what's the factory spec on neck relief?

Started by fambrough, February 04, 2008, 10:13:01 AM

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Hey all,

Erstwhile lurker needs to tweak the truss rod on his D-10. What's the factory spec for neck relief?

Thanks in advance!

 :welcome:

I'm not sure what the factory spec is but I play fingerstyle with my nails and I set mine at .010" measured at the seventh fret, capo-ed at the first and fingered at the 14th.

:cheers
Roger


"Live simply so that others may simply live"

Thanks. I'll use that as my starting point. I am used to tweaking my electrics, but not acoustics.

I amazed, 40 views and only one reply. Seems like maybe we've got lots of players, but not tweakers here. I guess that makes sense, there's so much less to tweak on acoustics. Anyhoo, I'll just fiddle around with it until it feels right. But maybe I'll give the factory a ring just to see what the spec is. I'm surprised I haven't had to make an adjustment in the two and a half years I've had this guitar, what with you'd expect due to seasonal temp and humidity changes. She's starting to open up really nicely this year I've noticed.

If I get the factory spec, I'll post it here.

Cheers.

It's probably a range thats typical for most acoustics and I'm not sure it matters but it would be interesting if the Larrivee people have anything to say on the matter. It's probably between .004" and .012" or something close.

I emailed Larrivee through the website and got this reply:

Hello Ben,

Thank you for contacting Larrivee.

We measure neck relief with a special tool.  Our factory spec for neck relief is from -0.001 to -0.010 inches when measured at the 7th fret.

Luke


I'll do my tweaking tomorrow.  :smile: That's a bit of a spread, but I know I'll find my preference. Probably closer to the .010 mark for my flat picking. I have a moderate touch, but I do love to dig in every once in a while.

Thanks to Mr_LV19E and Jeremy for the replies.

Mine are all in the .005-.006 range.
jeff

Larrivee 00-03MT Forum IV  #30 of 29

I settled on .005 and am very happy with that. Thanks for the replies!

Cheers.

What do you guys use to measure this?  My finest ruler goes to 1/64" which is only .015.  I thought I heard of something in the past about using the thickness of a business card or another string to gauge it, but I don't remember which.  Also, are you measuring the low E string, or the G?  Thanks for your help.
Larrivee D-09
Washburn D-10S
Framus Classical Archback
Fender Jazz and P-Basses

"Snap snap, grin grin, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more?" (Eric Idle)
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Quote from: blued03r on February 13, 2008, 11:53:36 AM
What do you guys use to measure this?  My finest ruler goes to 1/64" which is only .015.  I thought I heard of something in the past about using the thickness of a business card or another string to gauge it, but I don't remember which.  Also, are you measuring the low E string, or the G?  Thanks for your help.

You can use a set of feeling guages which can be picked up at an automotive store.

And a question for you all on the neck relief  dimension. Doesn't it matter how you play? If you play really hard at a low number won't you get some bussing?
2006 Larrivee l-05
1972 Yamaha fg-160
Kaycee Loves Donuts!

Quote from: markyboy on February 13, 2008, 02:20:32 PM
You can use a set of feeling guages which can be picked up at an automotive store.

And a question for you all on the neck relief  dimension. Doesn't it matter how you play? If you play really hard at a low number won't you get some bussing?

Yeh, but you probably want to stay in that range. What happens when you increase the relief to much, is you get rid of the buzzing at the low positions but it may make it worse above the 7th fret... that and it can screw with the intonation. So unless you don't play above the 7th fret you'll most likely do better with low relief and then set the saddle height accordingly.

:wave Oh and an important side note for Larry owners: when I measured my Larrivee I noticed the center strings had lower relief compared to the outer ones like the E's. Maybe this is due to the compound radius? But I think the proper method is to go by the string with the lowest relief.

Sorry I haven't kept up with this thread.  Yes, you use the automotive feeler guage. They're inexpensive and easy to use.

It's interesting to me that you noted different relief on the inner and outer strings, Jeremy. Hmm. Compoud radius sounds quite possible. If it were an electric with individual saddles, we could tweak the string height  :tongue:

Mark, I think the general rule of thumb for most players is to get the neck as straight as you can with a minimum/tolerable amount of fret buzz. However, many a great play uses heavy guage strings and sets the action high. It's a nice recipe for tone, if your fingers can stand it.

Best of luck.

There's not much point in having a factory spec for relief.  It makes little sense.  All guitar necks are different.  You also can't say there's one best clearance for all players.

Factories may have a certain value they set them to but it won't be ideal for all players.  Depends on style and string gauge.

I used to measure it, and it ain't that easy.  Actually old guitar string ends work well.

At frets.com ... the best web resource ... he recommends about the same as the diameter of your treble E string, sighted at the G string.

Note that's not a measurement, and he's one of the gurus of guitar repair.  Many top builders/techs don't measure at all.

I use string balance and sound ... when it's right it'll sound better.  Too little relief sounds tinny, too much sounds muddy.  I'm talking very small adjustments too.  I don't think I could measure the difference properly even with feeler gauges.

Straighter doesn't really mean easier to play either.  The last time I did it on mine, it was feeling a little tight to play.  I actually loosened the rod a hair.  Ie.  raised it a tad.  Felt much more supple afterwards.  It's all about string tension.

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