Truss rod and FR bridge adjusting guidance

[Heavymetal2000]

Ok so if anyone has the time, I'd like to inform you of what I've done so far and hopefully get more info incase I'm doing this wrong.

I've always had some fret buzz on my Kelly on the low E but you never noticed it plugged in, and I don't play on the higher frets of the low E string a lot but I had some dead notes after the 18th fret.
At first I fixed it by lifting the bridge until I got rid of it but the action on it took a total dump. Like 1/4" or more high. Maybe more?

Anyways, I got to reading about trust rid adjustment, and setting bridge height etc..
Ideally I wanted the bridge as low as I could get it.
So I dropped the bridge down to level with the body of the guitar, tuned it adjusted repeat until I was in E standard.

Tons of buzz again across the low e mostly but some on the a and d as well.

I did the whole press on the first fret and the fret closest to body(~18th) and check relief, and lo and behold there was absolutely none to be seen.
I also lowered my neck pickup some cause it was awfully close to the strings at this point.

So I get reading up on truss rod adjustments.
Essentially I'm seeing that if you want to create more relief turn it this way or that.

What I'd like to know is am I going to "tighten" the rod or "loosen" it to give myself more neck relief.

I've turned it counter clockwise now roughly 3/4 of a turn in the last few days and it's not much better.

Further info, if this matters.
Fall is here so not only is it much damper since the last few weeks but the forced air heat is running occasionally as well if either of those could be affecting it.

[pianoguyy]

Is the neck straight? - not just the bow/relief, but it could be twisted or off-centered.
Are the frets level?

And your playing style... I have sold guitars to guys who complain about fret buzz, to which I grabbed the guitar, played it and did not get buzz.

[Heavymetal2000]

No twists, at least not noticeable.
Neck might be off center by a touch.
I have slightly more fret outside the low e at the first fret and slightly less fret outside the low e at the 24th but I'm talking less then a mm difference.

I will say that being a beginner player means sine buzz may well be my fault but even gently picking lightly fretted notes lower then the 16th let's say are buzz no matter.
I'm trying to lift the bridge ever so slightly above body level to see if it helps.

[CaptNasty]

Previous reply was good advice. You would also want to inspect the frets to make sure you don’t have any frets lifting.

Truss rods are not meant to be used to adjust action. They are there to add or remove relief on the neck. Check your neck for convex bowing as this can cause fret buzz. Bowing would be a valid reason for a truss rod adjustment. If you are not familiar with measuring and adjusting relief, it would be wise to let a qualified tech ensure that your relief is set properly.

If the guitar does not seem to have any problems, you just need to adjust string height.

On a Floyd Rose based tremolo, this can be done by adjusting the bridge height and/or shimming under the individual saddles. I know that Jackson uses copper shielding tape for shimming because my Soloist came with copper shims installed from the factory. You can order copper shielding tape from StewMac.

To adjust the action:

Adjust the height of the posts to get the action you want. Slight buzz on a couple of strings is ok. Buzz on most/all strings or muted strings means your posts are too low. Ensure that the posts are level. Make sure that you adjust the posts with tension off of the bridge. Failure to do so could damage the knife edge on the tremolo base.

Once the posts are set, fashion copper shims from the copper tape and attach them to the bottom of the saddle on any string(s) that buzz. The StewMac shielding tape has conductive adhesive so it will not interfere with the grounding of the string when placed between the saddle and the bridge base. You will have to remove a saddle to shim it. You may need to fold the copper tape to 2 or even three plays to get enough elevations stop the buzzing.

[xenophobe]

I did the whole press on the first fret and the fret closest to body(~18th) and check relief, and lo and behold there was absolutely none to be seen.

There should be, even if only a little. Check to see if your truss is loose. If it is, try tightening it 1/4 turn increments. If it's not it sounds like you might need to loosen it a bit. It's not hard to figure out. Trial and error.

Humidity changes do affect guitars, low humidity is really bad. It can cause necks to contract and fret ends expose or even warp or twist. It's not likely but it can happen and might need a full setup for extreme seasonal changes.

