Adjusting Guitar Action

Adjusting Guitar Action for Easier Playing

Normally if you find that your guitar is not playing well, you consider taking it to someone who knows how to tune it. However adjusting the guitar action is something you must learn to do, if you are a guitar player. If you master how to adjust these, then your instrument will begin to play better, and you will not need to go to someone for help every time your guitar needs tuning.

As with most things, adjustment of the guitar is simple, and just requires application of common sense, if the principles of how they work are mastered. Quite often people think it's very complicated to do the adjustment on a guitar. This is partially true if you don't understand that adjusting guitar action is nothing more than fine tuning the strings tautness. You have to do this without the guitar getting bent. For this very purpose you have the truss rod which helps counter the bending and maintaining the balance.

Whilst changing strings and tightening them to get the desired tunes, is something that you will be able to master reasonably fast, the adjustment of the truss takes a bit more time to learn, as it is not done very often.. Truss adjustment needs to be done very carefully and with a practiced hand, as quite often overdoing it can damage the guitar. So, if you feel uncomfortable trying to adjust the rod, it might be better for you to take the guitar to a shop and show it to an expert.

The main problem with the art of adjusting the guitar is that it takes patience, and you have to do it very slowly. This is done by playing and checking it repeatedly, with every small fine tune that you do make. If you find the truss has become hard, don't try and force it, as the instrument can get damaged and you would have achieved nothing. As long as the strings are clear off the board and you are able to strum or pluck the guitar well, try and stick with adjusting the tautness of the strings.