Action High, Neck Up Bow, Neck Angle all wrong.......

[Pure Morning]

I've been reading a lot of previous threads about truss rod adjustment, neck angle etc etc.

 

I have a Taylor 110, the action is very high. Checking the neck relief there is nearly a 1/4 inch gap.....Playing past the 7th fret is a pain!

 

I was playing with 13's and I just put on a new set of 12's.

 

I've done a full turn clockwise over the past 2 days and little has changed. The neck is obviously not straight and its pretty clear that the neck angle is all wrong also.

 

Do I give it another turn??

[bbarkow]

Originally posted by Pure Morning I've been reading a lot of previous threads about truss rod adjustment, neck angle etc etc. I have a Taylor 110, the action is very high. Checking the neck relief there is nearly a 1/4 inch gap.....Playing past the 7th fret is a pain! I was playing with 13's and I just put on a new set of 12's. I've done a full turn clockwise over the past 2 days and little has changed. The neck is obviously not straight and its pretty clear that the neck angle is all wrong also. Do I give it another turn??

 

Put down the allen wrench and back away from the guitar!!!

 

First, take a straightedge and lay it on your frets...it should make a straight line from the top of your frets to the top of the bridge (not the saddle, just the top of the wood part). If that happens for you, you have the correct neck angle.

 

The truss rod is only for adjusting the relief of the neck. Go to http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/pagelist.html

 

There's a great tutorial there on setting up a guitar. There's no reason you can't do it yourself, but you'll want to make sure you're doing it right.

 

I suspect that you probably just need to lower the saddle.

 

I'd be interested to know what you find out.

 

Best...

[kwakatak]

If the action above the 7th fret is too high then there's something else wrong that's affecting your action so drastically. Is the top bowing at all?

[Pure Morning]

OK, so, after sanding down the saddle its a much better but there is still neck relief. I've check the neck angle and its off by just a little bit so I did turn the truss rod just a little and wait to see tommorow if there is any change.

[social]

People often expect the truss rod to do more work than it was made to. On most guitars, the truss rod has done all it can do with a single quarter turn. A full turn is so rarely ever needed. There could be a host of other problems going on, but please, don't compound this problem by adjusting your truss rod anymore.

 

Sounds like its time to go to a professional. As opposed to a neck reset, shaving of the bridge might well ease the problem to make the guitar more playable. This problem could also be a warped neck, or a body joint hump. The fretboard might just be a little wacky.

 

Without seeing this guitar, I'd say that pulling the frets, resurfacing the fretboard, refretting, and then shaving the bridge a bit would probably make the guitar play like a dream. Having not seen it I can't say that a neck reset isn't needed, or perhaps a set up alone will take care of it.

 

I urge you however, to do yourself, and your guitar a favor, and take it to a tech you trust.

 

Best wishes

[Pure Morning]

Thing is right, that this really bad action was since the day I recieved the guitar...It was like that when i got it and a 2 years on I now feel that I should do something about it.

 

This bad action isnt something new, it was from the factory setup.........

 

Plus I want to learn how to do this myself.......it makes me feel good when I know whats going on with my guitar.....

[JasmineTea]

 

Originally posted by Pure Morning Plus I want to learn how to do this myself.......it makes me feel good when I know whats going on with my guitar.....

 

Are/were the strings completely loose before you turned the truss? They should be.

 

Take your time. 1/4 -1/2 turn a day. righty-tighty, lefty-loosy.

[Pure Morning]

Yeah the strings were loose. I dont believe my neck requires any more work (truss rod wise i mean).

 

And I dont believe it to be wise to sand down my bridge anymore....and I checked my nut to see if that was alright.........Im really lost for words....I mean, since i've started working on it, the action has improved greatly...atleast 60%....and I wouldnt mind sorting out the other 40%......The action for me is acceptable but I would like to see it how Taylor believes it should be...

[social]

Originally posted by JasmineTea Are/were the strings completely loose before you turned the truss? They should be. Take your time. 1/4 -1/2 turn a day. righty-tighty, lefty-loosy.

 

A lot of people say that no string tension for adjusting the truss rod thing. I call that a myth. Its been my experience that you aren't going to harm a truss rod or a guitar neck by turning the rod with the strings on. There is an exception however, on a hard to adjust neck a simple thing that generally makes the adjustment go much easier is to remove the strings, and clamp the neck into a backbow, and then adjust the truss rod.

 

That being said, make sure the truss rod nut is well lubricated. Remove it if possible and a little vaseline on the threads will generally make any adjustments much easier.

 

 

My biggest fear in this situation is over tightening the rod. Worst case scenario it breaks. But what typically happens, is people overtighten a truss rod and the wood that the nut bears against (or that the washer under the nut) becomes compressed. So turning the adjusting nut does nothing but compress the wood at that anchor point.

 

If one full turn isn't giving you the desired reaction, its really time to take it to a tech. Even a competent tech knows when a job is too much for him, and I get the feeling your in water over your head.

 

Best wishes

[social]

 

Originally posted by Pure Morning Yeah the strings were loose. I dont believe my neck requires any more work (truss rod wise i mean). And I dont believe it to be wise to sand down my bridge anymore....and I checked my nut to see if that was alright.........Im really lost for words....I mean, since i've started working on it, the action has improved greatly...atleast 60%....and I wouldnt mind sorting out the other 40%......The action for me is acceptable but I would like to see it how Taylor believes it should be...

 

 

 

When dealing with action there are only really 2 key points. The nut, and the saddle. Everything in between (bridge, neck, frets, body joint) are a bit far out for a DIY.

 

The saddle should have 2/3rds of its height inside the bridge, if it doesn't you greatly risk cracking the brigde. But depending how thick the bridge is, it isn't uncommon for the bridge itself to be shaved a bit for lower action.

 

If you would make some measurements for me, just out of curiousity?

 

Holding the string at the 1st and 17th or so fret, measure the clearance from the bottom of the string, to the top of the fret, around frets 6-9. This will be an accurate measure of relief.

 

Then, measure the distance from the bottom of the E string, to the top of the first fret, and then the 12th.

 

Then, with the guitar laying flat, hold the headstock with one hand, and put another under the neck. Flex GENTLY. Gently is the keyword here. This is just a rough estimate of how stiff the neck is.

 

With those numbers (as accurate as possible) it will be much easier to suggest a next course of action.

[Pure Morning]

Might have water over my head, buts its the only way to learn how to swim...

 

I will get those measurements done later on tonight.

 

Thanks:-)

[JasmineTea]

 

Originally posted by Pure Morning Might have water over my head, buts its the only way to learn how to swim... I will get those measurements done later on tonight. Thanks:-)

As long as you don't screw anything up (over-tighten the truss, ect) you'll be ok.

 

However, I'd suggest getting a cheapo to experiment with and bring the Taylor to a pro. If it's causing this much trouble there's probly something wrong with it.

 

What kind of warranty comes with a Taylor? Mabey the work is covered?