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String tension contributes to creep in the wood of a guitar neck over time. I have heard that a neck reset is an eventual necessity for acoustic guitars even if they are meticulously cared for.

Is it the same for electric guitars and basses? And, is it feasible to DIY?

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    Over what sort of time period? I've kept several guitars - acoustic and electric (solid) for 40 to 50 yrs with no need for this.
    – Tim
    Nov 20, 2019 at 10:07
  • For the bass I'm looking at in particular, I am researching how old it is now... I bought it second-hand around 12 years ago Nov 20, 2019 at 10:28

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An Epiphone acoustic, MIJ, which I bought second-hand 50 yrs ago, has never needed touching. My Tele - '76 - the same. A Shergold, ('78) which was played on hundreds of gigs for 25 yrs+ again, no problem. So while there is a very slight chance that 'creep' might affect a guitar, so far, it's not any of mine - of which I have many older editions - including basses.

If it did happen, I'd say it's adjustment of trussrod initially, but that would be a small diy adjustment. Of course, where (and how) it's kept, and what the weather conditions in the area may be contributory factors.

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In theory yes, in practise no.

Case in point…
My 1964 Strat & 1976 Rikki 4001. I adjusted both neck truss-rods when I got them, simply because I didn't like how they were set before.
They haven't needed touching since.

The Strat I did in the mid 90's, the Rikki in 1990.

So in practise, I'd call 30 years pretty stable.

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