It's unbelievable to me now but for the first few years I played guitar, I had absolutely no idea what a truss rod was – let alone how to adjust it. Blame it on being self-taught and knowing few other budding guitar players at the time but I didn't know just how hard I was making it. I just thought my Marlin Slammer was really hard to play because that's how beginner electric guitars were.
If I'd known even the basics of how to set up a guitar – or even knew it needed setting up so I could take it to a guitar tech, I'd have had a very different playing experience. So after talking about how to lower or heighten guitar string action, it's time to talk truss rods for electric and acoustic guitars. And we better begin with what they are, and what they actually do.
