Attachment Of The Neck For Trussrod Adjustment

[Mr. Preston Swift]

Does a bolt on neck have to be attached to the guitar body in order to be adjusted properly? Also, does it help to be strung up while you are adjusting it?

[killemall8]

Does a bolt on neck have to be attached to the guitar body in order to be adjusted properly? Also, does it help to be strung up while you are adjusting it?

is the neck finished? as in fretted and leveled? if it is i would only adjust it after strung up and connected. or else it will be way off once you string it up

[WezV]

No it doesnt need to be attached to the body to adjust it... infact its impossible if the adjustment is on the heel

I sometimes use a heel end adjustment when i am doing skinny necks and dont want to remove more wood from the weak area of the headstock transition - depends what truss rods are being used. having heel end adjustment does make it fiddlier as it may take a few tries to get it spot on but sometimes i think its worth it for the extra neck stability

if the guitar does have head end adjustment then its normal to leave the neck attached to the body.

Personally i always de-tune when adjusting truss rods. I know its quite possible to do it without de-tuning but i think its worth taking the extra time to do it safely. Also it makes a lot of sense to loosen the truss rod before tightening.

[mattharris75]

No it doesnt need to be attached to the body to adjust it... infact its impossible if the adjustment is on the heel

Unless, of course, you use a truss rod with spoke wheel adjustment, or otherwise have an access hole built into the neck pocket area.