Adjusting the neck.

[Andromeda]

The title says it all. I need to tweak the neck and I have never done it myself. The action is a bit high due to environmental issues.

[S MS Picker]

The best way to adjust the action is at the saddle.Neck relief will have little effect on the action,unless it it's completely outa whack.
From lot's of relief(.015"-.025") to straight,truss rod adjustment should lower the action only about 1/64", and you run the risk of buzzes appearing.
If the actions too high, take material from the bottom of the saddle w/sandpaper on a flat surface.If you've never done it, sand about the width of a pencil line at a time, being careful to maintain a good flat bottom profile.Patience is the key.Lots of folks have a summer & winter saddle,especially if they play outdoors a lot.
Steve

[Cindy]

I'm not sure how often Taylors with NT necks have their saddles sanded down. Most times adjustments are either done with a neck reset or truss rod adjustment, but I'm not knowledgeable to offer any help.

[Andromeda]

The action is perfect when the neck isn't out of whack. It just needs a truss rod adjustment. I usually take it in to my local tech twice a year but I think it is a simple procedure and would like to learn to do it myself and save some money.

[S MS Picker]

I'm not sure how often Taylors with NT necks have their saddles sanded down. Most times adjustments are either done with a neck reset or truss rod adjustment, but I'm not knowledgeable to offer any help.

I presume that an abundance of humidity has caused the top to swell there by raising the action.When the top shrinks too much(too dry)the action is lowered,causing buzzing. It's much easier to have two saddles than to reset the neck often. Sometimes a neck reset is necessary when there isn't enough saddle to lower the action and provide adequate angle for the strings to break over the top of the saddle.In that case the neck is tilted farther back, allowing a higher saddle height w/the desired action.With same string gauges and same attack, neck relief should remain the same.A slightly higher saddle often results in more volume and a tone difference.
Steve

[S MS Picker]

The action is perfect when the neck isn't out of whack. It just needs a truss rod adjustment. I usually take it in to my local tech twice a year but I think it is a simple procedure and would like to learn to do it myself and save some money.

Just grab a 1/4' nut driver and tighten it until the action is where you want it then. Good luck.
Steve

[Gutch]

Download this pdf on truss rod adjustment.    http://www.taylorguitars.com/global/pdfs/truss_rod_adjustment.pdf

REMEMBER - Have your guitar tuned to concert pitch and do not turn the nut more than 1/4 turn at a time.  If you're making a humidity based change, I would do no more than a 1/8 turn adjustment at a time -- A little can go a long way.  The other thing is to be patient.  Make the change, then give the guitar time to adjust.

Have fun!

[Cindy]

I'm not sure how often Taylors with NT necks have their saddles sanded down. Most times adjustments are either done with a neck reset or truss rod adjustment, but I'm not knowledgeable to offer any help.

I presume that an abundance of humidity has caused the top to swell there by raising the action.When the top shrinks too much(too dry)the action is lowered,causing buzzing. It's much easier to have two saddles than to reset the neck often. Sometimes a neck reset is necessary when there isn't enough saddle to lower the action and provide adequate angle for the strings to break over the top of the saddle.In that case the neck is tilted farther back, allowing a higher saddle height w/the desired action.With same string gauges and same attack, neck relief should remain the same.A slightly higher saddle often results in more volume and a tone difference.
Steve

If this is the case (the top swelling from humidity), you can always get a second saddle to keep the action higher during those months as Steve has said. I've heard of this but just not so much with Taylor Guitars. It would offer you the experience of sanding down a saddle on your own. If you go with Bob Colosi, he included directions on how to get the saddle to fit properly.

[Andromeda]

I was going to do the adjustment on the neck of my guitar today but I don't have the right tool. What type of wrench do I need?

[jjrpilot-admin]

I was going to do the adjustment on the neck of my guitar today but I don't have the right tool. What type of wrench do I need?

A friendly bump...I'm curious as well...

[greg947]

I use a 1/4 inch nut driver.  Taylor makes a special tool that has a nut driver and screwdriver in one piece.  It was quicker for me to just go to a hardware store and buy the nut driver.

Greg

[Herb Hunter]

A 1/4 inch nut driver is the required tool (apart from a phillips screw driver to remove the cover).


http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware-Hand-Tools-Nut-Drivers/h_d1/N-5yc1vZaq2w/R-100352083/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

[Cindy]

I was going to do the adjustment on the neck of my guitar today but I don't have the right tool. What type of wrench do I need?

Namaste'

I bought mine through Amazon. This is the one for steel stringed Taylors.