Have you ever worked on a “Chibson - Chinese fake Les Paul” ? If so, what was your experience . I saw a luthier on the net that had a guy bring one in because the owner ended up separating the fretboard from the neck, trying to adjust the truss rod. The luthier said it wouldn’t be worth repairing it because it would cost more than the guitar is worth. So he and the owner decided to tear it apart and see what the problem was with the truss rod. The luthier found that the truss rod was actually welded in one piece and was non-adjustable right from the start and that’s why the owner broke the neck trying to turn it. I was just interested to hear if you’ve ever ran into one of these at your shop ? I got suckered into buying two of them, there is some buzz but I have to raise the bridge and/or put something under the A & low E strings to make it play better. I always enjoy your videos and I own a bunch of you tools. They work 👍
@@flashy5150 One came into a shop my brother used to work at for a set-up one time. But unlike yours, he said this one was an extremely well built counterfeit-everything worked and played just as good as the real thing, including the truss rod. He was shocked. I guess things coming out of China really are a crap-shoot.
@@jsullivan2112 Often good counterfeits are made in the US or Europe, not china. Slashes "Famous black Les Paul" was not made by Gibson, and actually better than a Gibson.
#Me too! Lol. That's funny as hell to me because I feel exactly the same and said as much. Check out "twoodfrd" channel. He's another Bob Ross luthier. I don't play or work on guitars but love watching these cats.
This fully explains guitar action, demonstrates it, and stresses the importance of getting it right, far better than any other TH-cam video in existence. Thank you for your service.
The misconception though is that truss rods fix action. Truss rods are only to set the proper amount of relief for the target action to want to achieve. Higher action=slightly more relief while the lower the action, the straighter the neck. Neck relief first, then in a perfect world nut or bridge can be next. Nut slots are also pretty non-negotiable, they're either right, or wrong
@@stewmac on an acoustic guitar if the neck is straight but the action in the middle frets approximately 9 through the last fret is too high, doesn't that mean the bridge is too high? Shaving down the bridge saddle to perfectly level is the solution?
Hey Austin it's great to see you get your advice from Dan Erlewine. he's probably the best there is. you can't go wrong with him. I have learned a lot from him.
After watching this video I went to the garage and made some tools seen here from my scrap wood pile. Moving forward this is the only way I will ever perform truss rod maintenance on my guitars. Thank you Dan...True Master!
I like all of the StewMac videos I see, but this guy is my favorite host out of them all. Such a great video. I've been playing and adjusting guitars my whole life, and by the looks of it, I still had a lot to learn.
Thanks for decades of sharing your experience and innovation. I’m so glad to have started my day with this tutorial, ‘even learned a couple things, and happy to hear you play! You’re an inspiration 🙏
So nice to hear experience verbalized. Dan always exudes competence. A real delight. I'm grateful. I would love to see him take on the challenge of performing a neck reset on a classical guitar.
Discovered this channel as I was looking up guitar set up and maintenance videos on TH-cam. These guys are so good and explain everything so easily! Good job! Plus, Dan is such a sweet and humble guy!
that's why I listen to my elders never been steered the wrong way to do anything yet and you got to respect someone that teaches you something that trick with the notches in the blocks and the block under the neck those two will stay with me forever thank you sir for helping out a guitar picker for pride.
great teacher...I started following Dan in the 80s, I retired 15 years ago from this trade as an internationally authorized repairer. I uploaded as far as I know the first Lutherie website in the world but never had the time and production skills to make good quality videos. Sometimes I miss my job. ciao Dan !
Dan is so Zen. I wish all my school teachers were like him. I've learned a lot watching his videos. I, in fact, did a level crown and polish on an old Sigma that I played 'till the frets were destroyed. Now it plays like new again. Didn't think I could accomplish that. Dan is a great teacher!
Hands down the best explanation, no bells and whistle, everything explained. Wow. Too bad I found this channel so late, would have saved me quite some time. Now if only that truss rod on one my guitars would move in any direction...
Great video. I've seen many truss rods ship maxed out on new guitars. No room to turn in a given direction. Very frustrating and something most buyers wouldn't know to look for. Years might pass until they find out the hard way.
Great video! Never fear the truss rod! I like just a bit of slight relief. I find I like a little more relief on some of my basses and nearly flat on others. Different instruments just behave differently even when seemingly identical in all respects.
I don't understand why anyone would say "using the truss rod will destroy your guitar." That's almost like saying "changing your spark plugs will destroy your car."
Fear the truss rod unless you know what you’re doing. The metal that the truss rod is made of isn’t strong enough to move a neck that is too far out; that’s why you have to use clamps and leverage to force it back to level (or a little beyond). The truss rod will keep it from returning and can make finer adjustments, especially if it’s being loosened. It breaks because people think they can force it and the metal or the threads can’t take that amount of force. Every mechanic knows that leverage can strip threads, or even break a bolt. That’s one of the reasons they use torque wrenches.
