Guitar neck set up question?

So, we have someone thinking it's a bad idea to take the guitar to professionals who does these kind of set-ups and repairs for a living .. how's that for a strange piece of advice?

Since you write "lower the saddle", I will guess it's an acoustic? Here are just a few of the things which can influence the string height on acoustic steel string guitars: String gauge, the action (string height) at the nut and bridge saddle, the neck relief, a warped or bent neck (including a "beak" at the body/neck joint), a loose bridge, a belly top, lose internal bracing, improper neck angle, a loose neck joint.

Electric guitars have their own set of issues. Some of the above, plus things like floating tremolo units.

Yes, you can learn to do these adjustments yourself. However, that takes a lot of time and a lot of dedication. Working at a pro repair shop for many years, I could tell you an unbelievable amount of stories about people (almost exclusively men) who had tried to "fix" things themselves. End result was very often that they ended up paying way more for something which would have been a very simple adjustment to begin with.

Yes, most of the steps are easy enough to learn how to perform. The big issue is to know how to pinpoint the problem, in what end to begin fixing it, and being able to adjust the guitar to the person who is going to use it.

Adjusting the truss rod affects the curvature or relief of the neck. It does not adjust the action although reckless truss rod adjustment might have an effect on it. If the neck is perfectly straight or has a back bow, or if there is too much relief, then this may make it impossible to have an action low enough to be playable. In this case, the truss rod would need to be adjusted.

In your case, you do not suggest that the neck has too much or not enough relief so there is no reason to think the truss rod should be touched. You mention "saddle" so I assume your guitar is acoustic. Saddles are cheap enough and I would suggest you get a replacement to fit your bridge and that you do and adjustments on this "replacement". That way, if anything goes wrong and you mess it up, you still have the original saddle.

You need to file or sand a little off the back of the saddle. I always put a pencil line along both edges so I can see how much material I have removed. Be very careful to file the bottom of it flat and stop before you think you have removed enough and try it.

The Truss rod is used to adjust a bowed neck. If the neck is out, an adjustment would help. If it is an expensive or classic guitar, before you take this on yourself, you may want to have a pro look at it from a local music store. There are so many other issues that can be affected by making alterations such as intonation or buzzing off of fret issues. If it is older you could adjust the bridge and or file down the nut.

I'm with Ms. Hyde on this one. Small adjustments can be undone. Filing things down can only be undone by spending money on a pro to fix what you broke.

A neck that's "straight as a rifle barrel" will fret out when you attempt to press down a string. You need a slight forward bow (called "relief").

If you have an adjustable bridge (e.g. a gibson tune-o-matic) you can just try lowering it a bit to see if it improves playability or not. Before you do that, take a fine-point permanent marker and put a very TINY dot on each thumbwheel that adjusts the bridge height (there's one on the treble side and one on the bass side). Place the dot so that part of it is on the threaded post that the thumbwheel screws onto and part of it is on the thumbwheel itself. That way you can easily return the bridge to its old height if you decide you don't like the change: just line up both halves of each dot.

I also agree strongly with those who advise you to just take it to a luthier. Don't be penny-wise and pound-foolish.

Sight down your axe's neck.

It should be as straight as a rifle barrel.

IF it is straight I recently lowered the action

far up (12thfret) the board by removing the bridge

then grinding the appropriate amount from the bottom.

Do NOT file down ANYTHING down. Its probably just an adjustment needed. Take it to a guitar tech and have him look at it. Better safe than sorry.

since you neglected to state what kind of guitar you have,Electric, acoustic,brand every piece of info on this page is Mute.I do set up all the time been playing over thirty years, never let anyone touch my guitars, its about understanding the mechanics,of you instrument,Electrics give you a multitude of different adjustments. Go to youtube type in how to adjust string height, There are videos on there that will show you how to wire pickups,every thing you need to know.