set-up help

Hello all. Ive been setting up my own guitars for a long while now and I still cant figure this out. My guitars all seem less than desirable to play unless they are tuned down to at least E flat. When they are in standard E tuning the strings seem too tight and unresponsive. I feel like crap here because I find that I won't play my guitar unless it's tuned down, I know I don't have week fingers this is a matter of my enjoyment not ability to play the instrument .
Anybody who has had some experience with this is it just me? :confused:

If you're having experience with tight strings... maybe you should try a smaller string gauge... Also, how high is your action? If your action is set too high for you "enjoyment" it will make the strings seem harder to press down than what they should be. I've personally never had this problem but something doesn't sound right. Normally if a guitar is hard to play in standard it won't be much easier to play a half step down... So it must be a minor issue having to deal with a heavy string guage or just high action.

What kind of guitar is it?

What guage/type of strings do you use?

How often have you tried to adjust the truss rod?

I use regular or light gauge strings and my action is very low Im using a vintage Greco and a jackson dxmg, I think i found my proplem however. I went to a website that had a guitar set-up guide and it was just a quarter turn of the truss rod that made all the difference. I'm always adjusting my truss rod week to week because the tempature in my room varies from shiver to sweat so it takes its toll on my necks i guess.

Thanks for your help I believe I've got a good approach now that I researched a little more in depth about the proper "bow" in neck and how it should be for easy playing no buzz, and low action. :)

Originally Posted by: force_of_shred I'm always adjusting my truss rod week to week because the tempature in my room varies from shiver to sweat so it takes its toll on my necks i guess.

You should find one truss rod adjustment and keep it there. There are a few things about truss rod adjustments that you may be overlooking:

1. Truss rod adjustments don't show their affects right away... depending on how much of an adjustment you have made sometimes it takes a whole day and a half for the wood and the rod to fully settle into position.

2. The adjustments are meant to counteract the string tension and add or take away relief within a certain guitar setup........ Not counteract humidity or the lack there-of

3. Excessive truss rod adjustments are just as bad on your neck as anything else... Humidity is good for your necks to a certain point. The right amount of humidity will give your guitar a certain resonance that you may not otherwise experience... The lack of humidity obviously dries the wood... makes it more brittle and gives it more of a trebly tone... But excessive truss rod adjustments will wear the wood down and you'll eventually experience cracking, splintering, loose frets, and maybe even a devastating warp that will be irrepairable...

4. Often times the affects of humidity on the neck are minute to the point that they only swell or dry the wood out enough to throw the guitar out of tune.... Causing a major inconvenience... If the humidty levels of where you live change so drastically that you have to adjust your truss rod every week.... your guitars necks are going to look like pretzels in a few years either way... I suggest getting some kind of a humidifier or dehumidifier to balance the humidity in your air to spare your axes if this is the case....

Once again.... Truss rod adjustments take time to settle in so go slow... often a 1/4 turn is waaaay toooo much... and the change of "humidity" may just be the fact that you've adjusted the truss rod too far and it's taken the guitar 2-3 days for the wood to catch up to the truss rod... I only adjust my truss rod maybe once or twice a year... If my gutiar goes out of tune because of humidty, I just retune it... In the long run it's what's best for your neck.

thanks alot for your interest and help.
I shouldn't have to adjust it to often anymore now that I know the exact amount of bow it's meant to have.
Most of my problems before came with simply over compensating by turning the rod too far in iether directin when trying to adjust it. thats why it was a 1/4 turn to get it right.

but I got it perfect now and I now know how to keep it that way, and I just may have to invest in a humidifier.Also may also keep a closer watch on the tempature in my apartment if not for the instrument then for me cuz I can't play when my hands are so cold it take's an hour to warm up.. :)


Thanks Again