This board should be a place where people get accurate information, and
not opinion, or not advice from experiments that have "worked so far"
(no insult or arrogance intended). In the real world, people do give
their opinion sometimes about something that has worked for them, but
in reality it may not be the best practice. As a practicing luthier
working in a shop that has for 20+ years had a great reputation, we
take a lot of precaution when working on others' instruments, and
advise our customers sparingly and with a degree of caution. You should
NEVER turn a truss rod 1/4 turn at any one time. I would advise against
a beginner adjusting their own truss rod without, a) observing a
luthier doing several of them over a period of time and seeing how it
is done, and b) getting a 'feel' for how it is done without risking
damage (broken truss rod) leading to a more expensive repair. Important
rule: if the neck is concave in the center (bowed up--which is normally
the case) turn the truss rod clockwise (tighten) a MAXIMUM of 1/16
turn, wait a few minutes and look down the neck from the headstock.
Some degree of change should be seen within a few minutes (wood
is 'flexible' and will move after a minute or so). If the bow
is "almost gone" after this first turn, don't try to turn it some more
to "finish the job". The wood will normally continue moving--even over
the next 24 hours. And from one guitar to another, every neck--even
the same brand and model--is different because of density, moisture
content, etc of the wood in the neck and fretboard. If the neck is
bowed backward (convex at the center group of frets) then the truss rod
may have been tightened too tight, or may have "settled in" to the
climate it is kept in, and should be loosened (counterclockwise). To a
luthier the amount of total adjustment is a judgement call, but at our
shop we have a 100% track record of never having broken a truss rod. If
you adjust (tighten) 1/4 turn at a time, you run a HUGE (emphasis HUGE)
risk of breaking your truss rod--particularly on an import guitar. And
1/2 turn on a factory-adjusted guitar is a recipe for disaster. Please
understand that I am not trying to get into a dispute over this or am
not trying to step on anyone's toes. I was simply concerned about the
information being provided and felt it important to caution against a
practice that is all too common among players--self-adjusting their
truss rods without the proper expertise/training. Understand that many
musicians do this themselves, but they exercise caution and may have
done it several times...and are probably "qualified" to do so. Also, I
believe EVERYONE on this board has the best intentions to help those in
need, and I appreciate all that I have learned from many of you so far
(I can work on them, but don't play that well). Again, please don't
perceive this as stepping on toes if you disagree...I am simply trying
to pass on a best practice, and insure the user who reads it doesn't
regret taking action on something because someone advised with good
intent, and was passing on information that only "worked for them" but
that was not necessarily a good practice. To the individual inquiring
about the truss rod, I would advise taking it to an expert. They may
not even charge you to do it. We usually do not at our shop. We have
walk-ins all the time, and do this as a service to musicians. It only
takes 2-5 minutes to know if the adjustment is going to solve the
problem.