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How To Adjust The Truss Rod Of An Electric Guitar?

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Setting up your guitar can be a daunting task because there are so many things involved in the process. For setting the truss rod of an electric guitar you need to pay proper attention. If you have learned about the Parts for Electric guitar then you know what a truss rod is and here we will discuss a few guitar repair tips that can help you adjust the truss rod and you can play it again without any issues.

What is a truss rod?

A truss rod is the metal bar that is made of graphite or steel and it is reinforced in the guitar neck, other stringed instruments, and bass. When you are tuning up then strings put pressure on the neck and the truss rod will help in counteracting the tension so the player can adjust the neck bows as per his convenience.

Setting it up:

Adjusting The truss rod needs some preparation. Before you begin you need to make sure that you have all the tools and space to make a precise setup.  Mat or a padded workbench is important but having a towel, pillow, or blanket will work fine. If you are using Epiphone parts then you need to consult that manual to avoid damaging the instrument. You will need a spanner wrench, electronic tuner, 6” Ruler graduated in 1/32” and 1/64” increments and socket wrench or Allen wrenches of appropriate size for the truss rod. You may also need the radius gauge, wire cutters, capo, neck rest for securing the guitar, and a long straight edge.

To sight the guitar neck:

First, check the neck and see what corrections are required. When you are sighting the neck you have to see how the neck is reacting to string tension and the truss rod relief. Here we are just trying to understand whether the neck is straight or not.
First, you need to tune the guitar, then turn the guitar on its one side and close one eye. Now look from the headstock to the left bridge down the neck.
Look at the fretboard on both the bass and treble side of the neck to check whether the neck is curved and straight. If the truss rod is affected in the middle so check the 3rd and 9th fret. See if it is Upbow then the string will be quite far from the frets and it will affect the playability but if it is Backbow then the string will be near to the fret and cause fret buzz.

Doing the tap test:

If you cannot see the neck then do not worry because you need some practice for this. Another thing you can do is do the tap test. It is easy to feel the neck relief with the help of a string like a straight edge. The space between frets and string reflects the bow of the neck and if there is less space then the neck is suffering from the back bow. Too much space means that the neck has an upbow. 
For the tap test, you should start fretting the first fret and then use the pinky finger to fret where the guitar is joining the body.
Now press the string lightly till it touches the top part of the fret and you can understand the amount of space between the strings and the frets.
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