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I need a little advice adjusting a truss rod. After getting my new Taylor last week and seeing how easy it plays, I started looking at my old Gurian wondering if it needed an adjustment. Being such a lifelong classical player, I never knew a truss rod could make such a big difference. The truss rod on my Gurian hasn't moved in over 30 years (and it still plays better than 80% of the guitars out there I bet)!

Anyhow, my Gurian has a pinned neck and I'm wondering how to adjust the truss rod. The truss rod nut is almost flush with the underside of the top, so my normal trussrod wrench won't fit over the nut. To make matters worse, the end of the nut is almost up against one of the top braces. I thought about using a crescent wrench, but it's too long to fit inside and get around the nut. Am I missing something here? There must be an easier way. Is there a special tool I'm not familiar with?

Thanks!

JohnJohn Elshaw38804.6952546296

John, what purpose are you adjusting the TR for? Is the relief in the neck messed up? Or are you after better action? My advice is this: if the relief is good, don't even think about touching the TR. You can check relief by fretting the first fret with your left hand, fretting the 12th with your right thumb and tapping the string at about the 6-7th fret. It should "just" tap.
Yes, action can be adjusted with the TR but that is a byproduct of changing the reielf. If it's just action you want adjusted, do it at the saddle. If there is no saddle left, well, it's time for a neck reset.
Hope that helps.

Paul,

The action is great on the guitar but the relief is too tight so there is buzzing in the first 1-3 frets. If I finger the 1st and 14th frets, the low e-string touches the 6th fret, as well as the 5th and 7th. It definitly just needs to be loosened a bit, and that should solve the buzz problems, I hope. Playability is great, just need to get rid of the buzz--and the buzz isn't being caused by nut/saddle, or fret problems.

John

Ok, cool, now to answer your question: I have no idea how to get in there. You might think about contacting Gurian Instruments to see if they might have a speciality tool for the job.

Dedicate a wrench for the purpose. I've done it a lot of times, either grinding away over thick wrenches or bending them by heating them red hot with a propane torch and tilting them to the desired bend and letting cool. U can do it.

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John, not sure if your aware, but you can get cresent wrenches as short as 3 inches. Or pick up a cheap open end wrench and cut off whatever gets in the way. While your at it, maybe grind the points off the opening so there is no chance you will damage the top. How about a socket with 1/4 inch drive and an extention.
Mike

Good idea fellas--I have some junk wrenches stamped out made in China, and a really sharp hacksaw. Time to get busy.

The socket idea wouldn't work because the nut is almost against the top and a brace so I can't get a socket around it. The job reminds me of trying to replace the O2 sensor on my truck with all the exhaust and CC in the way. My hands just don't bend in those directions.

Cheers!

John