Eric: This was probably the BEST, clearest explanations of how a truss rod works that I've ever seen! Others explain it in a few words or a very cursory picture, but your video explanation goes into much more detail and explains it fully. Thanks!
Definitely! Other videos about "how a truss rod works" just explain how adjusting it will affect the guitar neck, but don't explain _how_ it exerts its forces on the neck.
Finally, someone who explains how the truss rod itself works, rather than how to adjust the neck. Exactly what I was looking for, this makes so much more sense now. Thanks!
FINALY - someone actually DID explain "How a Truss Rod Actually Works", not just how to adjust one. Specifically for me - that there is reverse/opposite threading at one end, I assumed, without knowing, it must be that or free turning (non-threaded) in a slotted/notched hole (for one way adjusting truss rods?). Thank you!
Ive been playing guitar for 30 years, you know I always thought the truss rod was something like a pole the shape of an allen key which you just spin around and somehow that applied force to the neck, I really had NO IDEA what was actually happening inside!! And most people who have tried to explain it to me over the years have done nothing to make me think any different!! Grateful to finally see it in action and finally understand why it does what it does!
Congratulations on providing the most accurate desription of 2-way truss rod action. The opposite threading at the "far end" is key to understanding how the rod bows up or down and then bends the neck as needed. Thank you.
Double-action truss-rods are useful because they can not only correct a forward- and back-bow problem, but because they can induce relief in a brand new, straight neck. Relief allows for the action to be raised a bit the lower frets, without becoming ridiculously high at the upper frets. Action is a matter of preference, but there is a more or less correct relief amount to match a given action. You basically want the string to be parallel to the fretboat at the highest frets. The higher the action, the more relief that condition requires.
Thank you! I've looked at so many illustrations and videos about truss rods over the years, and still had no idea what was actually happening inside. It finally makes sense to me now.
Jeez! Thank goodness for RUclips algorithm! I finally understood damn truss rods! Kidding aside, as an aspiring luthier, every bit of correct information is absolutely invaluable. I recently bought a cheap tele copy that has a significant back bow (no slotted straight edge yet so I did the capo on the 1st fret-fretted on the 17th trick) and now I know how to deal with it. Thank you so much, Eric.
Thank you Eric for a simple demonstration of how a truss rod actually works. I have just removed a truss rod from an old Samick guitar from Indonesia as the neck was completely 'shagged' as we say in Australia. I have dabbled in constructing kit guitars but never knew how the truss rod was constructed. Thanks to you, now I do. Unfortunately the truss rod that I just removed must be broken as the nut on one end is not fixed to the square tube but I have learned a lot from deconstructing the guitar. I have not actually removed the neck from the body but had to resort to a hacksaw to get to the truss rod & in doing so I 'rooted' the finger board! Australian definition, 'rooted' means f....d! 'Shagged' ditto! The guitar was not great quality and had been hanging in someone's shed. I was given permission to experiment on it. If I can safely remove the rest of the neck I might see if I can locate a cheapish replacement. Thanks for the excellent video.
wow, thank you! played for years and even after learning setups, was mystified as to what was mechanically happening. watched a few videos before yours explained the actually mechanism. thank you!
Such a good visual explanation--I feel way more ready to start building after watching this. I also liked the mention of how secure the fingerboard should be to the neck
Even if the video is 6 years old as I'm typing this, it's incredibly informative! Thanks for a great video, hope you're all well out there (anyone reading this)☕
Excellent video! How do you tell if you have a one way or two way truss rod when it is imbedded in the guitar already? Is it that a one way only tightens one way and a two way tightens two ways?
Hi eric, I noticed there is around 85mm between the main upperbout brace and the top of the guitar. You can get truss rods with extra long (85mm) adjustment nobs so that the Allen key wouldn’t have to go far to do the adjustment. Why don’t you use those as opposed to the standard ones when you will have to put in the Allen key quite a way before making contact as I presume you wouldn’t want the truss rod bending action to start before the body/neck join ?
Does the turning of the nut have a loose feel when the 2 way rod is in the neutral position? In other words, is there a way to tell when the 2 way rod is in a relaxed state & therefore show if the neck has a relaxed bow or back bow. Thanks.
