Action, Intonation, Neck Relief? What's That?

Do guitar teachers and salesmen talk in a foreign language?

When you're looking at guitars you will hear the term action, which simply means how far the strings are away from the fretboard, and how hard you have to push to make a note or chord. If you're just starting out, it's a good idea to bring along someone who can play guitar so they can judge its playability. A cheap guitar will usually have high action and that means the beginning guitar player will have an unusually hard time playing it.

Intonation has to do with the guitar playing in tune up and down the neck

The easiest way to check intonation is to play a string with no fingers on it, (open), and then play it at the 12th fret. If you have an electronic tuner the open note and the 12th fret note should both be in tune. Most stringed instruments are adjustable, so the intonation can usually be corrected. Again, bringing along someone that plays can be helpful.

Neck Relief

Many times you'll see someone sight down the fretboard as though they were aiming a rifle. What they're doing is checking to see if there's a bow in the neck. There should be a slight amount of curve in the neck, but if it's extreme it means the neck is out of adjustment. Almost all fretted instruments have a truss rod which can bring the neck back into alignment. The truss rod is a steel rod that runs through the length of the neck and is adjusted with an allen wrench. A warped or severely warped neck should be avoided.

Practical Advice

So if you're a beginning guitar player, remember that you get what you pay for. I get calls all the time from people that want to know if they should buy a used guitar, and the answer is always "only if you know what you're doing." It's possible to get a great deal on an instrument, but it's also possible to waste a good chunk of money. The best advice is to buy from a music store and to make sure that you can return the guitar if it's defective. Most music stores will adjust and set up the guitar before they sell it to ensure that the customer is happy.