I've been thinking about this exact topic! Of course, adjusting a truss rod before it is installed will give an idea of where the maximum deflection point will be, but what about the effect of the gradually increasing size of the neck (for most guitars, anyway) as you approach the guitar body? I think that this increased wood thickness/width will modify the achievable curvature of the neck: it will bend easier (and therefore further) nearer the thinnest/narrowest part of the neck i.e. nearer to the nut. As the strings will deflect most at the middle of the distance between the fretted note and the bridge (and this will obviously change it's position on the neck as notes are fretted closer to the bridge), where is the ideal 'maximum deflection' point of the neck? Another consideration is whether or not there are carbon fibre reinforcements in the neck: as these make the neck more rigid, will this not also make the job of the truss rod much more difficult?
Interesting, thanks for your observation. Reason why I haven't installed truss rods in my builds. I fill my necks with permanent steel bars and carbon fiber rods. About 40% of the neck is wood.
Ok. So my only question then is, where is a good range to place max relief? I understand that probably has a lot to do with scale length and fret count, but I am a total noob trying to learn a thing or two. Maybe a ball park? I would guess for a standard 22 fret, max relief would set around fret 7? Maybe fret 9 for 24fret?
Great vid Chris! Love your channel and all the info you prezent. Just curious where your getting your truss rods from? And preference on brand or seller?
Hi Chris. Very insightful. Something that sparked in my head after watching: Is there a way to calculate the stresses along the neck so that we might know in advance the peak stress point, and subsequently position the truss rod so as to locate its max' deflection point there? Of course I can imagine this might vary for different neck designs and body joinery. In any case, thanks for the video!
It depends on the design and number of carbon fiber inserts. I used four in my V-shaped guitar build which makes the neck very stiff and omits the need for a truss rod for the person who this guitar is going to.
I have a question: When you are deciding what the "middle" of the fretboard is for this purpose, would it make sense to exclude the last part of the fretboard beyond where it meets the body? There is no potential for this part to bend due to anything the rod is doing, right?
Is the position where one would want the relief to be on the fretboard dependent on scale length? For instance, on an electric bass would it still be somewhere between the 8th and 9th fret?
No. It is dependent on the shape of the neck which determines where it will bend when under string tension as well as the length and placement of the truss rod.
@@HighlineGuitars I think that your other recipe for truss rod placement is more fool proof for people without experience since it's something like "just make sure the truss rod goes from the nut to about the 17th fret and you're good"
Thanks for another great video :) I have a question off the back of this, which relates to the use of dual truss rods (typically in wide necks, such as bass guitars with >4 strings). Is this something you ever do, and are there reasons this is sometimes (or always, in your experience) a bad idea? I know you often use reinforcing rods, and I figure those might play a role when it comes to dual truss rods (perhaps negating the need)? Do laminated necks (which I know from a previous video you’ve voiced caution over) have any influence over choices in this area? So not really just one question after all :) Thanks again!
you forget that trussrod make pressue to 3 points of neck. Two on the ends and one on the middle. In case when you want to create thin and ergonomic neck when you place trussrod in wrong place you can simply broke through back of neck. Thats why you need in depends of length of neck get trussrod with lengs wich depends to construction of neck. Otherwise, you make broken neck without the ability to ajust I mean, in video you not gave the ansver "How To Position A Guitar's Truss Rod"
@@HighlineGuitars I don't want to troll you. I sonetimes watch your videos and its interesting contant. Maybe about functionality of trussrod will be another video 'how to place trussrod and not to srew up your project' , or some like that
@@bogdantodchuk277 The video was posted to answer a viewer's question about where to position the truss rod adjustment nut. What you're asking for is more about neck design than truss rod placement.
