How would I do this?

[10th Planet]

So I have an old jackson that needs a new nut and may or may not need its truss rod adjusted.

Since it's an older jackson I would need to get buy the older truss rod wrench and I'm guessing the lutheir files as well, which seem not too expensive on ebay.

I really want to do this myself so I'm wondering what I need to do. It's a great guitar but the intonation is all over the place.

Can I tell right off the bat if the truss rod needs to be adjusted?

What do you guys think?

Thanks

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: How would I do this?

Welcome to the forum. I think everyone should list the location they're in, since there's people on here from all over the world.

It appears that you're in the stages of learning guitar setups, and can tell you that nut files are something I wish I'd bought when I was 16, not 35.
I winged it with folded sandpaper for far too long.

There are many tutorials on youtube for guitar setups, so start there.

The reason I mentioned your location is that there's guys here who will set your guitar up and teach you the tricks for a 12 pack of beer. That's a good way of learning.

 

[Jessie's ghost]

Re: How would I do this?

The reason I mentioned your location is that there's guys here who will set your guitar up and teach you the tricks for a 12 pack of beer. That's a good way of learning.

If you're both sauced, it also eases the encounter if you happen to botch some guy's guitar right in front of him.

 

[Al.C]

Re: How would I do this?

Okay here are some quick set-up pointers.
1) to check for truss rod adjustment: put a capo (or fret) at the first fret,
fret the string (6th works fine) at the highest fret. Check the distance of the string from the frets in the middle of the fretboard - around 8th fret. This shows you how much bow or relief there is to your neck. This is what the truss rod adjusts. The amount of relief is a bit of a personal preference, but there must be some space. Most of my guitars are probably around 10/1000th - the thickness of my high e-string or less. If you do not have enough relief/bow the guitar will buzz on the low frets (1-7). Too much bow and the action will feel high.
2) a nut that has been filled to low will buzz on the open strings. A nut that is too high will give too much string height, especially noticable at the first fret
3) bridge height- a bridge that is set too low will buzz on the upper frets (12 and up). A bridge that is too high will just give too high of action.

So the way I would approach it is to set/check the neck bow/relief first as this is fairly independent of the nut and bridge. Then adjust the bridge height so the action feels comfortable and the higher frets do not buzz. If you are getting any buzzing from the lower frets you can compensate by either giving the neck more bow or raising the action further or a combination of both. If the open strings buzz you may need to put in a new nut or fill the offending groove. If the action on the first fret seems too high you may need to deepen the groove (carefully). THis is assuming your frets are decent. Worn or poorly filed fets may cause random buzzing issues.

Good luck it really isn't that difficult to adjust the truss. Just make small adjustments (1/4 turn at a time) and recheck the relief frequently. Tightening will straighten the neck and give less relief. Loosening will give more bow/relief.