I got to buy a straight edge for looking at neck relief

[Napthol]

I'm going to buy a straight edge for looking at neck relief. I'm going to buy it from Philadelphia Luthiers. Thing I don't understand is you can either buy one with notches in it or
you can buy one that it totally straight and without the notches.

I don't see how you can measure neck relief with one that has notches, because doesn't the straight have to be sitting directly on top of the frets? And the notched
ones won't do that.

I'm thinking of buying the normal, un-notched one.

 

[jeremy]

the notches let you look at the neck itself. the one without lets you look at the frets. to me it would make a ton of sense to have one that was notched on one side and not on the other.

 

[ICTGoober]

The best (and cheapest) method of checking neck relief is strings tuned up to pitch. You simply sight down the sides of the neck from the peghead, comparing the fret ends to the line of the string. You can easily see whether the neck is bowed up or down, or straight with the string.

 

[Seashore]

The best (and cheapest) method of checking neck relief is strings tuned up to pitch. You simply sight down the sides of the neck from the peghead, comparing the fret ends to the line of the string. You can easily see whether the neck is bowed up or down, or straight with the string.

I use the strings too. The way I learned to do it is to hold down at the first and last fret on each string so you get the level right across the top of the frets, and press down gently in the middle with a free finger to see and feel the relief.

 

[GuitarStv]

Yep, I also use the strings. No need to spend money on something that way.

 

[jeremy]

yep, i think many of us use that same method and it works very well. i dont own a notched straight edge, but have a few "normal" ones of various lengths for different purposes.

 

[DankStar]

I like a notched one with a flashlight. I also like feeler guages for action measuring.

I have some dan erlewine book and I basically follow that for simple setups.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I use the strings too. The way I learned to do it is to hold down at the first and last fret on each string so you get the level right across the top of the frets, and press down gently in the middle with a free finger to see and feel the relief.

Yah, if you want to physically measure the relief and not just eyeball it, you can capo at the first fret and press down at the highest.
I don't measure, myself; I just sight down the edge.
I think the best relief for me may actually be different from one guitar to another.
But as I said, I haven't ever measured it very precisely.

 

[Mincer]

I think the best relief for me may actually be different from one guitar to another.

This is true for me, too. Not every guitar has the same radius, so relief is a little different. Personally, my 'start point' is 1/3 the diameter of the low E (a 42).

 

[Seashore]

Yah, if you want to physically measure the relief and not just eyeball it, you can capo at the first fret and press down at the highest.
I don't measure, myself; I just sight down the edge.
I think the best relief for me may actually be different from one guitar to another.
But as I said, I haven't ever measured it very precisely.

Great point. It does vary by guitar. I don't measure with a ruler, I judge by how it feels and sounds, but when I'm adjusting a truss rod, doing the first-to-last-fret string test tells me when I'm in the ballpark. I have a sort of mental image of the relief on setups I like and I use that as a starting place.

 

[Napthol]

Well my guitar technician (who was also a good friend) passed away over the Memorial Day weekend, so I will most likely need your assistance when my frets start buzzing. I know which way to turn the truss rod to put more relief or less relief in the neck, but I never learned which way to turn it depending on where on the neck specifically the buzz is occurring.

 

[solspirit]

Well my guitar technician (who was also a good friend) passed away over the Memorial Day weekend, so I will most likely need your assistance when my frets start buzzing. I know which way to turn the truss rod to put more relief or less relief in the neck, but I never learned which way to turn it depending on where on the neck specifically the buzz is occurring.

Buzzing is not always related to neck relief.

 

[ICTGoober]

^^^ What he said. ^^^

 

[Securb]

The best (and cheapest) method of checking neck relief is strings tuned up to pitch. You simply sight down the sides of the neck from the peghead, comparing the fret ends to the line of the string. You can easily see whether the neck is bowed up or down, or straight with the string.

Yep, I have never found the need for a straight edge and I set my actions very low with a relatively flat neck. In fact, I think using a straight edge would be more cumbersome, I typically have one hand on the tool and one hand on the neck as I am doing truss adjustments.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Lots of good advice here.
When I'm making a neck and sanding in the fretboard radius, I use a flat straight edge (with the truss rod in its neutral position) to check straightness. From then on, I just use sight down the neck. I never use a notched straight edge...what's the point?! Once your guitar is fretted and stringed it doesn't matter about the fretboard...what matters is the top of the frets relative to the strings (unless it's an old guitar with very worn down frets that you're planning on replacing anyway). And if you're planning on replacing the frets, then you still don't need a notched straight edge. The whole idea is marketing hype to get you to buy stuff you don't need.

 

[Aceman]

I use the strings too. The way I learned to do it is to hold down at the first and last fret on each string so you get the level right across the top of the frets, and press down gently in the middle with a free finger to see and feel the relief.

This forever.

 

[Aceman]

Buzzing is not always related to neck relief.

Quoted for the pure hilarity of this statement from this member.

 

[NegativeEase]

The best (and cheapest) method of checking neck relief is strings tuned up to pitch. You simply sight down the sides of the neck from the peghead, comparing the fret ends to the line of the string. You can easily see whether the neck is bowed up or down, or straight with the string.

This -and I bought 2 calibrated 36" straight edges from Home Depot and cut the length down to the 2 guitar scales -which is probably 1/5th of the money

 

[GuitarDoc]

This -and I bought 2 calibrated 36" straight edges from Home Depot and cut the length down to the 2 guitar scales -which is probably 1/5th of the money

This.

I've got several straight edges of different convenient lengths that I made this way.
No need to spend big bucks on simple tools. Yes, some luthier tools are unique and specific for certain applications and are expensive...but are necessary. But things like straight edges are pretty simple and straight forward (pun intended).

 

[JMP/HBE]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/112763292816

Yeah no need for a straight edge cuz $12 bucks is way too expensive.
You need the one for $120 from Stewmac cuz if the $12 one is good then the $120 one is better. >