Measure Neck Relief Strat

If you measure no relief the neck may be convex.

Measure neck relief strat.

If the neck is too concave action too high turn the truss rod nut clockwise to remove excess relief. Place a capo on top of the 1st fret fig. If you have two capos that s even better as you can keep both hands free. To check relief install a capo on the first fret of your strat s neck and then depress the low e string at the last fret.

It s a useful measurement because for example if you have fret buzzing going on it ll give you a good idea of how much you ll need to have the truss rod tweaked. Most quality guitar manufacturers supply the correct tool for adjusting neck. Hold down the 6th string at the last fret. The top of an acoustic guitar may rise or fall to some degree depending on the climatic conditions in your part of the country.

Adjusting your guitar s neck relief the amount of bow and resistance in the neck may sound like a scary proposition to the first timer but this task is something you can definitely do yourself if you take it slow and work in very small increments. To measure relief clamp a capo on top of the 1st fret and then hold down the 6th string at the last fret. You can preset the basic intonation of your guitar by taking a tape measure and measuring from the inside of the nut to the center of the 12th fret the fret wire itself. Check the height between the fret located at the neck and body joint and the bottom of each string refer to the specifications chart for the proper measurement.

Insert a feeler gauge at the top of the 8th fret then consult the chart. At that point you ll need to adjust the truss rod. A simple routine measurement you can perform yourself on your guitar or bass is the amount of neck relief which is the amount of curvature along the length of the neck. Radius inches relief 7 25 012 inch or 3mm 9 5 to 12 010 inch or 0 25mm 15 to 17 008 inch.

This is a normal reaction for an acoustic guitar. At the deepest point of the curve which is usually at about the 7th or 8th fret on an electric guitar this should measure between 0 005 to 0 020 inch or 0 015 to 0 05 centimeter. Place a capo on the first fret then use your finger to fret the e string uppermost string closest to where the neck deepens to join the body. Body of the instrument.

Here is my process for measuring existing neck relief.