Thanks. I'm planning a guitar. And the truss rod has me perplexed. This answered so much. Thank you! Questions (hope you answer for free) do you tape the top flat part of the metal to prevent glue from seeping in when you glue on the fretboard? Also, I noticed 4 small holes on the neck; is that for positioning the fret board?
Hello. I adjusted the truss rod and the neck is flat. After 2 days I noticed an up-bow. I adjusted it again. After 1 or 2 days the same occurred. I repeated this process many times and it seems the truss rod does not maintain the neck flat. The marked the truss rod nut to see if it was moving, but no, it did not move. It is a single action truss rod. Have you experienced that? Thank you in advance.
Thanks for the explanation! May I ask one question. How do single action rod work?. It is nearer to the backside of the neck, so the majority of wood on the front act like the static rod on a double action rod?
Hi Eric, thanks so much for this helpful video - a quick question if I may, I have a dual action rod and wondered about the part where you mentioned “a little turn goes a long way” - mine seems to work fine but I was curious why it seems quite loose and very easy to turn - in comparison to my other guitars with single action truss rods and that in both directions (clockwise and counterclockwise) after maybe a full turn it becomes less freely moving and “bites” and starts to tighten - I’ve never pushed beyond this point but was wondering if this was (1) the full extent of the turn or whether (2) it was the engagement point - and that the middle loose feeling section is a “neutral” stage - thanks again! :)
thank you Eric . question please , now i understand the truss rod way better but carbon fiber inserts beside truss rods how does that work. carbon fiber is to keep neck movement from happening . so confused
I haven't used carbon fiber inserts, but as far as I understand the idea, first and foremost, is that they prevent or mitigate the problem of neck twisting. Because the inserts are on either side of the truss rod they add some lateral strength. Also they stiffen up the neck overall, so neck adjustments with the truss rod are less frequent.
Hey Walter, I also included your question here in my latest video "Guitarmaking Q&A for August 3rd, 2018", so you might want to check that out. I expand a little more on what I said here. This video, however, isn't available until Friday at 10am, so you'll have to wait until then. Here's the link for when it is available: ruclips.net/video/vTfZrvtAR2c/видео.html Hope that helps!
Awesome video, clear and also entertaining. Thank you :) Question for you: MIM Strat 1997 (my first first hand guitar :) ). 14th fret buzzing only for the D string or a bending A string (looks to me like a little friction around 14th or 15th fret when pressing the 14th, but just guessing). I tried tightening a bit and then loosening almost all the way, with the latter having a slight better effect on the buzzing. But still I even raised the saddles to the point that I don't think I can raise G and D more than that. Any suggestions? Thank you.
@@the_screen_addict24 for the record, I had to go read my post three times before I understood what I meant... That gives you the idea of the state I must have been in...
Grab some flexible material, such as a thin plastic sheet or a strip of flexible balsa wood. Then squeeze the opposing ends together. You'll notice that it bows just like the truss rod does! The cylinder acts like a pipe clamp, which squeezes the flat metal part and causes it to bow, just like the flexible material I mentioned above.
5:40 is where I jumped the hell off my seat, hesitantly pulled off my earbuds and tried to listen to any activity from the living room hoping everything is okay... Damn near ran to see if anybody was hurt. On an unrelated note, I'm struggling to wrap my head around the difference between dual action and double action truss rods. One is saying this is what a double action truss rod does, another says that's a dual action, more says the opposite, and again... Another says double action is a one way. It's killing me.
If you turn it one way and it feels tight, turn it the other and it will go loose then tight as the direction of bow changes. Mark the end at the start so you can undo the change.
! That explanation the first minute is confusing -- the Truss Rod does'nt correct LEAN liked demonstrated but-rather curve/flatness -- if You had say a styrofoam "Neck" that could demonstrate FLEX around the 6th/7th fret that'd be keen
what to do if the trussrod is tight and hard but still bowed up  what to do if the trussrod is tight and hard but still bowed up  what to do if the trussrod is tight and hard but still bowed up  what to do if the trussrod is tight and hard but still bowed up 
I turned the truss rod on my Bass both ways and still the strings lay on the fret board. I'm seriously about to drive to you so you can look at this thing lol
Okay, so you only adjust your truss rod if your neck is actually bowed. You can actually just make this judgement with your eyes. You want it to be straight, so just do that. From there, if you are still experiencing buzzing, it's likely due to either your nut or the bridge/saddles. First, you need to find out where the buzzing is happening, this will tell the next step. Because the next step is determining if it is just the bridge needing raised, or if your nut is actually worn down too far and can no longer keep the strings held high enough. If you're only having buzzing on specific frets but no where else, then it's likely a fretting issue, and that's a whole other discussion. Finally, you have tried fresh strings, yeah?
