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Truss Rods 101 Part 2
Bob Clarke

The truss rod runs along the length of the neck and sits in a shallow slot which is deeper in the middle than the ends. When you tighen the truss rod, you force the truss to straighen out and the rod tries to straighen the bed it lays in, causing the neck to become flatter.

First, do your self a favor and put new strings in.

Second, the guitar must be in tune.

Third you have to have the right tool. While it may look like a standard hex nut and they are, getting at them in the limited space allowed and understanding the truss rod is under pressure and will require some level of force, it's quite easy to slip and hack up the finish. Very easy. And very sad. And if you use a sorta of the right size wrench, you will round the corners on the truss rendering future adjustments impossible. Get a proper fitting wrench

This is where a guiding hand can be worth it. Some one who adjusts their truss rod can walk you through the process and make it a less stressful event.

Adjust in 1/8 turn increments, let the guitar settle in over night before deciding it is right. Going more than 2 1/8 turns means a huge change in playing style or your guitar is seriously out of adjustment

If you are really cranking it, you probably will feel the rod get real easy to turn, a terrible feeling that can only mean you have broke the rod.

If the gap between you strings and frets is too big you will have to tighten you truss rod (turn it clockwise) if your strings buzz or touch the frets down neck then you will have to loosen up your truss rod (turn it anti-clockwise).

Adjusting your truss rod will affect tuning, and an out of tune guitar has a different action then a intune guitar. So you will have to re-tune during this process.

Still not right? You may need to adjust your bridge. And that is another article.