How often do you have to adjust the truss rod on your Custom 24?

Sorry for the necro thread resurrection, but this turned out to be an invaluable reference since it is the only record of what I did to the guitar and when (loosening the truss rod 1/8 turn in July 2021 to fix back bow). I used this guitar intensively last summer (2022) and it was fine. Then a lot of stuff happened, and I got sidetracked with other things, and I have just recently took this guitar out (1993 CU24, dual action truss rod). It was completely out of whack again, back bow and choking strings at standard pitch. Another 1/8 turn loosening fixed it, but I am getting very worried. I have NEVER had a guitar go so badly out of whack or need such "frequent" adjustments, and always in the same direction (back bow - loosening). It also struck me how loose (easy) the truss rod adjustment was and I am wondering if I will eventually run out of natural tension in the neck. Anyone else ever had this issue? Is this normal to have a 30-year-old neck so unstable?
 
I'm in Ohio so fairly wide spectrum of weather. To answer from my perspective: I have a Custom 24 that is 12 years old and I've never had to adjust it once. I have a Custom 22 that is 13 years old, and I have never adjusted it once. My other Custom 22 is 25 years old had it has never been adjusted. And yes, the action is low on all, and I'm very sensitive to changes.
 
Permanent Waves said:
Sorry for the necro thread resurrection, but this turned out to be an invaluable reference since it is the only record of what I did to the guitar and when (loosening the truss rod 1/8 turn in July 2021 to fix back bow). I used this guitar intensively last summer (2022) and it was fine. Then a lot of stuff happened, and I got sidetracked with other things, and I have just recently took this guitar out (1993 CU24, dual action truss rod). It was completely out of whack again, back bow and choking strings at standard pitch. Another 1/8 turn loosening fixed it, but I am getting very worried. I have NEVER had a guitar go so badly out of whack or need such "frequent" adjustments, and always in the same direction (back bow - loosening). It also struck me how loose (easy) the truss rod adjustment was and I am wondering if I will eventually run out of natural tension in the neck. Anyone else ever had this issue? Is this normal to have a 30-year-old neck so unstable?
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This is not unstable, you put it away for a whole year. If it changes daily, it is ustable.

Anecdote: I bought my Starla off reverb from a Spanish shop. Upon arrival I got why it had been sitting there for over a year. Oxidized strings and a wicked back bow. Played like the proverbial turd. 1/4 turn with the TR fixed that and have never really touched it again, great action and stable. I am picky, and maybe I did some 1/16th turns last summer with the crazy weather we had.
 
I have many PRS core guitars. I lived in NW Ohio for many years. I moved to S Florida over 11 years ago. I set the action on all of my guitars when I first buy them and have not had to adjust them even with moving them from Ohio weather to Florida weather.

You could be having issues if the guitar is exposed to drastic humidity or temperature changes.
 
I'm wondering if you bought the guitar from someplace with a really different climate. Someplace very dry year round, or very humid? I know that I was adjusting the truss rod on my 2010 Custom 24 for the first few years after I bought it... I was playing out a fair bit then and kept it on a stand most of the time at home, so it was used almost daily, and tweaking the truss rod two or three times a year seemed the norm... then somewhere along the line it kind of just stopped needing it, and I haven't had the truss rod cover off since I had it plek'd by Ian Weston just before COVID hit (I picked it up a few weeks before everything shut down)... To be clear, I'm not saying the PLEK had anything to do with it, but it did seem that the guitar needed a few years to settle down. Our climate's daft here; from super cold, dry as a desert winters to rainforest humid super hot summers... maybe some wood just needs time to get used to it?

Anyway, when all is said and done, if adjusting the truss rod gets everything lined up the way I want it, and the nut is still on the rod, then I wouldn't worry too much unless you had to adjust it every couple days or something... That's what it's there for right?
 
Jimi D said:
I'm wondering if you bought the guitar from someplace with a really different climate. Someplace very dry year round, or very humid? I know that I was adjusting the truss rod on my 2010 Custom 24 for the first few years after I bought it... I was playing out a fair bit then and kept it on a stand most of the time at home, so it was used almost daily, and tweaking the truss rod two or three times a year seemed the norm... then somewhere along the line it kind of just stopped needing it, and I haven't had the truss rod cover off since I had it plek'd by Ian Weston just before COVID hit (I picked it up a few weeks before everything shut down)... To be clear, I'm not saying the PLEK had anything to do with it, but it did seem that the guitar needed a few years to settle down. Our climate's daft here; from super cold, dry as a desert winters to rainforest humid super hot summers... maybe some wood just needs time to get used to it?

Anyway, when all is said and done, if adjusting the truss rod gets everything lined up the way I want it, and the nut is still on the rod, then I wouldn't worry too much unless you had to adjust it every couple days or something... That's what it's there for right?
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I think guitars get to a certain point after the passage of time - probably varies for each piece of wood - that they sort of reach 'stasis' of a kind, and don't need as much tweaking.

