Official Luthiers Forum!

hi everyone. i have a question that has been bugging me. on a guitar say as in a ibanez or even a schecter solid body when adjusting the truss rod do you adjust the neck so that it is straight or do you have a bit of a bow in it. i set them up with a bit of a bow, but i was talking to a good buddy who is a luthier in nashville and he swears that you put a strait edge on the neck and make it straight. then go from there. so i was wondering what is the proper way?
thank you
joe

Necks need a LITTLE bit of relief. I set my necks straight first, and then add just enough relief after setting the saddle height.
After 10,000 plus setups for players across the spectrum, this approach seems to work the best for me.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I have not done 10,000 setups, but if you adjust your bridge while your neck is straight, then put some relief in the neck you will raise your action.

Relief (like action) is a matter of preference. Dan Erlewine wrote a book called "The Guitar Players Repair Guide" It has a lot of specs on setups of some famous guitarists. Most had some relief but a few did not. 0.010 of neck relief measured at the 7th fret by putting a capo on the first fret and holding down at the 17th fret is pretty standard. Physically the relief allows you to put the action lower while still giving the strings near the nut room to vibrate.

Now, he might be setting it straight and checking that the frets are leveled properly before starting the set up.

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John Thiessen
http://www.iszacguitars.com

thanks for the replies.at least i know im not doing it wrong.
thanks again.
joe