straightening the neck of my guitar

geordief

I have an old acoustic Ibanez -about 30 years old I'd say.It has a length of metal in the neck that I use to lower the action -the neck is straight but the strings ride up.
It is only in the past few years that I was able to do it (ignorance) and so it was very stiff and I was a bit frightened of the brute force required to turn the allen (?) key in it.
The guitar repair man reassured me it was safe and so I now do it.
The only thing is (it is still stiff ) I am a little surprised that , although it works and I am able to get a much better action it does seem to work its way up again and I am having to to this procedure more frequently- say once every 2 weeks.
Could the thread be damaged? -I mean it doesn't feel like it is stripped or it wouldn't work at all would it?
And am I talking of a great expense to get that fixed if it was necessary?

On a second point , I was thinking of getting a new guitar since this one is so old but is there anyone who would advise that an old guitar , provided the notes are accurate and the action is decent might be as good as it was when it was bought?
I have to say that I am getting much more out of this old guitar now that I have developped some skill than I would have ,say, in the past if I had had a really expensive instrument but only had the skill that I had then.
(not sure if that is a valid comparison)
Can you say that an inferior instrument (no pun intended) would really hold you back or could you say that the instrument itself only represents a small fraction of the overall outcome?
Could you say by all means get the best guitar you can afford but don't worry too much about it?

Demeyes

You really shouldn't need to adjust the truss rod in the same direction on a regular basis, it may be broken and not working as it should. Truss rod adjustments are small tweaks you need to make if there are big changes in the condition the guitar is kept in. You don't leave it up against a radiator or anything do you?

An old guitar doesn't mean it won't play as nice as it did back in the day but things wear and need to be looked after. With a look over by a good tech, a few changes in hardware and maybe a refret you could have a guitar in perfect playing condition. I like used guitars more than brand new ones because they have been broken in.
As to your other point, I think having an inferior instrument can hold you back, you don't need an expensive one but you should have an instrument that performs as it should. A guitar that needs the strings to be pushed down harder or that won't stay in tune will affect how you play, you won't be able to play as fast or as cleanly as you should with the same amount of effort. Also there is the idea that if you have a nice instrument, you will be more inclined to play than you would when you have to pick up a horrible guitar. If you're playing more than you will develop more as a player.

geordief

thanks
no it isn't subject to changes in temperature.In fact the room is not heated at all.
I adjust the truss rod to get it as low to the frets as it will go without buzzing.Could it be that the guitar is actually designed to be played with the strings a higher level -and so just wants to return to its natural position?
As I said it was bought years ago so maybe standards weren't as good as I imagine they are now (for the same price range I mean)

punchdrunk

where are you located?