To test the nut: Check first fret. Is the string(all of them) being held high enough to clear the first frets? If yes, nut is probably the issue and needs replaced, and the new one will need cut to that guitar specifically. If no, then check that the strings sit firm & not loosely moving around the nut, also that the nut it's self is secure. If all is well, move on to start assessing the bridge.
The way i test bridge/action is by fretting the 12th fret and using my pinky to fret another fret higher up, and see if they rattle or have a noticable gap or anything. If the action is too low, the 2nd fretted note will buzz or mute its self. If too high, it is just uncomfortable to play. Adjusting action is easy and usually done by the individual saddles, simply raise or lower them, retune, test. Repeat until satisfied.
If everything up to this point is failing and you are still getting buzz, it is likely due to uneven frets or dead frets. Frets wear over time, especially if you hang around specific notes a lot. If mild, simply grabbing a perfectly straight block + some super fine grit sand paper & a polish after will do the trick to relevel them, just be very careful not to take too much fret material. If too severe, they need replaced, and when replaced you'd need to do the above process to level out your new frets.
A truss rod does NOT change the pitch of a neck. It will NOT affect string height at the bridge. The opening part of this video is just plain WRONG. A truss rod does not fix an overset or under set neck. It merely adds or takes away relief and that will raise or lower string height up to the 12th fret or so. People think you can avoid a neck reset by adjusting the truss rod. You can’t.
@ at 1:10 you swing the neck forward and back and then say the truss rod fixes that. I’ve watched a number of your videos and enjoy them. You do great work, are likable, and explain things well. But your remarks at that point are misleading. After that, your explanation of addressing relief is good. Regards
Eric: This was probably the BEST, clearest explanations of how a truss rod works that I've ever seen! Others explain it in a few words or a very cursory picture, but your video explanation goes into much more detail and explains it fully. Thanks!
Thanks, Kathy!
totally agree thank u : )
Totally correct! The only video that answered my question! Brilliant!
Definitely! Other videos about "how a truss rod works" just explain how adjusting it will affect the guitar neck, but don't explain _how_ it exerts its forces on the neck.
Correct 100%
100% the BEST video on RUclips for actually SHOWING what the truss rod is and how it actually works! Thank you!!!
Finally, someone who explains how the truss rod itself works, rather than how to adjust the neck. Exactly what I was looking for, this makes so much more sense now. Thanks!
Best description and illustration of truss action ever.
It seems the less wordy a lecture, the more capable the instructor
FINALY - someone actually DID explain "How a Truss Rod Actually Works", not just how to adjust one. Specifically for me - that there is reverse/opposite threading at one end, I assumed, without knowing, it must be that or free turning (non-threaded) in a slotted/notched hole (for one way adjusting truss rods?). Thank you!
I've looked at a few dozen videos that try to show how a truss rod works, and this is absoutley the best.
Ive been playing guitar for 30 years, you know I always thought the truss rod was something like a pole the shape of an allen key which you just spin around and somehow that applied force to the neck, I really had NO IDEA what was actually happening inside!! And most people who have tried to explain it to me over the years have done nothing to make me think any different!! Grateful to finally see it in action and finally understand why it does what it does!
Congratulations on providing the most accurate desription of 2-way truss rod action. The opposite threading at the "far end" is key to understanding how the rod bows up or down and then bends the neck as needed. Thank you.
Double-action truss-rods are useful because they can not only correct a forward- and back-bow problem, but because they can induce relief in a brand new, straight neck. Relief allows for the action to be raised a bit the lower frets, without becoming ridiculously high at the upper frets. Action is a matter of preference, but there is a more or less correct relief amount to match a given action. You basically want the string to be parallel to the fretboat at the highest frets. The higher the action, the more relief that condition requires.
