Truss Adjustment Required?

[jumpnblues]

I recently purchased a new Gibson 345. They leave the factory with .010s. Would the truss rod need adjusted moving from .010s to .011s?

[SoftwareGuy]

Maybe. Hard to tell without trying. (Okay, that isn't really a useful answer, but is the best I can do. )

[Jimmy Smith]

Going from 10s to 11s will increase the neck bow. So you'll have to tighten the truss rod if you don't like where it moves to.

[AllanAllen]

Maybe. Hard to tell without trying. (Okay, that isn't really a useful answer, but is the best I can do. )

This is the right answer. You don't adjust the truss rod proactively, you adjust it after an issue arises. OP, Slap the 11's on and see what happens, it's not going to break your guitar.

[sgosnell]

Different necks react differently. You might be able to put a .012 set on the guitar and not need to adjust the truss rod. Or maybe not. The only way to know is to put the strings on and then check the relief. It depends a lot on what relief you prefer and are willing to accept. On my guitars I need to tweak the truss rod now and then just because of humidity changes. But I prefer no relief and very low action, which is not the same as what someone else may prefer. Some never bother to adjust the truss rod at all, being satisfied with higher action and more relief. It's a very subjective preference.

[deacon Mark]

I would say that it should not need any adjustment at all. That is a guess but if I required an adjustment I would probably not be comfortable with the guitar. The neck should be more stable than that for sure. Going from .10 to .11 is nothing and you could put more pressure on the neck just in how hard to play. Going from say .10 to say .13 maybe an adjustment. Guitars that need truss rod adjustments all the time give me a bit of worry. Unless the adjustment is to loosen the rod equal times to the tightening, I find that unacceptable.

[helios]

Dan Erlewine used to write a guitar repair column for Guitar Player magazine. I recall reading that he would set up a guitar with zero relief if it could be gotten away with, and introduce relief if needed due to buzzing or playability needs.
I use my Grizzly Industrial Machinist's straight edge & motorcycle feeler gauges (to .001") to check.

[Oscar67]

I doubt that much will be needed, a few degrees clockwise if anything. Assuming the frets are properly leveled and there are no rare maladies like a raised tongue, the truss rod should be loosened somewhat if there are buzzes on frets 3 to 9 or so while there’s no buzzing from the 10th or 11th fret onwards. If there’s buzzing high up the neck then first raise the bridge. The truss rod can be tightened somewhat if the action is higher than desired above frets 3 to 8 or so while it’s OK from the 10th fret onwards. If the action is too high above the upper frets, then first lower the bridge. When in doubt then have someone do it for you.

[deacon Mark]

I doubt that much will be needed, a few degrees clockwise if anything. Assuming the frets are properly leveled and there are no rare maladies like a raised tongue, the truss rod should be loosened somewhat if there are buzzes on frets 3 to 9 or so while there’s no buzzing from the 10th or 11th fret onwards. If there’s buzzing high up the neck then first raise the bridge. The truss rod can be tightened somewhat if the action is higher than desired above frets 3 to 8 or so while it’s OK from the 10th fret onwards. If the action is too high above the upper frets, then first lower the bridge. When in doubt then have someone do it for you.

Be careful here with blanket statements. Truss rods should be adjusted based on the relief in the neck and not necessarily the buzzing. Buzzing can come from a high fret or a low fret, same thing in essence. That could happen in the areas you suggested. The action can get higher, and the neck relief never change. It is a whole system and requires completely looking at all the parameters. It is not rocket science but most players do not have the proper tools and education to get it right. That does not count for many on this forum as this forum is not the typical bunch of guitarist.

[sgosnell]

Buzzing can also come from many other things. Guitars, and especially archtop guitars, are a loose collection of parts assembled together, and anything on it can buzz, under many conditions, and it can be a long process to track down the actual cause.

[jads57]

Maybe look at a couple You Tube videos on how to adjust your truss rod. Stewmac.com with Dan Erlwine is a good one!

[Jimmy Smith]

Going from 10s to 11s is about 15 more pounds of string tension. The neck bow will increase. Either the new neck bow will be suitable for you, or it won't. If it increases too much for your liking, you'll have to tighten the truss rod probably only a little bit. Like 1/8 or 1/4 turn.

[rpjazzguitar]

I've gone from the original strings on my Comins GCS-1 which are 11 to something, possibly 48 -- to a set of 11 13 16 22 32 42. A lot lighter. Guitar plays and intonates fine with no truss adjustment.

One data point which suggests the answer is "not necessarily".

[Jimmy Smith]

That's what I said. I said it's possible for the neck to move but still be in the good playable zone. Are you guys saying if you change the string tension a little or moderate amount, the neck is absolutely impervious to this and the movement is absolutely zero, but then if you change the string gauge by 3 then all of a sudden the neck moves a lot?

[customxke]

"will move" and "might move" are not the same thing.

[Jimmy Smith]

No shit. If you increase the total string tension by 15 pounds, the neck will move. Are you saying it's possible to increase the total string tension by 15 pounds and have the neck bow remain completely identical?

If you press on the neck while you're playing to get a whammy effect, there's no way that involves more than 15 pounds of force, yet the neck always moves doesn't it. You could get that effect with 5 pounds of force.

[customxke]

I'm saying it's possible to switch from 10s to 11s with no appreciable neck movement. This has to do with a myriad of factors, and because I play my guitars, instead of taking calipers to them, the difference is functional zero. My charts don't put 15 pounds of difference on the switch from 10s to 11s...it's more like 7 lbs, or a 6% increase in tension. You could attribute humidity or temperature to that kind of change. All of that said...is it necessary to argue with everyone on the site this week?

If you press on the neck while you're playing to get a whammy effect, there's no way that involves more than 15 pounds of force, yet the neck always moves doesn't it. You could get that effect with 5 pounds of force.

You know that “15 pounds” is pulling parallel to the neck, and not perpendicular to the neck, right?

[deacon Mark]

Here is one for you count me as no explanation. I got my 1937 D'angelico NY 41 years ago and it had 14-58 bronze strings. I changed them to the usual I used at that time. GHS compound wound 12-54. I used those for probably 10-12 years. Then went to the current set I now use round wound pure nickel or similar 12-52. Now granted 41 years is a long time but consider these facts.

1. The guitar has no truss rod only a rolled steel bar that John used. So naturally no truss rod adjustment can even be done.
2. The neck has very slight relief .06 or close. I don't what it was 41 years ago that was beyond my abilities to decipher then.
3. The action has not changed much over the years although I have lowered the action it a bit compared to many years ago.
4. The action does not change from season to season at all.
5. If you take all the strings off and put a straight edge on the neck/frets, there is a slight back bow in the frets. It will ever so slightly rock at about fret 12.
6. How John figured this out and got it all to work is amazing. The guitar plays very modern with low action and single line bebop no issues.

I have played this guitar a lot and the frets show little wear at all, but I tell you relief on this guitar means nothing except the initial set point. The amount the neck would come up as the strings were at full tension had to be calculated. There are ways to do this but let's just say it is as much an art as a science.

Possibly if I put slinky strings .09-38 it would buzz but I am not going to try that. I actually do not think it would because wood has memory built into it after a period of time.

Fun facts or observations.

[ccroft]

Another thing in the mix: some necks are a LOT stiffer than others. Try comparing something like an SG to something like Deacon's D'Angel.