@@robinleebraun7739As with all things, use common sense. Nothing on a guitar should be forced after its built. And always know you're limits. I've only stripped 1 truss rod in 40 years, and that was on a bowed and twisted early 70's Jazz bass. That was back in the late 80s while in college. I bought the bass dirt cheap for parts because the neck was a mess. I did the lubing the nut & threads, clamping, detuning and a few other tricks to adjust that neck. Even heat pressed the neck. It was unsalvageable and I knew that it would probably snap or strip going into it, and It did strip. I primarily mess with basses and bass necks being longer tend to move more and need slightly larger adjustments as a rule. Maybe I'm lucky, but I've done so many setups and truss rods are really not difficult to adjust. Maybe I'm mechanically inclined growing up in the 70s when folks fixed things more (cars, TVs, etc). There is a bit of common sense involved. So I'll add 5 rules.... 1. If a nut is extremely tight, there's an issue. 2. Using a cheater bar on the truss rod wrench is bad because you should not have to fight the truss rod. 3. If it feels a gritty or grinding while turning that's not good. 4. If someone is really afraid of or uncomfortable adjusting it, or if its a valuable vintage instrument, take to a qualified professional. 5. Most important, the truss rod WILL NOT fix a badly bowed neck. Its for adjusting a good neck.
after a "professional" Luthier adjust my guitar there was no buzz, however, the action was so high I could not play it. Watched this video, did it myself and now I'm good to go! Thank you!
Starting around @9:50 while beginning on single/ double action you very conscisely explain what every guitarist/bassist/carpenter came here uncertain about, mentioning how easily one can force a backbowed double action to "reverse" when loosening. Bravo
Great advice from a true gentleman! Dan's wisdom and personality, matched with his skills and no-nonsense approach, have always made me feel at-home trying to perform my own adjustments to my instruments. The world would be a better place if all instructors and mentors were like him!
Years ago there was no TH-cam, and this knowledge wasn't available unless you worked in the business - which means a customer didn't know if things were really being done right (or at all). I appreciate your expertise and willingness to share TY, Subscribed without a second thought.
A true master of his craft. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with our community, Dan. I have the second edition of your book and it has really helped to keep my guitars in great shape and playing just the way I want them. Peace
Thank the Good Lord for Stew! I'm on Social Security Disability and now I make less in a month than I used to in 4 days. Needless to say, I had to learn to fix a lot of things myself. If I have to learn, I want to learn from the BEST. STEW MAC IS THE BEST! I could never afford to have "THE MASTER" work on any of my guitars, so THANK YOU STEW FOR SHARING YOUR WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE STEW! GOD BLESS AND TAKE CARE...
This video is FANTASTIC and extremely well presented. It's amazing what you can communicate when you ACTUALLY KNOW SOMETHING...unlike the many phonies who know nothing and try to gaslight you into thinking they are rocket scientists. But actually knowing something takes time, work and sweat. That's a price most are unwilling to pay. Nice job. This one is saving a 1994 40th edition strat for me.
Super video! I've always done truss Rod adjustment in stages. Starting With a quarter turn. Return string Tension and let the neck equalize. Any increase will cause some Reaction. Check for the neck For straight and proceed.most Folks don't understand that There will be a reaction in the Opposite direction when stress Is added to the neck. Pianos That are more than a half step Flat usually need more than One tuning before they will Stabilize. The instrument will Equalize. Easy on a guitar but Very expensive on a piano.
Sir you are my savior. I did it on my enya nexg. Because before no matter how I adjust the truss rod still pain in my hand. I sat on its body just to bend the neck lightly. Then adjusted the truss rod on the head stock. Now playability is as its best. Thank you.
Thank you Dan, I just could not adjust the truss rod on my Vintera Strat, the nut was solid and I needed a bit more back bow to get rid of too much relief. I did the clamp trick to take the tension off the truss rod and it worked a treat, very pleased!