Thank you! I've looked at so many illustrations and videos about truss rods over the years, and still had no idea what was actually happening inside. It finally makes sense to me now.
This is a great explanation of how a truss rod actually works, rather than just what it does. Thank you for this.
This guy is truly generous d way he explains...bravo sir!!
An absolutely superb explanation and demonstration!
Jeez! Thank goodness for RUclips algorithm! I finally understood damn truss rods!
Kidding aside, as an aspiring luthier, every bit of correct information is absolutely invaluable. I recently bought a cheap tele copy that has a significant back bow (no slotted straight edge yet so I did the capo on the 1st fret-fretted on the 17th trick) and now I know how to deal with it. Thank you so much, Eric.
The best explanation of this I’ve seen
I searched "how does a truss rod work" and this was the perfect answer. Thank you.
Great Video! Been looking for this type of content on truss rods for a while. Best explanation of a truss rod I've seen.
Absolutely excellent demonstration and explanation. Best I have seen and to the point.
This is the best explanation I have ever seen on the truss rod and its function. Well done Mr Schaefer
Thanks, this is really complete description of truss rod mechanism!
Thank you Eric for a simple demonstration of how a truss rod actually works. I have just removed a truss rod from an old Samick guitar from Indonesia as the neck was completely 'shagged' as we say in Australia. I have dabbled in constructing kit guitars but never knew how the truss rod was constructed. Thanks to you, now I do. Unfortunately the truss rod that I just removed must be broken as the nut on one end is not fixed to the square tube but I have learned a lot from deconstructing the guitar. I have not actually removed the neck from the body but had to resort to a hacksaw to get to the truss rod & in doing so I 'rooted' the finger board! Australian definition, 'rooted' means f....d! 'Shagged' ditto! The guitar was not great quality and had been hanging in someone's shed. I was given permission to experiment on it. If I can safely remove the rest of the neck I might see if I can locate a cheapish replacement. Thanks for the excellent video.
Truly awesome demonstration! Suddenly I can see so easily how this works!
wow, thank you! played for years and even after learning setups, was mystified as to what was mechanically happening. watched a few videos before yours explained the actually mechanism. thank you!
The best explanation on the entire platform
Thank you for this. I’m a new guitar player and I had no idea how the truss rod works. 👍
Such a good visual explanation--I feel way more ready to start building after watching this. I also liked the mention of how secure the fingerboard should be to the neck
Great Video bravo 👏🏼 I learned something! My understanding of how the rod works was backwards.
This is the best explanation. Thank you.
Best yet..clear and concise..thanks.
Found your video very helpful..Always wondered if truss rods functioned differently as to which end of the neck they wr on..Thanks alot
This exactly what I was trying to find out how the rod works thanks
Thank you Sir !!! :)
The perfect explanation.
The best explanation.
Even if the video is 6 years old as I'm typing this, it's incredibly informative!
Thanks for a great video, hope you're all well out there (anyone reading this)☕
Excellent explanation. Thanks!
Videos like this are why I don't purge my devices of RUclips.
Wow...superbly explained!
Make a video on WHEN to adjust a truss rod and when not too.. Thanks in advance..
Wow I always wondered how these things work!
Great explanation!!! Thank you so much!!!!
Excellent video! How do you tell if you have a one way or two way truss rod when it is imbedded in the guitar already? Is it that a one way only tightens one way and a two way tightens two ways?
This is a great explanation!
thank you for a clear and simple explanation along with great video to go with it :)
Great vid well explained just what I needed thank u
Very clear Eric. Well done.
Really good explanation. thanks
EXCELLENT explanation!! Thank you!
Now that I know how this works I'm gonna go and build one
Do all truss rods bow & flex most right in the middle? Is there such thing as a bad truss rod?
Is the truss rod channel straight all the way through or shoot it have a curve? Thanks
Very informative teacher
When adjusting the truss rod, is it normal for the head where you'd put the Alan wrench to move up and down depending which way you turn it?
Thanks for this
Hi eric, I noticed there is around 85mm between the main upperbout brace and the top of the guitar. You can get truss rods with extra long (85mm) adjustment nobs so that the Allen key wouldn’t have to go far to do the adjustment. Why don’t you use those as opposed to the standard ones when you will have to put in the Allen key quite a way before making contact as I presume you wouldn’t want the truss rod bending action to start before the body/neck join ?
