How much can you tighten the truss rod?

[JJBC]

Not long ago (around 2 weeks ago) I checked the relief of one of my Majesties doing the tap test (fretting the 1st and the 24th fret while tapping the 12th fret of the low E) and I had to tighten it to straighten the neck.

Today I noticed that the guitar had too much relief again (higher relief felt when doing the tap test and higher action was measured on the 12th fret) so I had to tighten it again. I understand that humidity changes can have this kind of effect on the neck, so my guitars are in a small room with a humidifier so I want to think I have that parameter under control.

My question is, is it OK to tighten the truss rod every time this happens or is there a stop? In the future, if there is a stop and the neck needs to be tightened, what can I do?

 

[DrKev]

The rule is very simple - as long as you can achieve the neck relief you need without having to really force it, all is well.

 

[JJBC]

The rule is very simple - as long as you can achieve the neck relief you need without having to really force it, all is well.

What would then happen if the day comes that the neck needs to be tightened but the truss rod has been tightened to the edge?

 

[beej]

That would be unusual. In that case I'd contact EBMM. It can get a little stiff, but you pull the neck to encourage it to shift, and that helps make it easier to tighten the rod.

 

[DrKev]

It very rarely happens, almost never. If you think your truss rod is already too tight, have the store you bought it from check it out. Otherwise you don't need to worry.