The most challenging or even difficult neck truss rod adjustments were with a Rickenbacker 4001,bass guitar I had. The Rick has two side by side truss rods to stabilize the thin and somewhat flat backed neck. What made it difficult is to not twist the neck as each truss rod had have have slightly different amounts of tensions to compensate for the different tensions between the E and A strings which have more mass then the D and G strings which less mass. The best method I came up with was to use a inch pound torque wrench to adjust the neck. The biggest indication that the neck needed to be adjusted was when the strings went out of intonation. So it wasn’t so much as adjusting to bridge saddles, but to adjust the neck back to its original position. The bridge saddles did occasionally need to be adjusted to compensate for the strings core stretching unevenly, and the strings out layer wrap waring on the frets, but that was also an indicator that the string needed to be replaced, but sometimes I wouldn’t have the $35-$40 spare money to purchase a replacement set of strings for a week or so. As a side note. I used Rotosound Swing Bass strings on that Rick to get that Chris Squire sound. Also. That Rick I had, had factory installed stainless steel frets. So the stainless steel Rotosound strings didn’t eat the frets as much. One more thing about bass guitar strings is that hex core strings are more likely to ware frets then a round core. Also a I mentioned that stainless steel wrapped strings will ware down the standard frets as the stainless steel is harder the normal fret wire. Aside from stainless steel being harder, if seen at high magnification with a microscope, the stainless steel surface looks ruff with flakes almost with the appearance of human hair, again seen with the aid of high magnification. Because of wanting to tech or repair my own guitars and bass guitars first starting with the aid of a book by Martin guitar on how to adjust and repair guitars, then latter with one of Dan’s books, I’ve effected all the repairs and modifications to all the guitars and bass guitars during the 45 plus years I’ve played the instruments. Thanks to an article Dan wrote for I believe GUITAR PLAYER, or BASS PLAYER, that Dan shown how to use cyanoacrylate as a surface finish on a finger board, I converted one of my Jazz Bass rose wood fret board to a fretless. So I like to thank Dan Erlewine for the wealth of guitar repair knowledge he’s compiled in his repair books and now with his free videos he is publishing on TH-cam that has made my experience with guitar and bass what it is. Dan’s biggest contribution is to demystify the instruments.
Great video of how to adjust the truss rod. I allways started from the assumption to leave this to specialists, but thanks to this clear instructions i am quite sure i can do it myself. Thanks for sharing this with us. Sander van der Voort from Zaandam The Netherlands
After watching this video I realize I would have paid $100 for the info in it. Dan is an absolute treasure and his explanation is so informed and experienced and on point that it deserves praise. I, like many, fear(ed) the truss rod. I'm generally pretty handy, but having heard the scare stories and not being totally sure how it all worked, I've always been scared to meddle. But recently, after finding my beautiful solid rosewood Tele neck looking concave and slightly twisted, I knew I had to do something. Absent instructions of this quality and detail I would not have touched it. I would have taken it to a tech and been at their mercy. But by the time I was done with this video, I was brimming with confidence and couldn't wait to get at it. Walking through it step by step, I made an absolutely perfect adjustment to the Tele neck. Confidently, the first time and without a doubt about it. As luck would have it his loosen-tighten-loosen protocol just happened to be in the proper orientation to relieve the twist too. So my neck is now laser straight. As good as factory new. Videos like this should have a donation button as a default option. I can't thank you enough for this info. My Tele is like new and I learned a new life skill. Here's wishing the very best to you!
Thank you so much for this video! This technique saved me a massive headache with my jazzmaster, which I couldn't get enough tension on the truss rod for!
Amazing video, appreciate explaining it in such detail and explaining what exactly you are doing, this really helps a lot of people who are beginning their attempts on setting up their guitar by themself. Thank you for the informative video
Love Dan. Bought his book and I've been doing my own setups now. Lots of luthiers I respect reference Dan as their major influence. He's like the modern grandfather of luthery lol
I have gone out of my way to modify humidifiers (added a recirc pump to constantly bathe the filter to prevent crusting, saves huge $$ on filters!) and keep the temps stabile so there's little difference year round in our music room. We also have a whole-house humidifier, but it won't quite keep up. It has made a huge difference, with little change over the course of a year. I do put the vintage stuff away for the winter, in case power fails or the roof blows off. Fifty years ago, I was the only person not afraid of those truss rods; I didn't learn Dan's trick until decades later. I have the first neck I ever built hung on my wall; it's awful. But it does have a removeable truss rod, 'cuz I've seen more than a few stripped or broken.
@UncleKennysPlace Aloha! I 'put away' my best guitar in my rainforest, and the neck was twisted, I wonder how too protect them from moisture! A case and 3 trash bags might do it! No dehumidifier yet..(small kind power here) AlohAz
I didn't know thing about setting up guitars a few months ago. Thanks to Dan and his great videos I'm now fairly proficient at most aspects of guitar setup. I can't thank him enough.
I did it and it worked great. Thank you for sharing. I've already had a bit of tech experience, but this gave me even more knowledge. I didn't have a buddy though so used my heavy backpack to hold my guitar down. You don't need too much pressure to hold it down while you bow it.
Dan is the Man. I honestly don't think there is a more knowledgeable guitar man in this galaxy. Dan has forgotten more about guitars that most of us remember. I just did all of my (Tele/Strat- style) guitars straightening the neck (using the fretted 6th string method) then adjusted the saddle height to 1/16" on the low E and high E then adjusted the string height according to the radius. I kid you not, the sustain a straight neck gives you from that energy starting in the neck made a clearly noticeable improvement in sustain and playability. I can definitely feel a noticeable increase in the neck resonating more than before.
Heard of people talking about breaking trussrods. Very surprised when I saw Fender's official tutorial just told you to do it by absolute force (creating longer lever by attaching another tool to your wrench)
Thank You, following your guidance I was able to adjust the action and it worked just like you said. I have no experience in this adjustment, but felt very comfortable with this procedure.