Loved it! Thank you!
Does the turning of the nut have a loose feel when the 2 way rod is in the neutral position? In other words, is there a way to tell when the 2 way rod is in a relaxed state & therefore show if the neck has a relaxed bow or back bow. Thanks.
yes i learn a lot in this video ,thanks man for sharing .
accurate explanation.
just a question, is there a tendency of having the threads loose due to exccessive turning?
Very informative
Thank you very much 🙂
Thanks. I'm planning a guitar. And the truss rod has me perplexed. This answered so much. Thank you! Questions (hope you answer for free) do you tape the top flat part of the metal to prevent glue from seeping in when you glue on the fretboard? Also, I noticed 4 small holes on the neck; is that for positioning the fret board?
Excellent! Thankyou 😜👍🏼
hi. how can we know that the guitar has one way or has two way truss rod?
Hello. I adjusted the truss rod and the neck is flat. After 2 days I noticed an up-bow. I adjusted it again. After 1 or 2 days the same occurred. I repeated this process many times and it seems the truss rod does not maintain the neck flat. The marked the truss rod nut to see if it was moving, but no, it did not move. It is a single action truss rod. Have you experienced that? Thank you in advance.
Thanks for the explanation! May I ask one question. How do single action rod work?. It is nearer to the backside of the neck, so the majority of wood on the front act like the static rod on a double action rod?
Hi Eric, thanks so much for this helpful video - a quick question if I may, I have a dual action rod and wondered about the part where you mentioned “a little turn goes a long way” - mine seems to work fine but I was curious why it seems quite loose and very easy to turn - in comparison to my other guitars with single action truss rods and that in both directions (clockwise and counterclockwise) after maybe a full turn it becomes less freely moving and “bites” and starts to tighten - I’ve never pushed beyond this point but was wondering if this was (1) the full extent of the turn or whether (2) it was the engagement point - and that the middle loose feeling section is a “neutral” stage - thanks again! :)
I addressed your comment in a new Q and A episode: ruclips.net/video/_APy7b-UncU/видео.html
Learn a lot..thanks
Thankyou...excellent video. As they all are
thank you Eric . question please , now i understand the truss rod way better but carbon fiber inserts beside truss rods how does that work. carbon fiber is to keep neck movement from happening . so confused
I haven't used carbon fiber inserts, but as far as I understand the idea, first and foremost, is that they prevent or mitigate the problem of neck twisting. Because the inserts are on either side of the truss rod they add some lateral strength. Also they stiffen up the neck overall, so neck adjustments with the truss rod are less frequent.
oh okay thank you
Hey Walter,
I also included your question here in my latest video "Guitarmaking Q&A for August 3rd, 2018", so you might want to check that out. I expand a little more on what I said here. This video, however, isn't available until Friday at 10am, so you'll have to wait until then.
Here's the link for when it is available: ruclips.net/video/vTfZrvtAR2c/видео.html
Hope that helps!
thank you not a problem . take your time i am an old geeze retired i got time i just forget what day it is again thank you
great video - thank you
Does a truss rod have a "zero"position? No tension; bolt feels loose?
Very Good
25'ish years playing and I never stopped to think how a truss rod worked. Thanks for the great explanation !
Awesome video, clear and also entertaining. Thank you :) Question for you: MIM Strat 1997 (my first first hand guitar :) ). 14th fret buzzing only for the D string or a bending A string (looks to me like a little friction around 14th or 15th fret when pressing the 14th, but just guessing). I tried tightening a bit and then loosening almost all the way, with the latter having a slight better effect on the buzzing. But still I even raised the saddles to the point that I don't think I can raise G and D more than that. Any suggestions? Thank you.
You need a new guitar
@@the_screen_addict24 actually I am all set 😁. Thank you for the insight though.
@@mimmiliano74 haha... Alright bro...😆😆
@@the_screen_addict24 for the record, I had to go read my post three times before I understood what I meant... That gives you the idea of the state I must have been in...
@@mimmiliano74 you're hilarious...
Im sure your fret bar needed fixing for fret buzz
Great video Eric!!!
A perfect video.
Great explanation…except the left hand thread is at the adjustment end, not as stated
A question Eric: why does "tightening it" make the truss rod bend?!? Does "tightening" mean shortening the truss rod?
