How much truss rod turn to a new neck?

[WindsurfMaui]

How much should I turn a truss rod on a new neck before I install it on a body so I will have a straight neck once it is strung?

I like my necks to be as straight as possible. I also prefer to use the side adjustment for only a slight tweak. So I have a new Warhead Gibson conversion neck Mahogany shaft with a Rosewood fretboard in a fatback profile. If I'm going to put on 9.5 or 10 strings how much should I turn the truss rod before I attach the neck to the body? Is there a rule of thumb anyone has found through experience? I really don't want to string up the guitar only to have to unstring it and remove the neck to get the neck 99% straight before I use the side adjustor for the last 1%. Thanks.

 

[ValeBliz]

On a modern construction I did a quarter turn and I only hand to do minor adjustments with the side nut. But hard to know if necks always come out with the same amount of relief..,

 

[Rick]

For me, getting the action right is a bit of a dance, but looking solely at the truss rod adjustments, I make the neck perfectly flat, put it on, and then adjust, by 1/4 turns.

 

[stratamania]

On modern construction necks I use the heel adjust so the neck is straight. Put the neck on and add strings and usually the relief is where I want it, but I do not use a whole lot of relief. Any slight adjustment that may be needed I would then use the side adjust.

 

[rlefty]

Just FYI, I'm not a fan of the neck adjust at heel for the reasons you're mentioning... however, you don't have to restring it to adjust the rod. You really just have to slack the strings to remove the neck enough to adjust it.

 

[stratamania]

Just FYI, I'm not a fan of the neck adjust at heel for the reasons you're mentioning... however, you don't have to restring it to adjust the rod. You really just have to slack the strings to remove the neck enough to adjust it.

The modern construction has a side adjust for finer adjustments so in most cases you don't have to remove the neck. Though of course if you are using left hand moderns then there is no side adjustment available.

https://warmoth.com/guitar-neck-truss-rod#mechanism

 

[rlefty]

The modern construction has a side adjust for finer adjustments so in most cases you don't have to remove the neck. Though of course if you are using left hand moderns then there is no side adjustment available.

https://warmoth.com/guitar-neck-truss-rod#mechanism

I was replying to the OP who is concerned about having to restring his guitar, which he would not have to do.

 

[stratamania]

The modern construction has a side adjust for finer adjustments so in most cases you don't have to remove the neck. Though of course if you are using left hand moderns then there is no side adjustment available.

https://warmoth.com/guitar-neck-truss-rod#mechanism

I was replying to the OP who is concerned about having to restring his guitar, which he would not have to do.

You are correct for a neck with just heel adjust only yes it is no big deal really to do.

I replied to you as I think you use left handed modern necks without the side adjust so there should be no need to be taking the neck on and off if he or anyone else followed the earlier advice I mentioned of the use of the main adjustment followed by side adjust after stringing.

 

[WindsurfMaui]

Yes and my plan is to use the side adjustor to tweak the last amount after I get it 99% straight from the heel adjustor. I was just hoping that after selling millions of necks there had developed some user knowledge on a rule of thumb for a thick neck like a Fatback or a Boatneck. I have another Boatneck that I didn't adjust at the heel because the neck looked dead straight and I thought being a thick shaft it would only need slight tweaking from the side adjustor but I have rotated the side adjustor 1 1/2 turns and the neck isn't straight which I want to get most of the adjusting from the heel. So I will have to remove the neck but I still won't know how much to adjust it at the heel so I will have to adjust and attach several times until I figure out how much adjustment is required.

 

[jay4321]

Agree with doing most of the work at the heel and then fine-tuning later with the side adjust. Which I'm a big fan, of although I know a lot of people aren't.

I remove the bottom two neck screws and turn back the top two a bit, slack the strings, and tilt the neck back to access.

There's never going to be a usable estimate on how much adjustment is needed by neck type, wood is wood and every piece has its own thing. Incremental turns until it gets there. I use a neck relief gauge these days as my eyes aren't as trustworthy as they used to be.

After larger movements I let the thing be overnight in case it shifts a little as I was taught, but I've never actually took before and after measurements for that to see if it actually does. Especially if doing any kind of leveling.

 

[WindsurfMaui]

Thanks everyone for your help. Why doesn't someone smarter than me start a thread and maybe pin it and we'll all contribute our experience so others can use it as a beginning point. I'm waiting for a new set of tuners when they arrive I will bolt on the neck and will send in the info on a Mahogany shaft/Indian Rosewood fretboard with a fatback profile and others can use this as a starting point for similar necks.