I've never personally been told that I shouldn't touch the truss rod. Just to never loosen it all the way or tighten it too much. It's one of the first things I learned when trying to set up my first guitar. Great info all around in the video though!
This is an excellent video and just what I was looking for. I tried it and it worked on a stuck truss rod nut. Before watching, I suspected that bending the neck in the direction of a backbow would take the pressure off the nut.
My neck is almost straight, I need some relief in order to avoid string buzz. My action is setup at 1.5 mm on the low e string and 1 mm on the high e string. Works perfectly fine for me. I used to have a dead straight neck or maybe even slight back bow. Buzz everywhere on the fretboard. So a little relief works fine for me. But Dan you’re the man! I always enjoy watching you repair and setup guitars.
I bought a cheap bass online 5 years ago with bad back bow, I just threw it in a wardrobe because I thought it was terrible last week I decided to adjust the truss rod and now it plays great, wish I hasn’t wasted all them years on it
I could never fathom taking my guitar in for something as simple as a truss rod adjustment I believe everybody should learn this themselves first and foremost
Well, I did break my truss rod in my bass guitar (I was able to force out most of the bow and is now actually playable until I find a replacement). Then one of my friends set up one of my guitars and it played great! He said most guitars, after you loosen the truss rod all the way and let it sit so you know where things are (Didn't do that to the bass and broke it), then tighten it just a little, looking at the neck to see if its straight and playable all across the fretboard. Did it to all of my guitars and they are playing great! I did it by feel, and things are better, but eventually I'm going to get some proper tools. Should have learned how to set up guitars years ago. Nice video Stew. One like and Subscription earned!
Awesome instruction!! I have two that need tending to LOL! This just gave me the confidence to do it! I love the clamp and level Idea!! Your awesome my friend!! 100% professional!! I have to learn setups, they get expensive!
If it's not turning easily either direction you have some other problems going on and it would be best to have a good repair shop take a look at it for you! Good luck!
Dan often refers to this method as his "#1 trick" for truss rod adjustments 🙂
Have you ever worked on a “Chibson - Chinese fake Les Paul” ? If so, what was your experience . I saw a luthier on the net that had a guy bring one in because the owner ended up separating the fretboard from the neck, trying to adjust the truss rod. The luthier said it wouldn’t be worth repairing it because it would cost more than the guitar is worth. So he and the owner decided to tear it apart and see what the problem was with the truss rod. The luthier found that the truss rod was actually welded in one piece and was non-adjustable right from the start and that’s why the owner broke the neck trying to turn it. I was just interested to hear if you’ve ever ran into one of these at your shop ? I got suckered into buying two of them, there is some buzz but I have to raise the bridge and/or put something under the A & low E strings to make it play better. I always enjoy your videos and I own a bunch of you tools. They work 👍
@@flashy5150 One came into a shop my brother used to work at for a set-up one time. But unlike yours, he said this one was an extremely well built counterfeit-everything worked and played just as good as the real thing, including the truss rod. He was shocked. I guess things coming out of China really are a crap-shoot.
@@haikuomusic It seems so. Theres also another vid explaining why it probably doesnt work (th one of the fender mustang. Good Luck!!!
@@jsullivan2112 Often good counterfeits are made in the US or Europe, not china. Slashes "Famous black Les Paul" was not made by Gibson, and actually better than a Gibson.
@@Bob-of-Zoid I don’t think you have any idea where this particular guitar I’m referring to came from. You didn’t see it,
Dan is the Bob Ross of luthiers. Could watch him work and explain things all day.
#Me too! Lol. That's funny as hell to me because I feel exactly the same and said as much. Check out "twoodfrd" channel. He's another Bob Ross luthier. I don't play or work on guitars but love watching these cats.
Yes mate Twoford is good..lm about to fix a broken headstock.. it's an Epi LP Custom, to take it to a luthier wd be more than its worth.
Took the words right out of my mouth!
@@baabaabaa2293 well.......I hope you video the job and post it so I can watch!! Lol. You never know!
What a legend, great personality and a great video , aive learned a lot and got entertained in the process! Thank you 🙏🏽🇦🇺
This fully explains guitar action, demonstrates it, and stresses the importance of getting it right, far better than any other TH-cam video in existence. Thank you for your service.
The misconception though is that truss rods fix action. Truss rods are only to set the proper amount of relief for the target action to want to achieve. Higher action=slightly more relief while the lower the action, the straighter the neck. Neck relief first, then in a perfect world nut or bridge can be next. Nut slots are also pretty non-negotiable, they're either right, or wrong
Some great tricks! Thanks
Thanks Austin!
@@stewmac on an acoustic guitar if the neck is straight but the action in the middle frets approximately 9 through the last fret is too high, doesn't that mean the bridge is too high? Shaving down the bridge saddle to perfectly level is the solution?
Hey Austin it's great to see you get your advice from Dan Erlewine. he's probably the best there is. you can't go wrong with him. I have learned a lot from him.
