Why I Don't Like Neck Relief 

Thanks a million. Watching this and a quarter turn saved one from the junk heap. Smooth and a pleasure to play now. Every other “expert” out there is recommending a slight bow. Thanks again.

This is great stuff and is exactly what I'm working on and is the absolute best relief explanations I've seen.A few months ago I started dorking with my HD-28V (looking for perfection) with all the Music Nomad setup kits and managed to achieve the trifecta of filing my nut slots too low, sanding my saddle too low, and setting way too much neck relief.I've replaced the nut and got that straightened out, have a saddle from Stewmac coming tomorrow that I'll be adjusting, and (thru a lot of trial and error) have the relief to .004 to .006. I had thought I needed more relief from the "conventional wisdom" of .008 or higher and your expert confirmation saved me just in time.Thanks!

I am relieved.

Good stuff. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. 35+ years of playing guitar here..., with half or more of that time being professional live gigging and studio work. A straight neck or darn near straight, is huge for me and a 'must do-/ have' on all my personal guitars. Obviously a guitar is going to play better and easier with a straight neck, but I've found that a guitar ( both electric and acoustic) sounds its best and resonates and rings better with a straighter neck set up...

All very true. Also like you said, a straighter neck sounds better because it has a better transfer of energy.

Hey, Bryan, good to see you on here, bud. I hope life is treating you well!

Oh MY LORD ... Thanks a TON ... first time i understood it clearly thanks

Brilliant stuff, this will change my life at least in a small way. Thanks for this, super interesting!

To some topics like this may seem dry, but I’ll watch and enjoy as many as you want to post. Learning lots of good info.

I agree with this. It seems to mirror my own conclusion regarding neck relief. However, I often find that while most guitars play better with very little relief they often feel tight or tense. I don't know why that is ...yet.

I think ur a very smart and the best thing is that u don’t make it what it isn’t A lot of so called experts complicate so much that makes my head spin lol I’m not even a good guitar player (started playing at 50) but u don’t have to be This is all common sense My saddle is so low that I might get another but just listening to this video The guitar (D-18 MD) plays amazing and no fret buzz, tuned and intoned I can imagine if I actually knew what I was doing and measure everything 😊 Thank you for all the help on all your videos

Bryan, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on dealing with neck relief on Martins that don’t have adjustable truss rods, such as the 1970’s era Martins that you rehab. Do they frequently have relief problems, what are the adjustment options, etc. Thank you for these great videos, and thank you again for making my HD-28 truly special.

Awesome video. Very interesting perspective.

Great video & I'm VERY glad that you covered this topic in such detail!!!!!!! There's a TON of misinformation out there about neck relief & low action. I'm with you 100% & I'm glad to see someone with your extensive knowledge & experience, debunking these myths!!!!!!! I do not like much neck relief in a guitar. Only enough to allow for humidity. In my opinion, too much relief makes the strings feel too loose on my right hand which causes me to "dig" the strings. The harder I play, the less accuracy I have for taking lead breaks. With excessive relief, I also find myself adjusting my right hand position more, looking for the tones I want to hear. A good guitar & a well setup guitar will put out plenty of sound, having consistent tone, without having to play it harder. Naturally, when you apply a capo, the tone will change slightly & more the further you position it toward the body. There's nothing much you can do about that. I like my string height to be as low as possible & as consistent as possible all the way to the 14th fret. With too much relief & frets that are not leveled properly, you've got a perfect recipe for a buzz fest!!!!!!! You've also got an instrument that doesn't play as comfortable or as consistently as it should, up & down the neck. I don't know exactly what that "correct" relief number is, but I know I can almost immediately feel it when a guitar has too much. I personally, start noticing it around the 5th - 7th fret position.

Agree for the most part. Too much relief can give you intonation problems and upper fret buzz. A truss rod is good to be able to compensate for back bow caused by humidity or re-fretting, but flat should be the starting point (and flat is ALWAYS the starting point when doing any fret leveling). To me it would make a lot more sense to give guitars neck tilt adjustments. Its been done (early 70's Fenders for electrics, and RIversong acoustics) but it certainly has not caught on. Maybe its a tough engineering problem, but it would sure be useful.

I'm curious ... does this apply to mandolins as well? I've learned some luthiers set em all dead straight while others like a bit of relief. Apologies if you talked about it later in the video, I haven't watched the whole thing yet.

Relief is nonsense when you really think about it. Each fretted note forms a straight ramp that needs to clear the next fret, any relief just makes this impossible. On electrics, I dont understand why bridges are not closer to the neck, which allows lighter gauges and lower action. The maxed out saddle springs rattle at that point and its annoying.

Hey Bryan... Awesome video as always. Thank you. How do you get more bass from bridge pins? ebony as opposed to bone?

Hey Bryan, I just received the stew Mac gripper wrench tool today and it didn't work on my stripped truss rod nut. It's on a gpcpa5k made in Mexico martin but the neck is lightning fast and I hate to call it lost cause but I don't know what to do now. Any suggestions? It's a bolt in neck but I was really hoping to not have to go that route. Martin puts their damn truss rod nuts so deeps in the neck that it's hard to access. Sorry I forgot to mention my problem is I have probably 40 thousandths of relief that I can't get out and it's driving me crazy.

Thank you Bryan 🙏 great stuff, could you share some thoughts on bridge pins material?

So how much is a small amount of relief?

Soooo ... Fender is incorrect about how to set up guitars ... and Gibson too. Oh, and everyone else. I think your mistake is that you don't understand how strings vibrate. People are entitled to their opinions, and to express them of course. But I thought I'd put the other (majority) viewpoint for the benefit of the viewers.