Gibson101 Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Hello everyone, I took some 13-56's off of my J-45RW and put on some 12-54's. I'm thinking I'd like to give the trusss rod a little turn to lower the action just a hair. Any thoughts, tips? I've sanded some saddles but never touched a truss rod yet so this should be fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Hello everyone' date=' I took some 13-56's off of my J-45RW and put on some 12-54's. I'm thinking I'd like to give the trusss rod a little turn to lower the action just a hair. [/quote'] Since you mentioned having worked on saddles, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and spare you the "the truss rod is for adjusting neck relief not lowering the action!!" speech. Just loosen the nut a quarter turn, wait awhile (hours is good, but minutes will probably do), check the relief, and repeat if necessary. Very easy. Over-tightening can cause problems, but loosening is pretty near foolproof. -- Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson101 Posted March 17, 2010 Author Share Posted March 17, 2010 Since you mentioned having worked on saddles' date=' I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and spare you the "the truss rod is for adjusting neck relief not lowering the action!!" speech. :- Just loosen the nut a quarter turn, wait awhile (hours is good, but minutes will probably do), check the relief, and repeat if necessary. Very easy. Over-tightening can cause problems, but loosening is pretty near foolproof. -- Bob [/quote'] Well Rar, I have always been told that it was another factor in the grand scheme of perfect action. I feel like after making the switch the string height it is ever so slightly higher , are you suggesting I need another set-up after making this string change? I just wanted to try it out for a few days. Give the fingers a break. Also since the neck has a slight bow to it wouldn't a slight adjustment towards straight cause the action to become lower as a result. Am I off here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 If you loosen it, the strings will pull more, creating MORE bow... NO? :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 If you loosen it' date=' the strings will pull more, creating MORE bow... NO?[/quote'] Yes! I should have read the post more carefully -- I just saw the part about going from 13's to 12's and thought "loosen". -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 I have always been told that it was another factor in the grand scheme of perfect action. ... Am I off here? I guess I should have given the speech. The truss rod affects the action' date=' but you don't use it to [i']adjust[/i] the action. You adjust the truss rod to get the neck relief where you want it, then adjust the saddle height to get the action where you want it. -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RASHARU Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 The very first step should always be to measure (feeler gauges) the string height at the first fretwire. In my experiences, the nut slot depths will control about 80% of your final "feel"... or "string height".. or "action". Whatever you want to call it. If the nut ain't right, you'll never be satisfied with the neck relief or the saddle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 The very first step should always be to measure (feeler gauges) the string height at the first fretwire. In my experiences' date=' the nut slot depths will control about 80% of your final "feel"... or "string height".. or "action". Whatever you want to call it. If the nut ain't right, you'll never be satisfied with the neck relief or the saddle.[biggrin'] That's true. If our nuts aren't right we will never be satisfied. Am I right, gentlemen? lol sorry I couldn't resist! Anyway be careful with twisting on the truss rod. If you overtighten or go too much of a turn too fast you could cause the bridge to start pulling up due to the sudden increase in force. I've sanded the saddle down to near nothingness and tightened the truss rod like crazy on my old el cheapo beater, but the action still isn't low enough. The nut is definately where it's gonna need to be adjusted the most. I plan to give that a go soon. While I'm happy to destroy anything that costs less than $100 by tinkering on my own, a Gibson or a pricey Epi is well worth the $25 or so a luthier would charge for a proper set-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RASHARU Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 That's true. If our nuts aren't right we will never be satisfied. Am I right' date=' gentlemen?[/quote']I saw that joke a comin' & I couldn't get out of the way! I wish there was a more "technical" term for that particular part of a guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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