Adjusting the "Tone" of your acoustic...

[snakecraig]

A lot of people don't know this but the truss rod (or amount of relief) effects the tone of your acoustic...

I was in a music store today that sold a A101 to a guy and it had some fret buzz... I went in to check it out and noticed that the neck needed some attention. After I finished working on the guitar, I handed it over to the guys in the shop. They were astounded! They couldn't understand why it sounded so much better after an adjustment.

Thing is... A lot of people do not look after the tension on the truss rod. Often the truss rod needs to be released or tightened. (duh, right!!)

Often people believe that the truss rod is there to make it easier to play... (Thats true too), but it also changes the tone of your guitar tremendously.

If your guitar needs a crank on the truss rod, it may sound boomy and dull... If you tighten the truss rod, it will get back the brilliance thats been missing... Also if your neck has too much tension, it will often sound thin, and the action will be quite low.

The reason I'm bringing this up is that people often don't realize this.

BUT ALWAYS HAVE YOUR GUITAR ADJUSTED BY A PROFESSIONAL...
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[JB]

Thanks Craig for the tech posting, you are right ofcourse and I like the "get it done by a professional" bit

We're always abit reserved about mentioning truss-rod issues simply because we have had some players in the past get too ... well lets say "adventurous" with tweaking, and what should've been a simple job for a proper guitar tech turns into an instrumental ski-slope creating more problems than when they first started

We use Gotoh 2-way truss-rods for extra adjustment but please, please, please, if you've never worked a truss-rod before seek advice first before you attempt it .... or better still, take it to a professional.

Most good guitar shops will have a resident tech and these guys are worth every penny .

[Cringer]

Until the start charging £75 just to look at it

[snakecraig]

Until the start charging ?75 just to look at it

Your not Serious, right?

I've heard about some music shops "Setting up guitars", and they never actually did anything. Just took a nice fee.

JB... Thanks. I know how many times people have come to me with their guitars and have decided to "go skiing". Dangerous!
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[rdet]

Until the start charging £75 just to look at it

Your not Serious, right?

I've heard about some music shops "Setting up guitars", and they never actually did anything. Just took a nice fee.

JB... Thanks. I know how many times people have come to me with their guitars and have decided to "go skiing". Dangerous!

Well, I just took two guitars into a well known luthier hear in Boise, ID to get them setup - including my new Avalon. The charge is $65 per instrument. That's what, a bit less than half the 75 pounds?

BTW, if anyone is interested, its John Bolin Guitars - he's known more for electrics played by the likes of ZZ Top, the Stones and Steve Miller among others. His site: http://www.bolinguitars.com

[snakecraig]

Just for a setup? Thats too much... Even if he is who he is!
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[rdet]

Just for a setup? Thats too much... Even if he is who he is!

Yeah - Boise needs a good, fast, reasonably priced guitar tech. There are only two you can trust in the whole city of about 200,000. Either one also means a wait of a week or two. Kind of crazy but thats the reality. Bolin had about a dozen guitars ahead of mine for various things.

[Cringer]

My accoustic's neck twisted a bit and the action had gradually risen. I took it to a well known music store in Manchester for them to fix it. I had to get it done there for specific reasons... The guitar tech there did a great job. The neck's straight again and he's built it up inside (no loss of sound) to prevent it twisting again and he filed down the bridge a bit too to lower the action. It's the lowest action accoustic I've ever played and there's no buzz too. So all in all I'm pleased with what he did, but it was £50 + parts + labour to get it fixed. Now it's gone up to £75. Thankfully there's a Dawsons in town now where they're much more customer friendly... usually...

[Dennis]

Could that be why my A200CE sounds so bright, perhaps? I'm used to a softer, warmer tone from a cheaper guitar, and while I think my Avalon is a beauty, I'm still getting used to the tone.

It was set up by a professional, though - I bought it from Sheehans in Leicester, who know what they're doing.