Anyone else prefers quite a bit of neck relief in their setup?

[Diego]

Most pro techs and guides usually point to very strict factory settings, which I mostly find useless.

You see, I'm at heart a rhythm player. And I REALLY dislike fret buzz. You might call it pathological, even. But I like to hit my strings reasonably hard sometimes, my action at the bridge is what I'd call medium, and I don't like the buzz to come on top of my riffs. I like all strings and fret positions having an even, loud and proud response with sustain.

"Oh, with some gain you don't notice the buzz".

I do, buddy, I do. So I normally keep my truss rods quite relaxed. I definitely don't aim for the arrow straight neck and then compensate from the trem action. And I certainly won't caress my strings all night to avoid buzz. That's not how I roll.

I'm not sure how to measure my neck relief, but I'm sure it's quite off from standard factory settings. Guitars I think do resonate a bit better with some bow in their neck. They fatten up quite a bit.

What's your preference?

[beaubrummels]

Re: Anyone else prefers quite a bit of neck relief in their setup?

Too much relief and the intonation doesn’t work for me. I have to find that balance and factory recommendation is my starting point. I’m willing to adjust my hand technique to the guitar if the guitar offers a sound I really need and like. It’s like living with a new roommate. Compromises have to be made to get along.

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Anyone else prefers quite a bit of neck relief in their setup?

I like a bit of relief but not too much. As far as I'm concerned (and going by my ears/feel), neck relief has an effect on tone as well & maybe not just tone but also feel. Too straight a neck & things get compressed sounding/thin/trebly ..too bowed & there's a subtle deadening effect ..ie the liveliness is sucked out of everything you play. I look for a 'sweet spot" of sorts when I'm setting neck relief ...'cuz it's there

[blueman335]

Re: Anyone else prefers quite a bit of neck relief in their setup?

I'm a fan of a decent amount of neck relief. I can't play a guitar with a straight neck & low action. Because of my constant and aggressive string bending, British blues style, the ideal set up for me is 9's with a high action & a slight inbow in the neck.

[NegativeEase]

Re: Anyone else prefers quite a bit of neck relief in their setup?

I like it on a Ric 4001/4003/4005 -To get that special Ric string bounce/return. -it's magical

On Gibson Style guitars like SG, LP, and ES I cannot stand relief -they are flat and wide for a reason.

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Anyone else prefers quite a bit of neck relief in their setup?

I typically like low action so a little bit of relief works for me.

[Clint 55]

Re: Anyone else prefers quite a bit of neck relief in their setup?

Yas I like neck relief. I like it to feel snappy when I play. Enough so there's as much pocket around fret 12 as there is at the heel, and extending back towards 7 or 5.