Guitar neck

[Frank88lpcustom]

How long will a acoustic guitar take before adjusting the neck angle? Which is a painfull procedure on a guitar i know, any tips on how to avoid it?

[duluthdan]

I have found a small adjustment of the truss rod (1/4 turn)only really took 5 or 10 minutes - others say wait overnight, and thats probably good advice to determine whether it warrants more adjustment. Mahogany neck?

[merseybeat1963]

Use lightish strings..When I was young it was traditional to use .013-.056 strings,which is heavier than most use now. Earlier I suspect many used heavier than that .

A guitar that will probably resist a neck reset more than most is the following..

 

In 1975 George Lowden embarked on a series of experiments aimed at increasing structural stability (Acoustic Guitars)

 

"I knew that it would be a simple matter to add extra stability to this area through extra mass,but I wanted to do it in such a way that there would be a direct structural relationship between the neck itself and the bracing of the soundboard.

If this were possible then it would ensure that the vibrations of the neck itself would be in direct contact with the soundboard.

Therefore I finally designed what has now become known as A frame bracing,consisting of two structural struts extending either side of the soundhole, up through the transverse strut,under the fingerboard and finally..butt-jointed against the neck wood itself,

inside the dovetail neck joint.

This unique design feature emphasizes long term stability between the neck joint and bridge ensuring extra stability of the neck angle for the entire life of the guitar.

In order to further enhance the soundboards stability, Lowden guitars have a thin sheet of wood within the A frame cross(X) brace area around the sound hole.

Which combined,contributes to maintaining excellent stiffness to weight ratios,encouraging great sustain and responsiveness."

"Traditional Dovetail...

In factory produced guitars,even expensive ones..DOVETAIL JOINTS CAN ONLY BE FITTED QUICKLY IF SOME GAPS ARE LEFT..particularly between the front face of the dovetail and the dovetail housing.

This reduces thestability and the structural/tonal link between the neck and the sound box.

In Lowden guitars the top of the neck dovetail is in full contact with the dovetail housing and truncated ends of the A-fame struts.This takes extra time to fit accurately but does stabilize the neck joint , and provides better overall tone.

[Stubee]

In my personal experience it can be a very long time. I have a '52 with original set & have had other old ones. I've owned new models for 15+ years with no need for a reset. I use 13s mostly on dreads. I have a '53 that has had a reset. There is no 'rule' on how long a neck set should last but IME it should be a long, long time.

 

I've read about guitars less than 10 years old needing a reset & find that to be a stunner: they shouldn't need that so soon, no way in my book. 40 years, yeah.

 

IME guitar necks of course will want to move 'up' but many will do so in the first years of their life & then settle down a bit. I would never choose guitar strings based upon trying to avoid a neck reset years down the road, life is too short for that.

[merseybeat1963]

In factory tour videos of manufactories, when showing the fitting of the neck ,the neck is going in and out a little too quickly/loosely for my liking.

Im sure as George Lowden explains in the article I put here about fit of neck joint on factory made guitars, is reason why a recent guitar(20-30 years) would have a shifting neck requiring a reset.