How do I adjust the truss rod of my .strandberg*?

Wood is a material that reacts to changes in climate, so every now and then the neck of your instrument will need to be adjusted to maintain a healthy curvature (relief). Changes in humidity, temperature, string gauge and tuning all cause the neck to move slightly and regular adjustments are therefore necessary to keep the guitar optimally set up.

To check and adjust your guitar's neck relief, follow this guide:

Fit strings and tune to pitch

Before adjusting the truss-rod, make sure the guitar is fitted with the strings you plan to use, and that they are tuned to the desired pitch. This is important because the relief of the neck is a direct result of the strain applied by the strings and can only be set properly under these conditions.

Check relief

Press down the first and last frets simultaneously on the G string, and observe if there is a visible gap between the string and the top of the fret measured at the 12th fret. 

Ideally, the gap should be around .010 - .013" or around 0.3mm. It's common to use the thickness of a business card as reference.

Adjust relief

If you need to make adjustments, use the supplied 4mm T wrench to turn the truss rod bolt inside the hole on the headstock, clockwise to lower or counter clockwise to raise the relief. 

Turn the bolt a quarter of a turn at a time until you get the desired relief. Also remember to tune the guitar between turns, as the tuning may be affected by an altered neck angle.

Other resources

Check out this instructional video by Ola on how to check and adjust your relief: Truss Rod Adjustments

If you wish to dive even deeper into the anatomy of your .strandberg* EndurNeck and the functionality of the truss rod, please check out this Magazine article