The last time I had my 1965 SG Special set up was in 1971. For real. I didn't take very good care of it for many years, either. It was in band vans overnight in winter and summer; it was in my son's room when he was learning to play (in fact he has it in LA now); I didn't pay much attention to it. It was a hand me down from my younger brother when I was 17 (or would that be a hand me up?). As a kid I didn't even realize what I had.

Hasn't needed a thing. Still plays the same, and we're talking about the passage of 52 years!

"Time sure flies when you're having fun, doesn't it?"

"Who says I'm having fun?"
 
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As far as I know, the guitar is from around here and not subjected to any climatic change, same as all my other guitars. It is the only electric that I can remember having to do a truss rod adjustment at all. I agree, newer instruments tend to require this on occasion, but I figured after 30 years, it should be settled by now. I have a 97 CU22 that's stable as a rock, and it is also wide thin. I've never had to tweak the truss rod on any PRS. I was surprised having to do it even once.

I have a 12-string Norman acoustic that is extremely temperamental. One time it was fine at rehearsal, and when I took it out of the case at a gig a week later, all strings were flat on the frets. With that one, I am used to extreme variations, but it is always seasonal and alternates between tighten and loosen. This is the second time I loosened the truss rod on the PRS, and it already felt pretty loose to begin with. I'll keep a closer eye on it to see how it goes.
 
Permanent Waves said:
As far as I know, the guitar is from around here and not subjected to any climatic change, same as all my other guitars. It is the only electric that I can remember having to do a truss rod adjustment at all. I agree, newer instruments tend to require this on occasion, but I figured after 30 years, it should be settled by now. I have a 97 CU22 that's stable as a rock, and it is also wide thin. I've never had to tweak the truss rod on any PRS. I was surprised having to do it even once.

I have a 12-string Norman acoustic that is extremely temperamental. One time it was fine at rehearsal, and when I took it out of the case at a gig a week later, all strings were flat on the frets. With that one, I am used to extreme variations, but it is always seasonal and alternates between tighten and loosen. This is the second time I loosened the truss rod on the PRS, and it already felt pretty loose to begin with. I'll keep a closer eye on it to see how it goes.
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The fact that you say the truss rod is really loose (adjusts too easily) would make me think it has something to do with why it is going out of whack. Maybe when playing it, the vibrations cause the loose rod to turn. I don't know enough to say anything beyond that, but I hope you can get it worked out. I have owned my 3 PRSi for just over 2 years and only adjusted one of those rods once. I have never had to adjust the truss rod on my strat, and I have owned that for 15 years.
 
I like my action just slightly higher than the PRS factory set up. Consequently, I have never had to move the truss rod once I set the guitar up the first time.
 
It’s perfectly normal to adjust the truss rod a few times per year, especially if you live in a climate with changing seasons. All guitars are different, some need more frequent adjustments. Nothing to worry about.
 
I wouldn’t like the idea of a very loose feeling truss rod.

But it seems to work for you just fine.

On a sidenote, I guess I adjusted the truss rod in my CU24 (2006) when I got it a couple of years ago and set it up. But I haven’t touched it since.
 
If I change from a set of .010 strings to .009 strings I usually have to adjust the truss rod to create more relief and eliminate fret buzz.

I go back and forth.

I'll use .009's for a few months then go back to .010's.

I recently went from 10's to 9's on my SC58 and had to adjust intonation, string ht., and the truss rod.
 
I have a 1979 Peavey T60 that I bought sight unseen about 20 years ago. It had a bad backbow when I got it. The truss rod was completely loose. The case was the original case from 1979 which Peavey changed a year or so later because the cases were causing backbow. I sent my T60 to Chip Todd. (The head of Peaveys guitar dept. and the genius that changed the way electric guitars were made forever) and he fixed it free of charge, and told me to burn that damn case. This was years after Chip left Peavey. He was looking for some T60 Toaster pickups a few years ago, and I had some so I sent them to him free of charge of course. Chip is one of my biggest Heroes. Google him for an interesting read!!!
 
I moved back home in February and had to store 7 of my PRS'S for 5 months. Most unfortunately were laying flat on top of each other. Not one of them required any adjustments and to beat all, every one of them were within a quarter turn of being in tune! A couple of them actually were in tune! These guitars are amazing!!
 
I don't have a Custom 24 anymore but I have 2001 Santana SE that hasn't had the truss rod adjusted since 2001.
 
Of my 6 that have truss rods( the Tonare Grand uses a carbon fibre rod) I've only adusted one in the last year, and then 1/4 turn was all it needed.
 
I Only Adjust The Truss Rod When My Guitars Need An Adjustment. :)
 
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