Vintage, Rare And Collectable Guitars
Perth, West Australia
AUSTRALIA'S NUMBER 1 VINTAGE GUITAR DEALER!!
Back to Home-Page Fret-board Maintenance and Truss Rod Adjustment
Most guitars are made with a rosewood or ebony fret-board. These rare and exotic woods are attractive and very durable but they require occasional care to last a lifetime.
Both
rosewood and ebony are dense hardwoods that take years to season properly, but
few manufacturers take the time to perfectly season their wood. Thus, there is a
risk of shrinkage which causes fret lifting and fret-board cracks.
To reduce
the risk of fret-board damage, apply an occasional coat of fine oil to the
fret-board and keep the guitar humidified in winter.
At Rics
Vintage Guitars we oil our customer’s guitars with Tung oil, which is available
through most hardware stores. Apply the oil with a cloth and allow one minute
for the oil to soak in. Remove any residue with a clean cloth. Two or three
applications per year should be adequate. If the fret-board is dirty, clean it
off with "0000" extra fine steel wool before applying the oil. Put masking tape
over the pickups to prevent steel wool particles from clinging to the pickup
magnets.
Most
modern guitars use an adjustable metal truss rod embedded under the fret-board
to compensate for the 150 to 200 pound pull of the strings. The truss rod
setting can only be determined when the guitar is strung and up to pitch. When a
truss rod is properly adjusted, there should be a slight curve or "bow" in the
neck. This bow in the neck allows the fretted string to efficiently clear the
next fret permitting the lowest playing action possible and a minimum of rattle
and buzz. A perfectly straight neck will cause severe fret buzz in the first and
second playing positions. A slight increase in bow by loosening the truss rod
would cure this problem.
A neck that is "over-bowed" will play very cleanly but a large over-bow will
cause poor intonation. An over-bowed neck should be adjusted before the wood
permanently warps into the over-bowed position.
To
accurately measure the bow in your neck, start by fretting a string at the first
and twenty-second position and then use the gap between the string and the
seventh fret for the measurement. Electric guitars usually need about .010" of
bow (the thickness of a high "E" string). An acoustic guitar or bass needs more
bow and a heavy handed player or a guitar with badly worn frets requires more
bow to play properly.
If you
truss rod is tight and difficult to turn, visit your friendly repairman before
experimenting further!
If in
doubt, give me a call...