WEEEEELLLLCOOMMEEE BACKK TROGLODITES!!
Fancy seeing you here Austin
Dan is an absolute treasure for guitars and guitarists! Love watching and listening to him at work.
He must be protected at all costs
Dan always makes things look easy, and he's a good teacher of techniques. He made guitar maintenance very approachable for me.
After watching this video I went to the garage and made some tools seen here from my scrap wood pile. Moving forward this is the only way I will ever perform truss rod maintenance on my guitars. Thank you Dan...True Master!
I always get solid advice for taking care of my "fleet" of guitars from this channel! Thanks StewMac!
That's what we're here for! Thanks so much for tuning in.
This guy is so great at what he does and even better at explaining it and showing you how it’s done..
StewMac has become one of my favorite channels
He's a master teacher! Thanks for watching!
Dan, you make repair and maintenance so easy, bless you 🖤
I like all of the StewMac videos I see, but this guy is my favorite host out of them all. Such a great video. I've been playing and adjusting guitars my whole life, and by the looks of it, I still had a lot to learn.
Is there anyone else here who would love to give this guy a big hug? I really love the way you care about guitars!
Thanks for decades of sharing your experience and innovation. I’m so glad to have started my day with this tutorial, ‘even learned a couple things, and happy to hear you play! You’re an inspiration 🙏
So nice to hear experience verbalized. Dan always exudes competence. A real delight. I'm grateful. I would love to see him take on the challenge of performing a neck reset on a classical guitar.
I really appreciate the small details like, "Helping the truss rod" as you adjust it. Thanks for a great video.
Love the tips Dan! You explain everything you do about guitars awesomely! 🤣 you have saved me so much repair money through the years!
Discovered this channel as I was looking up guitar set up and maintenance videos on TH-cam. These guys are so good and explain everything so easily! Good job! Plus, Dan is such a sweet and humble guy!
that's why I listen to my elders never been steered the wrong way to do anything yet and you got to respect someone that teaches you something that trick with the notches in the blocks and the block under the neck those two will stay with me forever thank you sir for helping out a guitar picker for pride.
great teacher...I started following Dan in the 80s, I retired 15 years ago from this trade as an internationally authorized repairer. I uploaded as far as I know the first Lutherie website in the world but never had the time and production skills to make good quality videos. Sometimes I miss my job. ciao Dan !
Dan is the Gandalf of guitars! Thanks for your wisdom!
2:40 Remove and lube the nut. This is the most important thing. So many guitar shop techs don't bother with this... Thanks again for the content!
Absolutely! An often-missed step. Thanks for the comment!
best video on truss rod adjustment I have ever seen.. thanks for the lesson.
Dan is so Zen. I wish all my school teachers were like him. I've learned a lot watching his videos. I, in fact, did a level crown and polish on an old Sigma that I played 'till the frets were destroyed. Now it plays like new again. Didn't think I could accomplish that. Dan is a great teacher!
Hands down the best explanation, no bells and whistle, everything explained. Wow. Too bad I found this channel so late, would have saved me quite some time.
Now if only that truss rod on one my guitars would move in any direction...
Great vid! Those slotted straight edges are so helpful, I've had mine for years!
Agreed! Such a valuable tool for this kind of work.
Thank you, Dan, for your articles in Guitar player, back in the day. Up until then, set up was a mystery for most.
Great video. I've seen many truss rods ship maxed out on new guitars. No room to turn in a given direction. Very frustrating and something most buyers wouldn't know to look for. Years might pass until they find out the hard way.
Great video! Never fear the truss rod!
I like just a bit of slight relief. I find I like a little more relief on some of my basses and nearly flat on others. Different instruments just behave differently even when seemingly identical in all respects.
I don't understand why anyone would say "using the truss rod will destroy your guitar." That's almost like saying "changing your spark plugs will destroy your car."
Fear the truss rod unless you know what you’re doing. The metal that the truss rod is made of isn’t strong enough to move a neck that is too far out; that’s why you have to use clamps and leverage to force it back to level (or a little beyond). The truss rod will keep it from returning and can make finer adjustments, especially if it’s being loosened. It breaks because people think they can force it and the metal or the threads can’t take that amount of force. Every mechanic knows that leverage can strip threads, or even break a bolt. That’s one of the reasons they use torque wrenches.
@@robinleebraun7739As with all things, use common sense. Nothing on a guitar should be forced after its built. And always know you're limits.
I've only stripped 1 truss rod in 40 years, and that was on a bowed and twisted early 70's Jazz bass. That was back in the late 80s while in college. I bought the bass dirt cheap for parts because the neck was a mess. I did the lubing the nut & threads, clamping, detuning and a few other tricks to adjust that neck. Even heat pressed the neck. It was unsalvageable and I knew that it would probably snap or strip going into it, and It did strip. I primarily mess with basses and bass necks being longer tend to move more and need slightly larger adjustments as a rule. Maybe I'm lucky, but I've done so many setups and truss rods are really not difficult to adjust. Maybe I'm mechanically inclined growing up in the 70s when folks fixed things more (cars, TVs, etc).
