Guitar necks and truss rods

[INCINERATE]

I have a guitar that has a lot of fret buzz on pretty much every string. I have the height of the strings set up 3mm high at the 12th fret, which I believe is standard set up, and this guitar is currently tuned to C standard.

When laying on the guitar on it's back, starting from the body toward the headstock, should the neck have a slight curve upwards (to avoid fret buzz)? And if so, how does one achieve this? Do you tighten, or loosen the truss rod to get a slight curve? Right now, the neck looks perfectly straight, when holding it up my eyes near the bridge looking down the neck.

[egdeltar]

Bowing forward is called backbow and not what you want at all. If the neck is dead straight and still has some buzzing the neck mostly needs relief. Loosen your truss rod a bit, like 1/8 turn at a time. Tune up and check it out. If you still have buzzing issues you most likely have a few frets out of whack.

[INCINERATE]

If the neck is dead straight and still has some buzzing the neck mostly needs relief. Loosen your truss rod a bit, like 1/8 turn at a time.

And doing this will do what specifically to the neck?

Note - all frets are in perfect shape, other than some minor wear on the first few frets - this guitar is 12 years old.

[stabwound]

How's the intonation?

[Chilidem]

If the neck is dead straight and still has some buzzing the neck mostly needs relief. Loosen your truss rod a bit, like 1/8 turn at a time. Tune up and check it out. If you still have buzzing issues you most likely have a few frets out of whack.

Wouldn't this cause buzzing at the lower end of the neck?

[GrindYourMind]

You need to loosen it. Do it in really small increments, then tune up and let your neck chill out for a while. It has to get settled completely. Do 1/8th a turn, tune up, set it down for 30 minutes, if it's still rattly repeat.

[INCINERATE]

I've got the rod as loose as it can go, and it still has fret buzz on every string, and nearly every fret. What should the neck ideally look like? Maybe I just need to Google this.

[GrindYourMind]

I dunno man, hopefully your truss rod isn't broken.

[DeathMachineGun]

what gauge strings are you using at a "C" tuning? standard 9's? if you plan on tuning at "C" you should grab some 10s or 11s. 9s will be flappin in the wind at that tuning.

also try adjusting up the action another half millimeter to 3.5mm. maybe 4mm. ??

whenever i change my tuning on my bass i dont usually mess with the truss at all. the neck is totally flat and straight. i just adjust string height till there is no buzz at any frets anymore when playing heavy like u normally do at jams, check it for intonation and thats it. dont know if thats right or not but ive been doin it for years and ive never had any problems. however im sure bass is a bit less picky then a smaller guitar neck and action. i also use a set of 115 bass strings to help keep string tension at dropped tuning. compared to a standard 105 set.

its just a matter of finding the right combo that works for your style and tuning id say.

or just take it somewhere reputable and have it set up for $50.

[INCINERATE]

what gauge strings are you using at a "C" tuning? standard 9's? if you plan on tuning at "C" you should grab some 10s or 11s. 9s will be flappin in the wind at that tuning.

also try adjusting up the action another half millimeter to 3.5mm. maybe 4mm. ??

whenever i change my tuning on my bass i dont usually mess with the truss at all. the neck is totally flat and straight. i just adjust string height till there is no buzz at any frets anymore when playing heavy like u normally do at jams, check it for intonation and thats it. dont know if thats right or not but ive been doin it for years and ive never had any problems. however im sure bass is a bit less picky then a smaller guitar neck and action. i also use a set of 115 bass strings to help keep string tension at dropped tuning. compared to a standard 105 set.

its just a matter of finding the right combo that works for your style and tuning id say.

or just take it somewhere reputable and have it set up for $50.

Yeah, I using size 9 strings at C standard. I don't the flapping in the wind. I'm used to it. And playing anything larger than 9 feels like I'm playing a bass - haha.

Well, I had thought that there was supposed to be a very slight curve in the neck to prevent fret buzz, and that this was achieved by adjusting the truss rod.

[DeathMachineGun]

Well, I had thought that there was supposed to be a very slight curve in the neck to prevent fret buzz, and that this was achieved by adjusting the truss rod.


could very well be. i honestly dont know. never fully learned about it in depth. the flat fretboard seams to work for me on my bass, but then again maybe im doing it wrong and am just used to my setup.

can anyone here who has schooling on guitar setup shed some light??

[GrindYourMind]

When a guitar string vibrates, it doesn't stay completely straight, so you want to have a little bit of give in the neck to compensate for this, or else you could get some fret buzz.

You playing style should have more to do with your setup than the physics at work though, unless you are BB King you don't want a ton of bow in the neck.

And you NEVER want it to backbow.

[DeathMachineGun]

You playing style should have more to do with your setup than the physics at work though, unless you are BB King you don't want a ton of bow in the neck.


very good point. a lighter player wont need as high of a setup as a heavier one. ive had people pick up my bass before and start messin aroudn with a pick and say "this action is kinda high" but i play with fingers and pound the the strings, so the higher action insures no fret buzz when i am.

the slight bow makes total sense. i actually just looked at my bass and it does have ever so slight of a bow. almost negligable though.

and yeah, NEVER want negative bowback.

[INCINERATE]

When a guitar string vibrates, it doesn't stay completely straight, so you want to have a little bit of give in the neck to compensate for this, or else you could get some fret buzz.

You playing style should have more to do with your setup than the physics at work though, unless you are BB King you don't want a ton of bow in the neck.

And you NEVER want it to backbow.

Yeah, well I have no bow on this neck. And I'd like some "forward" bow, and I wondering how to get this. People say to loosen the truss rod, but I've got it as loose as it can go. I assuming when the truss rod is loose, the idea is that the strings will pull on the neck and bow it forward a little. But that is not working.

[GrindYourMind]

Then somethings wrong with your truss rod.

Tightening a truss rod pulls the neck against the strings, loosening it allows the strings to pull it into a bow.

Get it checked out.