# Acoustic Guitar Action Help?



## POCsaltdog

To the acoustic guitar guru's. I'm a novice guitar player and the guitar I play the most is a Taylor 410 Dreadnought. I've had a couple of excellent guitar players play the guitar and they really like it, but all of them said the action needs to be improved/tweaked. Is this process as simple as adjusting the allen nut on the headstock? I'm not comfortable doing this on my own because I really don't know what I'm trying to accomplish. I would like some of you experts to explain this to me and would guitar center be able to accomplish this for me or is it more personal preference. Again, I don't know enough to determine what my personal preference is. Thanks in advance for any input.


----------



## OnedayScratch

Yes, you will need to adjust the "Truss Rod" in the neck. However, a sweet rig like that should be done by a pro. You can get them too close to the frets and have fret buzz.

Unfortunately, I do not know anyone to recommend for an acoustic. That being said, YOU purchased the guitar and others that play it have their own preferences.

Do YOU like it or just going off what another is recommending?


----------



## catndahats

Personally, I'd find a good guitar tech rather than going to GC.

Tweaking the truss rod may help, but if it is not buzzing you might not want to mess with that. You may also want to have the saddle lowered. Taylor's website site has a truss rod adjustment tech sheet, but I just searched and could not find it. 

Taylor does recommend Danny D's Guitar in League City as a service center. You could call them, and ask what they suggest, and how much they charge for a set-up. I've used them before and Danny does great work. 

Another tech I've heard good things about is Neil Sargent up in Houston; but never used him. You can google him for contact information. 

A good set up makes a world of difference. Even new guitars can benefit from a tweak or two.
Hope this helps.


----------



## dunedawg

Lighter strings might also help a little.


----------



## Rawpower

If you live in Houston you should take it to Neil Sargent. I had a Hollow body guitar that had bad intonation and never really played just right. I watched videos on Youtube on adjusting the string hight and adjusting the trust rod but it still wasnâ€™t right. I took it to Neil and he did and awesome job. Since then I just take all my guitars to him. He is a stand up guy, Honest and very reasonable on his prices. I never take anything to Guitar Center to Work on, they may be good but they look like a bunch of high schoolers working Part time,But thats just me.


----------



## Pocketfisherman

Maybe it will just be a truss rod nut adjustment. But it also may need to include filing the nut or lowering the bridge. Take it to someone who knows what they are doing and get it done right the first time. That said, it is easy to un-do a truss rod adjustment. do it with loosened strings, and only adjust no more than 1/8-1/4 turn at a time, retighten the strings and tune, and let it set 2-3 days to settle in before deciding it helped or not.


----------



## lonepinecountryclub

Chip at One Square Music in Huntsville does excellent work. I have a Dove that he "set-up", and it is sweeeeeet!


----------



## Austincountyag

great southern music on hwy 6......you're welcome


----------



## Bruce J

I certainly agree with all the comments about finding a good tech for the job. But, just to throw some love to Guitar Center, the one on Westheimer has some great people. I've taken several of my guitars in there for some minor work, including a neck adjustment, and they've always done the work well, immediately and without charge.


----------



## Storyville

Learning how to work on your own guitars is important. My taylor 810 action is as good as any, fast action and no fret noise. First, go to a lighter gauge string, I like Martin Marques, then, adjust the truss rod a quarter turn, let it set for a day, retune and see how it feels and sounds. If you still have no fret noise and the action is still too high, keep with the daily quarter turns until it lands to where it is comfortable to you. Another check is to hold down each E string on the first and 12th fret, look and see what kind of gap you have between the bottom of each string and the highest fret. Gap should be at a minimum. If you get fret noise you have adjusted the nut too tight. If all that does not work, most likely the bridge height needs to shaven and this can be a little more challenging.
It's a Taylor, most likely it just a simple neck adjustment.


----------



## berrydr

*Acoustic Guitar Set Up*

I'm in Lake Charles,LA and can take care of your set up if your over here anytime.

Dave Berryman


----------