There is a bit of common sense involved. So I'll add 5 rules....
1. If a nut is extremely tight, there's an issue.
2. Using a cheater bar on the truss rod wrench is bad because you should not have to fight the truss rod.
3. If it feels a gritty or grinding while turning that's not good.
4. If someone is really afraid of or uncomfortable adjusting it, or if its a valuable vintage instrument, take to a qualified professional.
5. Most important, the truss rod WILL NOT fix a badly bowed neck. Its for adjusting a good neck.
after a "professional" Luthier adjust my guitar there was no buzz, however, the action was so high I could not play it. Watched this video, did it myself and now I'm good to go! Thank you!
Starting around @9:50 while beginning on single/ double action you very conscisely explain what every guitarist/bassist/carpenter came here uncertain about, mentioning how easily one can force a backbowed double action to "reverse" when loosening. Bravo
Subscribed
Great advice from a true gentleman! Dan's wisdom and personality, matched with his skills and no-nonsense approach, have always made me feel at-home trying to perform my own adjustments to my instruments. The world would be a better place if all instructors and mentors were like him!
All my respect for this knowledgeable and adorable gentleman.
Thanks for making these videos Dan.
Years ago there was no TH-cam, and this knowledge wasn't available unless you worked in the business - which means a customer didn't know if things were really being done right (or at all). I appreciate your expertise and willingness to share TY, Subscribed without a second thought.
Dan is the MAN!!!!!!!
Dan is the man. Always teaching and helping the community. Thank you so much!
This is probably the best video I’ve ever seen on guitar set ups.
'Driving the energy down to the body and the bridge'.. Solid gold!!
Very nice of you to share your skills
This is gold, I've never been comfortable making adjustments like I knew what I was doing but now I will. Thanks.
A true master of his craft. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with our community, Dan.
I have the second edition of your book and it has really helped to keep my guitars in great shape and playing just the way I want them. Peace
I've found Dans videos to be by far the most clear and informative on the internet, thanks so much Dan, you're the man!
Thank the Good Lord for Stew! I'm on Social Security Disability and now I make less in a month than I used to in 4 days. Needless to say, I had to learn to fix a lot of things myself. If I have to learn, I want to learn from the BEST.
STEW MAC IS THE BEST! I could never afford to have "THE MASTER" work on any of my guitars, so THANK YOU STEW FOR SHARING YOUR WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE STEW!
GOD BLESS AND TAKE CARE...
Great video. No fuzz, straight to the point, clear and understandable explanation. That´s how I like it.
WOW, great job with this vid!
Thanks a lot!
Thank you for your video. I took it slow and made several adjustments to the truss. You saved my Fender CC 60s as it plays really nice now. :)😀
This video is FANTASTIC and extremely well presented. It's amazing what you can communicate when you ACTUALLY KNOW SOMETHING...unlike the many phonies who know nothing and try to gaslight you into thinking they are rocket scientists. But actually knowing something takes time, work and sweat. That's a price most are unwilling to pay. Nice job. This one is saving a 1994 40th edition strat for me.
This is great advice. Worked well on my Taylor 12 string and Gibson SJ200. Thanks!
This man is Bob Ross for guitar repairs. I do not play or repair guitars, but I love watching his videos. So relaxing.
Hands down the best and most complete "how to" video on truss rod adjustment.
Super video! I've always done truss
Rod adjustment in stages. Starting
With a quarter turn. Return string
Tension and let the neck equalize.
Any increase will cause some
Reaction. Check for the neck
For straight and proceed.most
Folks don't understand that
There will be a reaction in the
Opposite direction when stress
Is added to the neck. Pianos
That are more than a half step
Flat usually need more than
One tuning before they will
Stabilize. The instrument will
Equalize. Easy on a guitar but
Very expensive on a piano.
This man sure makes learning enjoyable. Thankyou
Great information for Spring season
Sir you are my savior. I did it on my enya nexg. Because before no matter how I adjust the truss rod still pain in my hand. I sat on its body just to bend the neck lightly. Then adjusted the truss rod on the head stock. Now playability is as its best. Thank you.
Thanks for a very educational video. Appreciate the humbleness of your approach.
Thank you Dan, I just could not adjust the truss rod on my Vintera Strat, the nut was solid and I needed a bit more back bow to get rid of too much relief. I did the clamp trick to take the tension off the truss rod and it worked a treat, very pleased!
I've been adjusting my own truss rods for years and hadn't thought of this. Cool trick!
Most excellent!! Esp. with the graphics!! Wow, I just subscribed. Thanks!
Thanks and welcome!
