I suggest using a light with a built in magnifier.
Measure neck relief.
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.
7 25 9 5 12 15 17 relief 014 0 35 mm 012 0 3 mm 010 0 25 mm should you measure no relief at all or relief amounts in excess of those listed here you probably need to have the truss rod adjusted.
The fretted string will create a straight line or plane.
Relief is measured by placing a capo at the first fret pressing down on the string at the last fret with your left hand or right hand if you re left handed and then measuring the gap between the bottom of the high e string and the top of the fret not the.
Most quality guitar manufacturers supply the correct tool for adjusting neck.
Although there really isn t anything unduly difficult about most minor truss rod adjustments for our purposes.
If you have two capos that s even better as you can keep both hands free.
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.
Taking your instrument to a different environment may cause the neck relief to change and when you return home it will most likely follow suit.
Before you adjust the truss rod you need to assess the neck s current state.
To measure neck relief you ll need a feeler gauge and a capo.
Basically the neck relief is the curve along the full length of the neck.