The Truth About Guitar Neck Relief

What is guitar neck relief and is it necessary?

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[picksalot]

Another factor regarding String Relief to consider is that as the string is fretted, and the vibrating length is shortened, the amplitude of the maximum vibrating width is also reduced.

[PASHKULI]

The neck should always remain straight. The only adjustment should be possible at the saddle (height at the bridge), whilst at the nut it should be low enough.
This way is the optimal compromise and also visually (intuitively) seems to be the right way to adjust the trust rod and keep the neck straight.

[creationinspired]

Chris has soooo much insight and answers no one else has youve bailed me out in a few situations in which im very grateful for so thank you Chris any new viewers stick around you too will learn no matter your skill level this guy knows his stuff long time viewer not much on commenting but you deserve all of the recognition might i add you dont get enough of it thanks again 🙂

[hippychipsguitars]

I had a Guitar in the shop a few weeks ago for a new Bone nut, and a complete setup. It had .018" of relief at the 9th fret. The owner said he liked the way it played, but 1 nut slot was cut too deep, and he added relief to stop fret buzz. I set the neck up with zero relief, built the new nut, and set the 1st fret action at .009" I completed the setup, and set the relief at .004" I told him to pick up the Guitar, play it for a week, and bring it back for any final adjustments he felt were necessary, and to polish/glue in the new nut. He told me the Guitar (2022 Gibson Les Paul Standard Tobacco Burst) had never played this smoothly. He even gave me a $40 Tip!

[TheOdizeo]

best video about neck relief I have found... most people just want to talk about how to adjust it, none seem game enough to discuss it. thanks sir

[SFGuitarworks]

Your explanation leaves out at least one significant factor that I will briefly mention. As you fret up the neck, the geometry from the fret to the bridge changes. The angle becomes greater. With slight relief in the neck, the center of relief does indeed move up the neck as the geometry changes. With no relief, you have to raise the action to eliminate buzz in the low register, but then the action is overly high in the upper register.

[deetimeless]

The truss rod was introduced to STRAIGHTEN the neck, as it can warp over time or have actually too much relief from high string tension.

[declanmurphy]

When I'm levelling the frets I put a slight bit of pressure on the beam as it travels towards the bridge end of the neck, kind of sloping the frets if you will. After stringing the guitar I'll tighten the truss rod until the fingerboard is flat. Next I lower the bridge to the lowest point just before buzzing occurs. Lastly I give the tiniest amount of neck relief. Providing the the nut is cut appropriately to string gauge I get the lowest action. I'm not saying this is the best method but it's worked best for me.

[pops]

In the 30+ years I have been doing luthier work and over 1000 fret jobs, my determination is that “proper relief” in a neck is the factories way to minimize poor fretwork. A flat neck plays better and sounds better….IF the fretwork is stellar.

[aldeveron]

I've read all the comments here, and feel that something else needs to be added: With a neck that is dead straight after the instrument is strung and tuned up, the clearance between the string and the fret above another one that's fretted (with a finger, etc) gets increasingly small towards the nut end of the neck (basic geometry). Neck relief helps to reduce this effect, and it's very convenient that necks bow more at the thinner end, which is where the bow/relief is most needed.

[DaveWestGuitar]

You are so right! I love this one. Give me no relief or give me a different guitar!

[DavidRavenMoon]

I set my personal guitars up with dead straight necks. If your frets are level you can get super low action with a little or no relief. I also use 8s… things the internet seems to think is impossible (light strings/low action/jumbo frets).

[quintijn]

I think one crucial aspect of neck relief is that the trussrod reinforces the neck and helps adjusting the relief but there's still plenty of elements to take into consideration! Necks will usually be different to each other in how they handle the pressure of the strings. Just because you measure relief at a certain point, the neck could have a wildly different curve compared to another neck set at the exact same relief! This is really something most youtube videos and blogs skip! And then the 'simple subject of relief' even goes way further in depth with subjects such as fret compression and sanding the fretboard etc

It's invaluable to learn how to read a neck! And it takes a looong time to learn all these small details because not all youtube channels are as helpful as this one! A great way to find the relief that suits you is to set it up with just enough room for the first few frets to vibrate and not too much whereas you will run into buzzing in the middle and higher up the neck. I prefer as straight as I can get away with; so for electrics usually 5 thou and for acoustics dead straight!

[kellyharrison]

That makes a lot of sense, you just answered why I have like a neck with no relief, Thanks!

[vvvvaaaacccc]

it's amazing abd humbling to learn how imperfect the electric guitar is, and still know how much great stuff has been done with them.

[JohnFrancoNH]

I noticed on my Warwick corvette $$ limited edition bass when checked with a 34" notched straight edge on fret board theres more relief (.016") vs when i take that same tool and lay it on top of the frets instead. And its in a slight different spot. I get .004" with a feeler gauge at largest gap on fret.

So now which one should i use? Seems like the actual frets are flatter then the fret board wood. How would you approach this setup? Does it mean the frets were leveled with a neck that wasnt straight to begin with? Thanks for sharing this info!

[blackbirdpie]

A couple things, great video. And what I often find is the fret buzz I have problems with don't usually occur out in the middle, or where max amplitude of the string is, but just one or two frets from where I press the string into a fret. The amplitude isn't largest here but the space for the string is at a minimum. SO it's not a buzz per se, but more of a metallic overtone, almost the way a Citar makes its odd metallic overtones. Sometimes it's just the profile of the fret I'm on. Keep in mind also that as you move up the neck the max amplitude spot changes but, the string gets shorter so the amplitude is overall less, and less likely to buzz. Plus the angle between the 17th fret and above is much steeper, and for that reason gives it more space to vibrate, It gets pretty complicated.

[sunn_bass]

Nice description of how and what relief is.
I have some guitars with dead straight necks and others with a little relief. For basses I pretty much always have a tiny bit of relief except for fretless where I want perfectly straight. Lots of factors to consider but especially playing style.
Its weird seeing 2 players try the same instrument with a little relief and it work for one but not the other. Then adjust the relief to perfectly flat and see the reactions can flip.
As always, nice video.

[fierybones]

I have a little different take. I go with "dead flat" as much as I can, but some guitar necks are more sensitive to temperature and humidity changes. In those cases I may add a bit of relief to keep from going "over bowed" during seasons when it has that tendency.

[alanbrowning]

Much success to you🎉🎉🎉 I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your kindness and support to helping the guitar community