more often.
The reason it worked for you Alejandro, is because buzzing in the lower frets is usually caused by back bow/not enough relief. By turning the truss-rod anti-clockwise you were actually loosening the rod and allowing the neck to relax and create the relief your guitar required. So what you did was the correct course of action and opposite of the directions stated in this video. For further details on how this process works please look up another video, the information in this one is too confusing at best if not completely wrong. Try some of the videos from Stew-Mac they always provide clear and simple to understand directions from professionals!