With a straightedge placed between the d and g strings bow will become apparent.
Measure neck relief guitar.
The fretboard extension should not be included for the purpose of measuring or adjusting relief.
To measure relief clamp a capo on top of the 1st fret and then hold down the 6th string at the last fret.
Relief is calculated with the instrument tuned to pitch so we can measure the bow created by string tension.
I measure it by putting a capo on the 1 st fret holding down the string on the fret where the neck meets the body thus creating a straightedge with the string and measuring the gap between the bottom of the low e and the 7 th fret.
Place a capo on top of the 1st fret fig.
A simple routine measurement you can perform yourself on your guitar or bass is the amount of neck relief which is the amount of curvature along the length of the neck.
Place a capo on the first fret then use your finger to fret the e string uppermost string closest to where the neck deepens to join the body.
At the deepest point of the curve which is usually at about the 7th or 8th fret on an electric guitar this should measure between 0 005 to 0 020 inch or 0 015 to 0 05 centimeter.
Tune the guitar to pitch.
The largest gap is usually towards the center of the neck.
If you have two capos that s even better as you can keep both hands free.
How to measure neck relief on guitar or bass.
Hold down the 6th string at the last fret.
If you measure no relief the neck may be convex.
Fretting at the 13th fret means the string rests on the top of the 12th fret bob.
Here is my process for measuring existing neck relief.
Relief is the curvature of the neck.
At that point you ll need to adjust the truss rod.
On a typical acoustic guitar that will be from the first fret to the fret at or just past the body joint.
If you use a straightedge longer than the neck you re no longer measuring relief.
So you would fret the string on fret 1 and fret 13 for a 12 fretter i think.
Adjusting your guitar s neck relief the amount of bow and resistance in the neck may sound like a scary proposition to the first timer but this task is something you can definitely do yourself if you take it slow and work in very small increments.
Most quality guitar manufacturers supply the correct tool for adjusting neck.
A guitar neck is typically not perfectly straight but has a dip about mid way this is relief.
Checking relief with a straightedge.
