Taylor 110 problems

How do I know if a truss rod needs adjustment...new guitar plays really hard.

What do you mean by it plays "hard"?

Truss rod controls the bow of the neck. It only needs an adjustment if you want to unbend the neck (if it is too concave or convex).

By plays hard I mean it is extremely hard to depress the strings...they are high off the neck.

So then your action is too high. Might not have anything to do with the neck/truss rod. Without knowing what type of guitar you have, how high the strings are, not being able to look at the neck, ect.....we really can't give you a specific answer on your issue. It's like asking, "How do I know if my cars transmission needs work. The car drives really hard". Extremely broad question for a problem that has many different variables.

Google around for how to lower your action and see if that helps your problem.

Hi
Before you start messing with new guitar ( and poss making things worse ) I see you are full member.
Why not ask Steve White in the full members area? Guitar Tech.
Jon says he is offline for a couple of days at the moment but will be back asap.
Just a thought.
Cheers
mike

As a newcomer to Guitartricks, I appreciate your advice

Needs to go to someone that does set-ups. My Taylor 710 was high action and I sent it to my Luther and he fixed it up and now it plays beautiful

Took it to local guitar doctor, lowered action and adjusted truss rod...plays 100% better...what are they doing at the Taylor plant in Mexico? Certainly not making sure set up is right before shipping.

Great news Vscott... Sure does make a difference..

Good news you got your ax back from surgery. Guitars need to be set up, Even when you pay thousands for one, they still will not be the way you want it to play. Too many players like their actions a certain height, size of strings, etc. You did not mention what size strings you are using, but this could play a big factor in your playing. I am glad everything worked out for you , if you find a good Luther that is always a plus. Read up about keeping it humidified in your case. I live in Pa. and I have a wood burner and its a must to keep all my acoustics humidified account of the wood will warp or crack. Just something to keep in mind

Hi there,
i have the same problem -
it has been hard for me as well to play the guitar, and it took me a while to understand that the reason is the strings are far from the neck.
what should i do? cant i adjust it myself?
at first i thought about replace it with another guitar..
thanks

If you never set up a guitar before I do not advice trying to make a acoustic right. I had mine set up by the proper person, He will make it right for you

Originally Posted by: mayyuvalHi there,
i have the same problem -
it has been hard for me as well to play the guitar, and it took me a while to understand that the reason is the strings are far from the neck.
what should i do? cant i adjust it myself?
at first i thought about replace it with another guitar..
thanks

Truss rods are generally adjustable, and can have some effect on lowering action on part of the neck, however, it is only the 3rd of 3 things you need to check. It's generally easy to give that a tweak if you take a minute to understand what you are doing and think in fractions. (ie: don't crank turns onto that or you'll break it!)

The two other potential problems in guitars with high action are the bridge and nut. On an acoustic, neither is adjustable in a way you can reset it back to original if you make a mistake. (They need to be physically reshaped; either deepening the slots, or shaving the whole unit on the bottom.) Would recommend taking to a luthier (guitar tech) and have them check it out and make any adjustments, since anything you do to these is irrevokable, and it's easy to split, chip or crack them. (Trust me!)

However! If it's not an expensive guitar, and you are already considering a new one, and you are willing to do some reading and take some risk, you will save a boatload of $$ learning to do this yourself. It's way more satisfying if you are any kind of DIY person and you can spread the joy helping your friends for free. ;)