[Heavymetal2000]

It's pretty common here for the summers to be 30+ C° and the winters to go into the -40C°
In the winter the furnace runs enough that it's fairly dry in the house.
Thinking I may bring it in at this point. I was hoping I could manage it myself but if I can watch him or at least get a rundown of what he did to get it all set up then I'll learn more at least without damaging anything.

I don't see any neck deformities or frets lifting, but my untrained eye may be missing something.
As of right not with just string tension and nothing fretted I have maybe .8mm of space between fret and strung near the nut and the gap gets taller as I move to the bridge right up to over 1mm close to the neck pickup.

When I fret 1-5 on the 3 lowest strings I get no buzz but as I fret lower it's more and more noticeable.

Luthier it is. I'm fortunate to have a really passionate one who is semi local (40 mins drive). Hes a little pricier then the rest but all the folks in this area with guitars seem to rave about his set up and tech abilities.

[CaptNasty]

The way you describe it sounds like you have some back bowing. Is there buzzing at the 22nd fret?

[Heavymetal2000]

None at the 24th so I eliminated pickups having any part of it in terms of height adjustment.
I'd have to see how far I can move back towards the headstock before I get buzz. I'll certainly check after work tonight. I thought back bow as well because of where the buzzing is primarily coupled with the bridge being too low.

Like I said, I've gone approx 3/4 of a turn so far and still have some buzz, I lifted the bridge a touch as well.
It seems to be less audible in some spots not but still buzzes.

[CaptNasty]

Yeah that sounds like a back bow. Kind of like a speed bump right in the middle of your guitar neck. You want less relief to correct back bow. You are turning the truss rod to the “left” (counter clockwise) when you adjust?

Another thing to check is warping of the neck. Think twisting. Not saying that is what is going on but something you should check.

3/4 of a turn is a lot. You may have the bridge height adjustment and neck relief adjustments “colliding” with each other.

[Heavymetal2000]

Yeh I watched a video on one of those guitar set up pages from YouTube and if I'm not mistaken it said turn counter clockwise?
Or is that wrong?
Making neck adjustments is something I'd like to learn how to do properly myself I'd just like some guidance for now till I'm more comfortable with it.

Do all single action truss rods function the same across all models and platforms and brands?

I have a straight edge, as well as the 7mm hex wrench and appropriate Allen keys for the bridge handy so I can start adjusting again once I'm home from work.

Is there a certain amount of time to wait between adjustments? Max 1/8th pt 1/4 turn or other things to look for?

[CaptNasty]

Lefty loosey (more relief), righty tighty (less relief). If you have back bow then counter clockwise would be the correct adjustment. All the truss rods I have worked with followed this convention. The thing is that you need to identify what adjustment is needed before starting to tweak the truss rod.

I like to relieve tension, adjust 1/8th if a turn, restore tension, wait an hour or so then remeasure. An easy way to relieve tension on the strings is to simply pull the springs. When you put them back on, the guitar will be pretty mich right back on tine.

[Heavymetal2000]

Awesome, thanks for that information!
I'll have at it again tonight and see what I can come up with.

Also am I correct to believe that a floating bridge should be flush with the body or is it more just make sure the bridge is level and adjust the height based on desired action and so on?

[Number Of The Priest]

Lefty loosey (less relief), righty tighty (more relief).

Your rhyme is correct but the relief description is the opposite of what it should be.

[CaptNasty]

Your rhyme is correct but the relief description is the opposite of what it should be.

Damn it. Fixed. Thanks for catching that. That’s what I get for cruising the forum while sitting on a boring meeting at work.

[xenophobe]

Also am I correct to believe that a floating bridge should be flush with the body or is it more just make sure the bridge is level and adjust the height based on desired action and so on?

It should be parallel to the strings with a non-recessed bridge (because of neck angle) or parallel to the body if it's recessed.

Bridge height should be set for sufficient fret clearance, not to be flush with the body if it's recessed.

Hope that helps.