Adjusting Gibson Style Neck

We will conclude this series on neck relief by demonstrating how to adjust the relief on a Gibson guitar. The only real difference is the tool you use to actually adjust the truss rod, but it's also a great opportunity to go through the whole process again and really get familiar with it.

Summary: Equipment

The process of adjusting the relief on a Gibson style neck is almost identical to the Fender. The only difference being the tool you use to adjust the truss rod, and that you have to open up a cover that hides the truss rod. The tool you need instead of the Allen key is a nut wrench, and for Gibson guitars you need a 5/16" which normally comes with the guitar. If they don't, they are easy to find online.

5/16" trust rod nut wrench

Checklist: Adjusting neck relief

Now it's time to give it a try! There are a few steps to follow in order to get this correct, so we have written a handy checklist for you below:

• 1. Tune the guitar up to pitch
• 2. Capo the 1st fret and fret the last fret (thus giving you a straight edge)
• 3. Take your feeler gauge and measure at the 7th fret until you find a gauge that fits perfectly
• 4. A recommended relief for US strats is 0.008" to 0.012", so any higher or lower than that you will need to adjust (If you are unsure what recommended amount of relief your guitar is, check the manufacturers specs.)
• 5. Take the allen key and adjust the truss rod. Right for tighter (if you need to move from 0.014 to 0.012 for example) and left for looser (if you need to go from 0.006 to 0.008 for example)
• 6. Remember to adjust in increments of two hours on a clock face (for example, 10 to 12).
• 7. Retune your guitar back to pitch and repeat the process until you have the correct relief.