Thank you for this incredible advice! I love my guitars, and this is a big issue I was not fully aware of before. 👍🏻
The most challenging or even difficult neck truss rod adjustments were with a Rickenbacker 4001,bass guitar I had. The Rick has two side by side truss rods to stabilize the thin and somewhat flat backed neck. What made it difficult is to not twist the neck as each truss rod had have have slightly different amounts of tensions to compensate for the different tensions between the E and A strings which have more mass then the D and G strings which less mass. The best method I came up with was to use a inch pound torque wrench to adjust the neck. The biggest indication that the neck needed to be adjusted was when the strings went out of intonation. So it wasn’t so much as adjusting to bridge saddles, but to adjust the neck back to its original position. The bridge saddles did occasionally need to be adjusted to compensate for the strings core stretching unevenly, and the strings out layer wrap waring on the frets, but that was also an indicator that the string needed to be replaced, but sometimes I wouldn’t have the $35-$40 spare money to purchase a replacement set of strings for a week or so. As a side note. I used Rotosound Swing Bass strings on that Rick to get that Chris Squire sound. Also. That Rick I had, had factory installed stainless steel frets. So the stainless steel Rotosound strings didn’t eat the frets as much.
One more thing about bass guitar strings is that hex core strings are more likely to ware frets then a round core. Also a I mentioned that stainless steel wrapped strings will ware down the standard frets as the stainless steel is harder the normal fret wire. Aside from stainless steel being harder, if seen at high magnification with a microscope, the stainless steel surface looks ruff with flakes almost with the appearance of human hair, again seen with the aid of high magnification.
Because of wanting to tech or repair my own guitars and bass guitars first starting with the aid of a book by Martin guitar on how to adjust and repair guitars, then latter with one of Dan’s books, I’ve effected all the repairs and modifications to all the guitars and bass guitars during the 45 plus years I’ve played the instruments. Thanks to an article Dan wrote for I believe GUITAR PLAYER, or BASS PLAYER, that Dan shown how to use cyanoacrylate as a surface finish on a finger board, I converted one of my Jazz Bass rose wood fret board to a fretless. So I like to thank Dan Erlewine for the wealth of guitar repair knowledge he’s compiled in his repair books and now with his free videos he is publishing on TH-cam that has made my experience with guitar and bass what it is. Dan’s biggest contribution is to demystify the instruments.
That's so great to hear - thanks for the comment. Nice work on that bass, and keep it up!
Wow. You should do a video on that twin truss-rod technique.
Great video of how to adjust the truss rod. I allways started from the assumption to leave this to specialists, but thanks to this clear instructions i am quite sure i can do it myself. Thanks for sharing this with us. Sander van der Voort from Zaandam The Netherlands
I've been adjusting truss rods for 50 years, and I just learned a better way to do it. Thank You!
After watching this video I realize I would have paid $100 for the info in it. Dan is an absolute treasure and his explanation is so informed and experienced and on point that it deserves praise. I, like many, fear(ed) the truss rod. I'm generally pretty handy, but having heard the scare stories and not being totally sure how it all worked, I've always been scared to meddle. But recently, after finding my beautiful solid rosewood Tele neck looking concave and slightly twisted, I knew I had to do something. Absent instructions of this quality and detail I would not have touched it. I would have taken it to a tech and been at their mercy. But by the time I was done with this video, I was brimming with confidence and couldn't wait to get at it. Walking through it step by step, I made an absolutely perfect adjustment to the Tele neck. Confidently, the first time and without a doubt about it. As luck would have it his loosen-tighten-loosen protocol just happened to be in the proper orientation to relieve the twist too. So my neck is now laser straight. As good as factory new. Videos like this should have a donation button as a default option. I can't thank you enough for this info. My Tele is like new and I learned a new life skill. Here's wishing the very best to you!
Always great to see Dan and watch him work
Thank you so much for this video! This technique saved me a massive headache with my jazzmaster, which I couldn't get enough tension on the truss rod for!
Great to hear! Sounds like the perfect scenario to use this method.
Amazing video, appreciate explaining it in such detail and explaining what exactly you are doing, this really helps a lot of people who are beginning their attempts on setting up their guitar by themself. Thank you for the informative video
Love Dan. Bought his book and I've been doing my own setups now.
Lots of luthiers I respect reference Dan as their major influence. He's like the modern grandfather of luthery lol
which book of his did you get?
I have gone out of my way to modify humidifiers (added a recirc pump to constantly bathe the filter to prevent crusting, saves huge $$ on filters!) and keep the temps stabile so there's little difference year round in our music room. We also have a whole-house humidifier, but it won't quite keep up. It has made a huge difference, with little change over the course of a year. I do put the vintage stuff away for the winter, in case power fails or the roof blows off.
Fifty years ago, I was the only person not afraid of those truss rods; I didn't learn Dan's trick until decades later. I have the first neck I ever built hung on my wall; it's awful. But it does have a removeable truss rod, 'cuz I've seen more than a few stripped or broken.
