<sigh> Truss Rod

[Owen]

I am being really brave. I am adjusting the truss rod on my Telecaster (guitar - sue me). It is at the body end. I have slackened the strings. I will confess to having initially turned it clockwise to bend the neck to provide more space for the strings to swing. Don't judge me, I am learning. How hard can it be, right? So anyway, I am now turning it anti-clockwise and getting less of the string buzz. However, I seem to have run out of road. The screw end bit is sticking out in such a way that the neck will not sit in the neck pocket. But I am still experiencing string buzz. The bridge is maxed out upwards. The guitar used to wear flatwounds, and I have now gone to 9s. I like to shake it up now and again. The neck is SUPER fat C shape. 26mm from the face of the fingerboard to the back of the neck. 

 

Do I just need to accept that something this chunky is going to need something heavier than 9s to provide a bit of fight to tame the neck? Or am I missing something here?

 

TIA, as usual.

[gary mac]

So long as the truss rod is functioning, then with the right set up, you should be good with pretty much any string gauge.

Turn the screw clockwise again until you feel some tension. Have the strings slack at this point and get the neck straight or even slightly back bowed.

Then tune up and check the relief etc.

[Owen]

Thanks. I shall persevere.

[Hellzero]

Also check if the nut is not too low...

[NancyJohnson]

There's so many factors that can result in fret buzz; poor set up, high frets, wonky neck, wrong neck angle, action too low etc.  All are pretty much easy to solve.

 

If you're impartial to a bit of sweary media content, fire up You Tube and watch some of Milehouse Studio content from Paul Richards.  He's done a series of videos fundamentally about turning around (unloved/bedroom player) guitars into decent playable instruments, using budget tools/gadgets.

 

He makes no bones about the fact that he wants to entertain people 'while they're on the toilet at work' and regardless of the fact that his vernacular and delivery is very amusing, there's a ton of sound content in these videos; it's a lot easier absorbing these than reading how to do stuff.

 

 

 

[neepheid]

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

There's so many factors that can result in fret buzz; poor set up, high frets, wonky neck, wrong neck angle, action too low etc.  All are pretty much easy to solve.

 

If you're impartial to a bit of sweary media content, fire up You Tube and watch some of Milehouse Studio content from Paul Richards.  He's done a series of videos fundamentally about turning around (unloved/bedroom player) guitars into decent playable instruments, using budget tools/gadgets.

 

He makes no bones about the fact that he wants to entertain people 'while they're on the toilet at work' and regardless of the fact that his vernacular and delivery is very amusing, there's a ton of sound content in these videos; it's a lot easier absorbing these than reading how to do stuff.

 

 

 

 

I've got a lot of time for this guy, even if he has a sign in his workshop which says "I DON'T BUILD BASS GUITARS"

 

[LukeFRC]

On 06/05/2025 at 21:31, Owen said:

I am being really brave. I am adjusting the truss rod on my Telecaster (guitar - sue me). It is at the body end. I have slackened the strings. I will confess to having initially turned it clockwise to bend the neck to provide more space for the strings to swing. Don't judge me, I am learning. How hard can it be, right? So anyway, I am now turning it anti-clockwise and getting less of the string buzz. However, I seem to have run out of road. The screw end bit is sticking out in such a way that the neck will not sit in the neck pocket. But I am still experiencing string buzz. The bridge is maxed out upwards. The guitar used to wear flatwounds, and I have now gone to 9s. I like to shake it up now and again. The neck is SUPER fat C shape. 26mm from the face of the fingerboard to the back of the neck. 

 

Do I just need to accept that something this chunky is going to need something heavier than 9s to provide a bit of fight to tame the neck? Or am I missing something here?

 

TIA, as usual.

where on the neck isthe buzz coming from? 

[Owen]

Essentially, the bottom strings are buzzing more than the top ones. The neck has had a couple of days to settle, so I shall recheck it tonight.

[NancyJohnson]

1 hour ago, LukeFRC said:

where on the neck is the buzz coming from? 

 

On the bee string.

 

Chortle.

 

[Owen]

32 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

On the bee string.

 

Chortle.

 

TROLOLOLOLOL

[Owen]

10 hours ago, Owen said:

Essentially, the bottom strings are buzzing more than the top ones. The neck has had a couple of days to settle, so I shall recheck it tonight.

No joy after a couple of days to settle. I might just put the flats back on. They were showing it who was boss.

[BassTool]

On 08/05/2025 at 08:00, NancyJohnson said:

There's so many factors that can result in fret buzz; poor set up, high frets, wonky neck, wrong neck angle, action too low etc.  All are pretty much easy to solve.

 

If you're impartial to a bit of sweary media content, fire up You Tube and watch some of Milehouse Studio content from Paul Richards.  He's done a series of videos fundamentally about turning around (unloved/bedroom player) guitars into decent playable instruments, using budget tools/gadgets.

 

He makes no bones about the fact that he wants to entertain people 'while they're on the toilet at work' and regardless of the fact that his vernacular and delivery is very amusing, there's a ton of sound content in these videos; it's a lot easier absorbing these than reading how to do stuff.

 

 

I love his vids, he's absolutely hilarious, but really informative too, brilliant 👍🏼😎

 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by BassTool

[tauzero]

Check if there is actually some relief in the neck (hold down a string at the first fret and the top fret and make sure there's clearance in the middle of the string). If you have relief, you could try shimming the neck to raise the headstock end.