Need help with acoustic guitar adjustment

[BrianSH]

How do I adjust the truss rod on an accoustic guitar?
I bought this guitar back in '76, and it has sat for the past 20 years, and now I'm thinking of back into it.

My fingers don't seem to fit on the finger board like they used to when I was in high school, like there's not enough room. And the strings are too high off the frets.

I do know the truss rod can be tightened to lessen the bowing, but how do I know when I've got it correct?

- Brian

[Rusty]

What kind of guitar is it? You might consider taking it a Luther (one who works on stringed instruments) and have him do a set up for you. It will play much better after the setup.

[86er]

Tighten the strings so they are tuned and measure the space between the fretboard and the strings every couple of frets. See if there is a substantial difference. Low towards the head needs to tighten and low towards the soundhole needs to loosen. Once you figure it out, loosen all the strings again and see if there is any play in the neck or board. If you can access the rod, it may be through the top with a cover on it (Gibson), through the soundhole (new Martin) or behind the head (Avery). Turn the nut the way you need it to go (tighten or loosen) while supporting the neck. No more than 1/2 turn at a time. This is a basic explanation but might get you through.

[BrianSH]

The guitar is a limited edition Hohner. Think Martin D-35, large dreadnaught in size and shape, not like Guild Dreadnaught, that to me looks like a figuire 8 in shape.

The guitar was made in Japan, and yesterday at the farmers market, one of the local entertainers had a Takamine that had the same type of fretboard markers that my Hohner has. I would not be surprised if Takamine was the originator so long ago, but I have never searched out the real maker.

Since buying a "Snark" electronic tuner, I think my guitar sounds better than it did when I was in high school. But then I've spent the last 28 years working around jet airplanes, and the tinnitus was not caused by gun fire.

Thanks for the advice Joe. The rod accesses throught the sound hole. I will make the adjustment after I take off the old 20 year strings and put some light guage strings on.

- Brian

[AJMD429]

WHAT KIND OF NONSENSE IS THIS! CLEARLY THE DECENT LEVERGUNNERS OF DAYS GONE BY HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY A BUNCH OF SNIVELING WIMPS, WHO NOT ONLY OWN THINGS OTHER THAN LEVERGUNS, BUT DARE TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THEM.

I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE. THIS FORUM USED TO BE A DECENT PLACE WHERE SOMEONE COULD ASK AN ESOTERIC QUESTION ABOUT A VINTAGE LEVERGUN, BUT NOW I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THE WORLD IS COMING TO...

[...oops, I think I was channeling someone else... ]

Hope you figure out your guitar question. I've found this forum helpful for everything from diesel tractors to welding, and sometimes, for lever-action rifle questions. best place on the internet as far as I'm concerned...!

I guess it's because it largely attracts outdoors enthusiasts who are a bit nostalgic, yet interested in practical riflery, and all the other outdoor/hunting/fishing/farming/homesteading things that go along with it. We may be the last generation who understands self-reliance and individuality, even though < gasp > we sometimes are interested in things other than leverguns...

[pneuby]

WHOA, there! At a bare minimum, you should get it into a controlled humidity environment first, and let it get some moisture. You might end up cracking the neck or fretboard just by tweaking a dried-out instrument. I would consider getting this to a local dealer with a luthier on staff.

[El Chivo]

Just go slow. Tightening corrects bowing (concave) and loosening corrects back bowing (at least on my instruments it does). You should do final adjustment with the strings at tension because the tuned strings add or subtract tension to your truss rod adjustments.

These days I use the strings themselves to check the adjustment. Slips of paper and credit cards make decent feeler gauges. Slide them under the strings to see how much room is there. Check for straightness while fretting a string at the first fret, since nuts are usually a little high. While doing this, fret the string again at the 12th or 14th fret and the string should touch all the other frets at the same time as you push down. Then you can see if it's still concave, and how much. You can also sight down the neck and it's surprising how well you can see any bowing or high frets.

A LITTLE bit of concave is actually good, as the strings vibrate more in the center than the ends.

The final analysis is the feel and TONE you get when playing - too low an action generally sacrifices tone and volume.

[octagon]

Most older guitars use a 5mm hex wrench to adjust the neck, turning clockwise will tighten the rod and lower the action. Here is the correct procedure:
Put the guitar on a towel on the table and clamp the tail block with a 14" cam clamp or just have a friend hold it down. Put a cloth covered block under the neck at about the 5th to 7th fret, or a couple boxes of .44 shells will work. While turning the wrench clockwise, press down gently on the headstock while turning about a quarter or half a turn at a time with the guitar tuned to pitch. Keep wrenching the neck back until the guitar starts to buzz when you play it. Now back it off a quarter turn, or until it no longer buzzes while playing it normally. Presto.
Make dang sure the wrench fits properly as most ruined truss rods got that way by using an ill fitting wrench.

[new pig hunter]

+1 Rusty.

Take the guitar to a set-up guy. There's a lot more going on than just lowering the action by tweaking the truss rod. If you're serious about playing again, get the guitar set up properly, it is well worth the money to have it done right.

Cheers,

Carl