neck relief

[toddr]

I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight on correct neck relief and how to measure. and if it doesnt measure good the best way to make truss adjustments. thanks

[Paul Hostetter]

Sighting down the neck is fairly a waste of time. The best straightedge is built right into your instrument: the string under tension. Press it down at the first fret with one hand and on the bridge side of the 12th (or so) with the other. Now look at the halfway point and see what kind of clearance you have between the top of the frets and the string. That's the only part of the neck a trussrod can possibly affect. There should be a little clearance, but not much. Business card or so. Maybe less depending on how you play. Check the E and the G. Don't get upset if they're a little different.

Again, the rod only affects the thin barrel of the neck between the nut and the heel. If this straightedge check reveals other issues elsewhere on the whole board, you'll have to rethink the process. Check www.frets.com for advice on adjusting the rod.

[Michael Lewis]

I don't trust my eyes for such fine measurements, so I use a straight edge and feeler gauges.

[mandolinplucker]

I read in a Taylor guitar newsletterabout how they set up a guitar, and it seems to work well. Lay the mando on its back and fret it on the first fret with your left hand while fretting it on the 12th fret with your right pinkie. With your right first finger tap the string. There should be just enough gap between the string and the frets for you to hear the string tapping against the frets. Not real technical but it works for me. Its the same as mentioned before but the tapping is easier than trying to sight under the strings.

[Bill Halsey]

The curvature along the length of a string's fundamental vibration pattern is more or less parabolic, meaning that it kicks with more curve in its center than at its ends, not counting overtones & partials. Thus, it seems to work best to try to have the greatest neck relief around maybe the 9th to the 15th frets, with progressively less in the lower frets up to nearly straight approaching the nut. We're talking a tiny amount here...like Paul said, maybe a business card thickness in the middle -- or very little more if you're a very aggressive player. This is fussy stuff, but if you get it right it's what helps an instrument feel like it "plays itself."