Truss Rod Adjustment Options

[Mike RR24]

Ben,

I re- strung my Jackson and Ibanez the other day. Ibanez has the Edge III Bridge and the Jackson has the Original Floyd Rose.
The Jackson is about 1.5 years old Ibanez about 2 months. I lowered the action and intonated them to a spot on match.
I was able to lower the action pretty low right before they buzzed and up it a hair till it played like butter.
I did notice my action is a little higher about 14 fret on up. Does this necessarily mean I need a truss rod adjustment or can I just leave it like that. They are both like that. Not real bad but noticeable when you do a side profile look at the strings.
What do you think ? They both hold tune and intonate perfect. I actually tune a 1/2 step down from standard with 9-42 Ernie Balls.

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[Ben Higgins]

Hi Mike, they sound fine to me. Bad intonation is always a sign that things need setting up but as yours is ok then I would say leave the truss rod alone Plus, your guitars aren't that old so they haven't had much abuse. Just try to avoid storing the guitars near heat sources as the temperature changes will mess with the wood over time, and, worst case scenarion, can warp the neck

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[MickeM]

I'd suppose that if it's in tune of the entire fretboard it's ok. but intonation to me also means you get the best out of every tone, a neck that is pulled upwards or downwards can leave dull tones here and there. Only you can be the judge of that

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[Mike RR24]

Hi Mike, they sound fine to me. Bad intonation is always a sign that things need setting up but as yours is ok then I would say leave the truss rod alone Plus, your guitars aren't that old so they haven't had much abuse. Just try to avoid storing the guitars near heat sources as the temperature changes will mess with the wood over time, and, worst case scenarion, can warp the neck

Thanks Ben. Thats funny you mention heat. I have a Evaporative Cooler(Swamp Cooler) here in El Paso. No Air Conditioner.
My Axe's are kept upstairs where it's cooler though. The Evap Cooler does release humidity into the air to cool it down. Wonder if I should case them?

I'd suppose that if it's in tune of the entire fretboard it's ok. but intonation to me also means you get the best out of every tone, a neck that is pulled upwards or downwards can leave dull tones here and there. Only you can be the judge of that

Thanks Mickem. No dull tones here. That's a good sign then. I appreciate your reply.

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[Ivan Milenkovic]

I wouldn't advise any adjustment, only if you have big problems with action and intonation. If the action is a bit higher up the neck, it's best to leave it for a while and leave the neck to settle a bit, then see if you would like to change it. Neck will settle a bit, and your fingers will adjust to the new action, so you probably won't notice it after a while.

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This post has been edited by Ivan Milenkovic: Jul 22 2011, 04:11 PM