Guitar truss rod adjustment: how to do it safely

How to adjust an electric guitar's truss rod
(Image credit: Future)

If your electric or acoustic guitar’s neck is not adjusted correctly, then all your hard work setting your action and intonation will be a big old waste of time.

Adjusting the truss rod can be a scary thought if you've never done it, but take it slowly and it's a key ingredient to making your guitar play its best.

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Ed Mitchell

Ed Mitchell was Reviews Editor on Total Guitar magazine from 2003, and his guitar-modding column, Ed’s Shed, appeared in print on both sides of the Atlantic (in both Total Guitar and Guitar World magazines). He was the Editor of The Blues Magazine from 2012-16, and a contributor to Guitarist, Classic Rock and Louder. He died in October 2022, aged 52. Between them, the websites Guitar World, Louder and MusicRadar host over 400 of his articles – among them interviews with Billy Gibbons, Paul Weller, Brian Setzer, profiles on Roy Buchanan, Duane Allman and Peter Green, a joint interview with Jimmy Page and Jack White, and dozens of guitar reviews – and that’s just the ones that made it online.