How to tell?, Neck + Trussrod bends, twists etc

[isida.d]

Ok, so yesterday i did something with my jackson DK2m That i'm sure some of you will find extremely stupid and suicidal.
Heres the story...
Originally it was setup for 10-46's in E, my trem is blocked and i wanted to play something in C standard, so i put a 12-54 set on it, wtihout adjusting my truss rod or anything else. I had those strings on there for a day. What are the chances that i've damaged something and how do i tell if i have? I know that sounds like a really dumb question but if its not as obvious as just looking at it to a untrained eye i want to know.

I dont know if this matters or not, but as you can probably tell in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4xfFbJ1I-E
my low C when i had those strings on there was a bit on the loose side so when i played it openly it sounded out of tune so a 54 obviously wasnt enough for the low C so hopefully that means there was less tension there?
Forgive me i'm a noob lol.

Thanks in advance,
Daniel

[Stygian]

You most likely would have to adjust your truss rod with a different gauge of strings, but it's not very likely you have hurt anything by not adjusting it immediately. Especially since it's only been that way for a day. Adjusting the truss rod shortly after you get "in tune" is a good idea though (when you change things around, like this). I use 09-42 for E standard, a bit lighter gauge than you. In C standard I use 10-52 and it feels like there's the same amount of tension with those. They seem equivalent.

The gauges you're using for C should keep you in that tuning just fine, but it might seem a little looser to you (than it would to me). Though, it's pretty normal guages for that tuning. About the truss rod adjustment again, does your action feel all messed up? You might need to give it some slight turns in the right direction.

[isida.d]

i should have only posted this thread after i'd put the 10's back on.
If it feels the same as it did when i had the 10's on in the first place (what it was setup for) thene verything should be fine. A friend has told me that if there is a problem i'll get unbearable string buzz.
I'll let you know how it goes once i have the 10-46's back on it in standard.

[Stygian]

It should be almost precisely the same if you're returning the guitar to the same tuning, with the same gauge of strings you had before. There are a lot of signs you need to adjust the truss rod. If you have string buzz (the neck is too straight) or if your action is higher, especially noticeable on the higher frets (give the neck some relief). A neck should actually always have some relief, it should never be perfectly straight. You can actually look down the fretboard along the low E or high E side and give a pretty good estimate that way. It comes with experience.

String tension and gauge plays a major role in the bow of your guitar neck. You can look down the side, like I pointed out before, then say clip off all your strings notice that it will straighten out, maybe even bow back a little bit. Those strings put almost a couple hundred pounds of tension on your guitar neck.

[isida.d]

Alright so i loaded the 10's back on and to be honest i actually think these strings are quite a bit tighter on this guitar than the other set was in C by a very noticable amount.
To be honest i actually liked the tension of all the strings bar the low C on that other set than i do with the 10's i've had on it for months, i find faster picking stuff alot more comfortable to do on them. So i think that if i ever got this guitar setup for C standard i'd keep what i had on there in that 12 set except i'd upsize that low C to a 56 or 58 ... i dont know how much i'd need.
Its just that on that 54 it was moving a bit too much which is what i'd imagine was causing that note to sound out of tune alot of the time unless i was palm muting it and being a little lighter handed on it.