Truss rod question, Takamine TAN16C

[mikealpine]

Hi all, I bought a Takamine TAN16C from GC when they had their 10% off sale. Trying to decide if I want to keep it. The action is high, a bit of a bow in the neck to my eye. I don’t adjust my own guitars, but thought I’d give it a try because it isn’t a dramatic change. I can turn the truss rod counter clockwise or clockwise, what I noticed is that unless I am at what would seem to be the extreme end of the range, the truss rod nut (Allen head) turns very easily. It feels like it turns a good two or three full rotations with no resistance, then when I am guessing I am at the end of the range, it gets very stiff. Is that normal? I expected to feel some resistance throughout, given that often we hear about only adjusting a quarter turn at a time. I can bring it to a local tech, or even back to GC, but wanted to ask here so I know if I am being provided accurate info.

Thanks very much!

[rmp]

your instinct is right usually a 1/2 to maybe 3/4 a turn at a time for a moderately significant amount of front or back bow. Try to not to do 2 or 3 (or more) turns.

Most of the time, Just do it in 1/4 or 1/2 turn changes, then eye ball it, see what it looks like.


otherwise what you describe sounds right with it feeling tight. Really.. just try not to force or overdo anything.

[John Arnold]

The looseness at the null point is due to the nature of the two-way truss rods. This may be a bit disconcerting to feel no resistance, but it is normal. Until you feel some resistance, the rod is essentially doing nothing. Turn clockwise until resistance is felt, then add another quarter turn at a time until the correct relief is achieved.

[mikealpine]

Originally Posted by rmp

your instinct is right usually a 1/2 to maybe 3/4 a turn at a time for a moderately significant amount of front or back bow. Try to not to do 2 or 3 (or more) turns.

Most of the time, Just do it in 1/4 or 1/2 turn changes, then eye ball it, see what it looks like.


otherwise what you describe sounds right with it feeling tight. Really.. just try not to force or overdo anything.

Originally Posted by John Arnold

The looseness at the null point is due to the nature of the two-way truss rods. This may be a bit disconcerting to feel no resistance, but it is normal. Until you feel some resistance, the rod is essentially doing nothing. Turn clockwise until resistance is felt, then add another quarter turn at a time until the correct relief is achieved.

Thank you, both. John, that’s exactly the advice I needed. So to be clear, from inside the sound hole, I’m turning the Allen key clockwise? For some reason I would have thought to go the opposite direction. Do I need to loosen the strings? Thanks again!

[EZYPIKINS]

I have seen many guitars come out of GC with the truss rod completely loose.

[mikealpine]

Originally Posted by EZYPIKINS

I have seen many guitars come out of GC with the truss rod completely loose.

I can tighten it, now just need to be clear whether clockwise or counter when doing it from inside the sound hole, and if I need to loosen more than the center strings to give the tool room to rotate a bit.

[mikealpine]

Ok, I loosened the strings and tightened the truss rod, but think I am as far as I want to turn it. The action is still higher than I’d like. Is it worthwhile to take it to a tech and have them work on it? I’m guessing it’ll need the saddle sanded down, but I am concerned that the truss rod is as tight as it can go.

What do you all suggest? Plugged in the guitar sounds great. The other option is to return it and try another, or a similar model like the P5DC.

[tinnitus]

No matter which way a truss rod needs to be turned, I always loosen it just a bit and return it to where it was before I proceed with any adjustment. Especially important (to me) for a used guitar with a vague/unknown back-story.

[cyclistbrian]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

Ok, I loosened the strings and tightened the truss rod, but think I am as far as I want to turn it. The action is still higher than I’d like. Is it worthwhile to take it to a tech and have them work on it? I’m guessing it’ll need the saddle sanded down, but I am concerned that the truss rod is as tight as it can go.

What do you all suggest? Plugged in the guitar sounds great. The other option is to return it and try another, or a similar model like the P5DC.

You want some relief in the neck. Action is adjusted at the nut and saddle. A.good tech will adjust all of this to your playing style and preferences. They'll take care of the unexpected like dealing with a high fret. Money well spent to turn a good guitar into a great player.

[mikealpine]

Originally Posted by tinnitus

No matter which way a truss rod needs to be turned, I always loosen it just a bit and return it to where it was before I proceed with any adjustment. Especially important (to me) for a used guitar with a vague/unknown back-story.

Originally Posted by cyclistbrian

You want some relief in the neck. Action is adjusted at the nut and saddle. A.good tech will adjust all of this to your playing style and preferences. They'll take care of the unexpected like dealing with a high fret. Money well spent to turn a good guitar into a great player.

Thanks guys. My concern is that I feel like there is no more room to tighten the truss rod, and I can’t imagine that’s a good thing. I am going to a/b it against another dread I have and like, a Gibson Songwriter EC. If I like the Tak well enough in the comparison, I’ll bring it to a good local tech, get their opinion and invest the money. I want to keep only one of them at this point. I’d prefer the Tak because the Gibson will sell for more than double. If I like the Gibson much more, I will return the Tak to GC, only out the cost of a new set of strings I put on when it arrived.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

Thank you, both. John, that’s exactly the advice I needed. So to be clear, from inside the sound hole, I’m turning the Allen key clockwise? For some reason I would have thought to go the opposite direction. Do I need to loosen the strings? Thanks again!

with a standard single action truss it's lefty loosey, righty tighty applies here.. left, add relief, (increase forward bow) right remove relief (straighten neck)

No need to loosen the strings, since that will immediately reduce the tension and therefore will affect your neck relief. You want to see what your truss rod change is doing to the relief as you adjust it.

I would definitely bring it somewhere to have a reputable setup tech go over what you got. Then you can usually be pretty confident the setup is correct.

(then again a lot depends on the setup tech, I've read some stories here that make me wonder what some guys are thinking when they offer these services to players with new guitars needing work)

[Marshall]

Originally Posted by rmp

your instinct is right usually a 1/2 to maybe 3/4 a turn at a time for a moderately significant amount of front or back bow. Try to not to do 2 or 3 (or more) turns.

Most of the time, Just do it in 1/4 or 1/2 turn changes, then eye ball it, see what it looks like.


otherwise what you describe sounds right with it feeling tight. Really.. just try not to force or overdo anything.

Conventional wisdom is to make 1/4 turns at a time. Maybe do that a couple times. But cranking the thing much more can overcompensate and do damage.

[6L6]

Hope that guitar works out for you.

I played a TAN 16C for almost a decade and really liked it when plugged in. Should have kept it.