Grab some flexible material, such as a thin plastic sheet or a strip of flexible balsa wood. Then squeeze the opposing ends together. You'll notice that it bows just like the truss rod does!
The cylinder acts like a pipe clamp, which squeezes the flat metal part and causes it to bow, just like the flexible material I mentioned above.
0:54 What?! Why not? Unscrewing does nothing?
5:40 is where I jumped the hell off my seat, hesitantly pulled off my earbuds and tried to listen to any activity from the living room hoping everything is okay... Damn near ran to see if anybody was hurt.
On an unrelated note, I'm struggling to wrap my head around the difference between dual action and double action truss rods. One is saying this is what a double action truss rod does, another says that's a dual action, more says the opposite, and again... Another says double action is a one way. It's killing me.
Okay a video I was watching was wrong about a double action truss rod.
How to know if a truss rod is single or double action?
If you turn it one way and it feels tight, turn it the other and it will go loose then tight as the direction of bow changes. Mark the end at the start so you can undo the change.
! That explanation the first minute is confusing -- the Truss Rod does'nt correct LEAN liked demonstrated but-rather curve/flatness -- if You had say a styrofoam "Neck" that could demonstrate FLEX around the 6th/7th fret that'd be keen
Briliant
Finally!
Its a wonder fretboards don’t lift more often..
what to do if the trussrod is tight and hard but still bowed up

what to do if the trussrod is tight and hard but still bowed up

what to do if the trussrod is tight and hard but still bowed up

what to do if the trussrod is tight and hard but still bowed up

I turned the truss rod on my Bass both ways and still the strings lay on the fret board. I'm seriously about to drive to you so you can look at this thing lol
Okay, so you only adjust your truss rod if your neck is actually bowed. You can actually just make this judgement with your eyes. You want it to be straight, so just do that.
From there, if you are still experiencing buzzing, it's likely due to either your nut or the bridge/saddles.
First, you need to find out where the buzzing is happening, this will tell the next step.
Because the next step is determining if it is just the bridge needing raised, or if your nut is actually worn down too far and can no longer keep the strings held high enough.
If you're only having buzzing on specific frets but no where else, then it's likely a fretting issue, and that's a whole other discussion.
Finally, you have tried fresh strings, yeah?
To test the nut:
Check first fret. Is the string(all of them) being held high enough to clear the first frets?
If yes, nut is probably the issue and needs replaced, and the new one will need cut to that guitar specifically.
If no, then check that the strings sit firm & not loosely moving around the nut, also that the nut it's self is secure. If all is well, move on to start assessing the bridge.
The way i test bridge/action is by fretting the 12th fret and using my pinky to fret another fret higher up, and see if they rattle or have a noticable gap or anything. If the action is too low, the 2nd fretted note will buzz or mute its self. If too high, it is just uncomfortable to play.
Adjusting action is easy and usually done by the individual saddles, simply raise or lower them, retune, test. Repeat until satisfied.
If everything up to this point is failing and you are still getting buzz, it is likely due to uneven frets or dead frets. Frets wear over time, especially if you hang around specific notes a lot.
If mild, simply grabbing a perfectly straight block + some super fine grit sand paper & a polish after will do the trick to relevel them, just be very careful not to take too much fret material.
If too severe, they need replaced, and when replaced you'd need to do the above process to level out your new frets.
I still can't imagine if it could actually work 😂
I feel like at some points you spoke a kilogram but said a gram otherwise good video
Certainly alot less complicated of a component than i thought.
A truss rod does NOT change the pitch of a neck. It will NOT affect string height at the bridge. The opening part of this video is just plain WRONG. A truss rod does not fix an overset or under set neck. It merely adds or takes away relief and that will raise or lower string height up to the 12th fret or so. People think you can avoid a neck reset by adjusting the truss rod. You can’t.
I never said or even implied that it changed the pitch of the neck. I spoke only of "neck bow." You did not watch the video.
@ at 1:10 you swing the neck forward and back and then say the truss rod fixes that. I’ve watched a number of your videos and enjoy them. You do great work, are likable, and explain things well. But your remarks at that point are misleading. After that, your explanation of addressing relief is good. Regards