Guitar Action Questions.

Hi all, I've just been watching a video from a guy whom appears to be a retailer of Guitars. The video is an approach of making adjustments to the truss rod as a way to change the high of the strings from the neck.

Although this appears to be correct I dont fuly understand his discription, heres why.

He states that the guitar neck is bent and the strings could be close at fret 1 and from 20+ and furthur away in the middle of the neck. His description of how the truss rod makes sences to this point, in the fact that its bent and the tension will either lift of lower the center of the neck. So far so good.

I'm check my guitar because looking at it, the string around the 20+ mark are a long way from the neck. so I was hoping to ease up the pressure on my fingers a little. Well, my guitar neck is dead straigt looking a steel rule placed in the frets and at this point im a little lost.

I want to reduce the hight a bit without going mad obviously. Can I still do this evn though my truss rod is hidden. I think it can be found or accessed up by the tuning keys.

Any advice here please.

regards

Rachel.

Hey, Rachael! If you have technical questions about your guitar, guitars in general, then I encourage you to post your questions in the Guitar Tech forum!

https://www.guitartricks.com/forum/threads.php?f=30

We have a great & knowledgeable guitar tech on staff just for this purpose! He's very thorough & consistenly helpful in answering any questions GT users have about the technical side of guitar setups. For example, here's a search based on "truss rod" in his forum.

https://www.guitartricks.com/forum/search.php?searchid=2119367

Originally Posted by: Heavenly Daughter[br]I'm check my guitar because looking at it, the string around the 20+ mark are a long way from the neck. so I was hoping to ease up the pressure on my fingers a little. Well, my guitar neck is dead straigt looking a steel rule placed in the frets and at this point im a little lost.[br][/quote]

It might be that your guitar neck needs 2 things if the action is too high.

1. A little relief added via a truss rod adjustment, meaning that the neck is too straight.

2. Lowering the bridge (& or nut) to get the strings lower (lower the action).

The problem with a totally straight neck (or a backbowed neck) is that lowering the strings won't always help because there isn't enough space for the strings to ring clearly without hitting the frets & causing fret buzzing. That's why there needs to be at least a little bit of relief or curvature.

[quote=Heavenly Daughter][br]I want to reduce the hight a bit without going mad obviously. Can I still do this evn though my truss rod is hidden. I think it can be found or accessed up by the tuning keys.[br]

I encourage you to be careful here. You can adjust it yourself if you know what you are doing. But you can also damage your guitar! You might want to visit your local music store with your guitar and ask their opinion of the action & how much an adjustment or setup will cost & if it will benefit your guitar. Also, while you are there you can try other acoustic guitars to see how much difference there is in the action from your guitar.

Also, don't be shy about asking Steve the GT tech questions. :)

Hope this helps! Best of success!

Heavenly I agree with what Chris said, and I can give you a bit of advice. I bought a brand new Yamaha FGX 800 C that was a little high on the action from about the 7th fret on. There was really nothing wrong with the guitar, but I bought it from my local Guitar Center, and paid 50.00 to have it set up. It works great now, and all they had to do was a normal setup. From what you describe it seems like maybe its high at the saddle and if they lower the saddle the strings will lower also. Pay for a luthier to set it up. Well worth the money.

I drove almost 2 hours just to purchase my guitars from a well-respected store with a highly-esteemed luthier on staff. I am a beginner on the guitar, but play other instruments that have needed maintenance and repair through the years. While it's not impossible to make adjustments on your own, you can never go wrong by having it professionally done by someone who does it all day every day for a living. It's well worth the small charge, and the relationship you develop with that individual is priceless, as is the peace of mind that you'll have from knowing it's been thoroughly gone over.