@UncleKennysPlace
Aloha! I 'put away' my best guitar in my rainforest, and the neck was twisted, I wonder how too protect them from moisture! A case and 3 trash bags might do it! No dehumidifier yet..(small kind power here) AlohAz
I didn't know thing about setting up guitars a few months ago. Thanks to Dan and his great videos I'm now fairly proficient at most aspects of guitar setup. I can't thank him enough.
Rock on!
Thank you for this informative video. It makes good sense doing it this way.
I did it and it worked great. Thank you for sharing. I've already had a bit of tech experience, but this gave me even more knowledge.
I didn't have a buddy though so used my heavy backpack to hold my guitar down. You don't need too much pressure to hold it down while you bow it.
Wow, this is a lifesaver! I have a guitar that I think needs a truss rod adjustment. It's
really good to hear that I can do this myself.
I could hug this guy. He's great! I'm still scared to touch my truss rod but I'm trying to build my confidence to do it.
Just go in tiny increments until you gain confidence
This was very helpful, thank you!
You're very welcome! Thanks for tuning in!
Thanks for this video , I have been making a guitar shop and this helps a lot
Thats Some Great Advice Mr Mac Wow thats the best Vid Ive seen on truss rods Cheers
Thanks 👍
Another great video in the latest era of Dan!
Dan is the Man. I honestly don't think there is a more knowledgeable guitar man in this galaxy. Dan has forgotten more about guitars that most of us remember.
I just did all of my (Tele/Strat- style) guitars straightening the neck (using the fretted 6th string method) then adjusted the saddle height to 1/16" on the low E and high E then adjusted the string height according to the radius. I kid you not, the sustain a straight neck gives you from that energy starting in the neck made a clearly noticeable improvement in sustain and playability.
I can definitely feel a noticeable increase in the neck resonating more than before.
Absolutely - Dan agrees with you! The straight neck makes for great resonation of the whole guitar. Thanks for the comment.
Heard of people talking about breaking trussrods. Very surprised when I saw Fender's official tutorial just told you to do it by absolute force (creating longer lever by attaching another tool to your wrench)
Thank You, following your guidance I was able to adjust the action and it worked just like you said. I have no experience in this adjustment, but felt very comfortable with this procedure.
Excellent! Great to hear that.
thank u man... now i can intonate my own guitar... made a huge difference
I was wondering how to help the truss rod along.. thank you for your expertise 👍👍
I cannot explain how much I have learned from these videos. Dan is a treasure!
Nothing like tried and true methods from experience. Thanks a bunch for posting this!
Very much appreciate you sharing your knowledge Dan.
I have that exact same level. Great video.
Im happy to say that I live just down the street from StewMac because of stuff like this!
I've never personally been told that I shouldn't touch the truss rod. Just to never loosen it all the way or tighten it too much. It's one of the first things I learned when trying to set up my first guitar. Great info all around in the video though!
Helpful video. Just fixed some fret buzz and maintained good action. Thank you
This is an excellent video and just what I was looking for. I tried it and it worked on a stuck truss rod nut. Before watching, I suspected that bending the neck in the direction of a backbow would take the pressure off the nut.
My neck is almost straight, I need some relief in order to avoid string buzz. My action is setup at 1.5 mm on the low e string and 1 mm on the high e string. Works perfectly fine for me. I used to have a dead straight neck or maybe even slight back bow. Buzz everywhere on the fretboard. So a little relief works fine for me. But Dan you’re the man! I always enjoy watching you repair and setup guitars.
Nice tip .. Thank you for taking the time to make the vid.
I bought a cheap bass online 5 years ago with bad back bow, I just threw it in a wardrobe because I thought it was terrible last week I decided to adjust the truss rod and now it plays great, wish I hasn’t wasted all them years on it
I could never fathom taking my guitar in for something as simple as a truss rod adjustment I believe everybody should learn this themselves first and foremost
Well, I did break my truss rod in my bass guitar (I was able to force out most of the bow and is now actually playable until I find a replacement). Then one of my friends set up one of my guitars and it played great! He said most guitars, after you loosen the truss rod all the way and let it sit so you know where things are (Didn't do that to the bass and broke it), then tighten it just a little, looking at the neck to see if its straight and playable all across the fretboard. Did it to all of my guitars and they are playing great! I did it by feel, and things are better, but eventually I'm going to get some proper tools. Should have learned how to set up guitars years ago. Nice video Stew. One like and Subscription earned!
Thanks Stew. I needed this video.
Awesome instruction!! I have two that need tending to LOL! This just gave me the confidence to do it! I love the clamp and level Idea!! Your awesome my friend!! 100% professional!! I have to learn setups, they get expensive!
I have an acoustic and it seems is stuck, it won't move one way nor the other, does it need a different type of reparation?
If it's not turning easily either direction you have some other problems going on and it would be best to have a good repair shop take a look at it for you! Good luck!
@@stewmac It seems that's what I'm gonna need to do then. Thanks for the answer!
I dream of one day meeting Dan. This guy is a genius! All luthiers know and admire his work.
Great to see someone who knows, work
Dan, the man! 🎸