Hi,
I bought an acoustic Tanglewood guitar about 2 years ago. It had a slight buzz around the 7th fret only on the high E. But about 5 days ago it had not only a buzz but the notes on the 9th to 14th frets are damped out from the string touching the frets. I have tried loosening the truss rod but after about 1 rotation it seems to be very very stiff so I am reluctant to force it... And it hasn't changed the problem.
See images below. You can see the neck kind of waves up around the 14th fret. Is this a normal shape just with backbow?
My question: Should I keep turning the trussrod (anticlockwise)?
Or what should I do!??
Hopefully I can repair it myself because I am currently abroad in a non english speaking country and don't trust the repair shops.
Thank you very much!!!
Well that part of the board that falls back from the neck body joint, to the sound hole is normal. Its hard to tell from the pic, but it does seem to have a hump at the point it hits the body, and it looks like the neck bows UP... First off it takes time for a adjustment to effect the neck. You should not turn it more then a 1/4 turn at a time, then see how it settles. If I had to guess at this point you are too loose on the rod... but you really need to get a baseline here, and not keep chasing adjustments. Frankly I would start by loosing the strings, and then make sure the rod is just snug. Not loose, and not tight. Let it settle, then tune up, and see where you are. You really need to lay a straight edge on there to really see what your looking at. Might be time to visit a tech on that one frankly.
Paul B
Hi S1120 thanks for the response!
I tried loosening the strings and loosening the truss rod but it seems jammed I don't want to pushtoo hard. But without adjusting anything it seems to be getting worse, it's even buzzing on the 7th fret now.
Maybe you're right about visiting a tech... I will see if there is one available nearby.
If anybody is interested or has a similar problem... I did some more research after visiting some guitar shops which all have humidifiers. I believe it's dry damage that caused the neck to warp.
This article is fantastic and explains the symptoms exactly! (huge hump at the 14th fret)
https://www.taylorguitars.com/sites/default/files/10_SymptomsofaDryGuitar.pdf
It's my first time living in a low humidity area so I never thought of it. I have the humidifier going and it's starting to improve after just one day. I'm hoping it improves back to perfect.
Maybe this will help if somebody else has the same problem.
Thanks
