Bent neck?

Roby

Hey everybody i was wondering how i would fix my guitar. There is way too much action. One of my neighbors said that the neck is probaly bent. Is there anything i can do myself to fix it so i dont have to go spend money and have the guitar shop do it?

Roby

MikeM

What area are you in? Maybe someone here is willing to help you out pro bono.

I looks like it could be the truss rod. Easy fix but it will take time and patience.

Supply some more pics so we can see what the guitar look like as well. Particularly the headstock area and where the neck meets the body.

Roby

Yea theres something were the neck attachs to the body that looks like i could twist and maybe that would fix i dont know much about guitars and is trying to learn how to play and this was givin to me so i dont want to spend money for someone else to do it if i can. Here are some more pics.

MikeM

It's broken. Just give it to me. I will give you one that works ?

Really interesting guitar man ?

You have to adjust that thing at the bottom. 1/4 of a turn a day AT MOST!!!! Although let us wait for Alan to give you better advice because I cannot remember which way it goes so late at night ?

Cheers man

Roby

Ok cool thanks, Roby

FenderBender

Hey Roby, I adjusted the relief on a les paul today. Pretty easy if you know how. Bear in mind that high action could be the result of too much relief and/or bridge height and/or even nut height, so adjusting the truss rod without fretting the correct strings in order to check the relief could be dangerous and you could wreck your axe :'(
I use Alan's procedure at http://www.ratcliffe.co.za/articles/setup.shtml

The important thing is that you fully understand the theory and procedure and that you are comfortable doing this yourself. If not, let someone who knows the procedure set your axe up for you.

Roby

Thanks im going to try. Roby

AlanRatcliffe

From the pic it is the truss that needs tightening - it's quite far out by the looks of things.

Use a thin screwdriver as a wrench - put it in the holes on the truss nut (the metal bit at the base of the neck) and use it to turn the nut clockwise. Start with about a quarter turn (until the next hole is where the top one was before you started turning) and check the relief, then take it at about 1/8th of a turn at a time between checks. Once it looks about right, leave it overnight to settle and check again - it may have gone too far, and then you'll have to loosen it a bit again. Also, if you get fret buzzing between about the third to the 12th fret once you have adjusted, the truss rod is too tight and will need loosening.

aja

Remember to keep it in tune while you do all of this

Gearhead

(sorry Aja) it would be smart to actually loosen the strings by tuning them down, tighten the rod and then tune back to pitch to check. It is not very hard as long as you don't overdo things...

Roby

Cool thanks for all the help. Roby

aja

Gearhead wrote (sorry Aja) it would be smart to actually loosen the strings by tuning them down, tighten the rod and then tune back to pitch to check. It is not very hard as long as you don't overdo things...

Sorry, I should have clarified! I meant while you wait for it to settle overnight it might be better to keep the strings in tune. I friend of mine once adjusted the truss rod but forgot to check the tuning. Turns out the strings were tuned up a full tone and as soon as he tuned it properly the neck changed position again, requiring readjustment and leaving it overnight again to settle.

But I did not think about loosening the strings during the actual adjustment, good tip! ?