Setups

[Plank_Spanker]

How many here do their own? I'm at the tail end of restringing and setting up five guitars. I didn't have to tweak any truss rods, but I did adjust the action and intonation on all of them - it seems that my fingers are seeking a slightly lower action than I've been playing. Patience was virtue on a couple of the Strats.........

I love it! My five main axes now have new strings and are dialed in to the "T". :D

[marnold]

My '51 is the first one I've tried to set up myself. I really need a strobe tuner to nail the intonation, but my Korg chromatic gets it very close. I still had to take it in for a fret dressing since I don't know how to do that (yet).

[sunvalleylaw]

My '51 is the first one I've tried to set up myself. I really need a strobe tuner to nail the intonation, but my Korg chromatic gets it very close. I still had to take it in for a fret dressing since I don't know how to do that (yet).


I am still clueless on all of that and haven't even restrung yet. Anyone give me a link to a setup for dummies sort of thing?

[marnold]

This is how I learned: the Metal Method Setup and Repair DVD (http://www.metalmethod.com/guitar-repair.htm). Very cool stuff. I wish I would have had it long ago.

[tot_Ou_tard]

I do my own setups. I got a Peterson strobostomp for Christmas which helps a lot.

When I first got my guitars (used off of ebay) someone down at the local guitar shop said he set them up for cheap on his own time. He did a killer job, but stripped the truss rod nut on my Godin SD. I have since decided to learn to do my own setups so that I am in control of f@cking up my own ax.

I keep thinking of a way to be able to do a truss rod adjustment on the SD.
It's a double action truss rod, so I cannot back the truss nut off of it. I was planning on trying to cut a flat head screwdriver slot with a dremel tool.


I am still clueless on all of that and haven't even restrung yet. Anyone give me a link to a setup for dummies sort of thing?

I found this site helpful Sunvalley, but it is not really for dummies.

http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/Electric_Guitar_Intonation.htm

[sunvalleylaw]

I do my own setups. I got a Peterson strobostomp for Christmas which helps a lot.

I found this site helpful Sunvalley, but it is not really for dummies.

http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/Electric_Guitar_Intonation.htm


Thans tot. That was what I was looking for. :)

[Plank_Spanker]

My '51 is the first one I've tried to set up myself. I really need a strobe tuner to nail the intonation, but my Korg chromatic gets it very close. I still had to take it in for a fret dressing since I don't know how to do that (yet).

I leave any fret leveling / crowning / dressing to the pros. I do polish my frets every string change, though. Polished frets feel great!

[t_ross33]

I've always changed my own strings. I used to mess around with action, intonation, pickup height when I was younger (on my bass) but usually just messed things up :o :rolleyes:

Starting to get the hang of it - the internet and forums like theFret have helped. Did a truss rod adjustment on Ol' Hartley a few nights ago. Attempted to replace and cut a new nut, but have now decided that I'll leave that to the pros, or at least buy pre-slotted ones in the future.

Learning the ins and outs of set up is almost as much fun as playing. I'm thinking of picking up a cheap guitar to mod, or maybe buying a kit to build and finish one myself. That sounds like fun!

Trev

[Spudman]

Out of necessity I've learned to do a lot of the set up stuff myself. When I was on the road it was unlikely that I would find a good tech in whatever end-of-the-world town we were playing in so I started tinkering.

I really like the instrument to feel consistent, so truss rod and action were the first to be learned. I would just do a very small adjustment at a time, play it for a few minutes or longer, then if needed do a little more. Never do a lot all at once if your axe is close to where it you used to have it. A little goes a long way on the truss rod and bridge saddle adjustment screws.

A strobe tuner is about the best (lucky tot) for setting the intonation. And as little as 1/8 of a turn on a truss rod can change everything dramatically. Never use force when adjusting the truss rod...ever.

I'm fortunate to be close to the Ibanez importer for the western USA and I visit the repair shop often. Dale is about the best tech in the area so we've become pretty good friends. He lets me hang out, when I have time, and observe his techniques. Truthfully, I think he is tired of me bringing him guitars to work on and hopes I'll eventually take care of my own stuff more. The bulk of his work is warranty work from dealers from all over the west, so he gets a lot of experience. I'm now using him for some of the really tricky and hopeless cases that I come across.

Most of what he does is not rocket science. It's more about finesse. If you do a little research before hand and take care to get set to do the work before you actually begin, much can be done by even a beginner. Proper tools are a must, but you don't have to go whole hog and order the Stew Mac complete luthier kit. A good medium size flat file for the fret ends, some emery paper or 600 grit sandpaper to finish the fret ends, some steel wool to polish the frets (priceless), some tiny files from even the hardware store for the nut slots, and a cold beverage will go a long way towards getting you a much better set up.

When you start doing setup adjustments for yourself don't worry so much about millimeters or 1/16 increments. Instead go slow and pay attention to the "feel". That will help you to be more content, and then you can measure what you have gotten comfortable with and apply it to your other guitars.

[tot_Ou_tard]

A strobe tuner is about the best (lucky tot) for setting the intonation. And as little as 1/8 of a turn on a truss rod can change everything dramatically. Never use force when adjusting the truss rod...ever.

Well I do love my strobostomp. I find it very easy to use. I no longer have to use the neck p'up of turn the tone down as long as I lightly pluck with my fingers at the 12th fret. One thing about the strobo is that it does not average the signal you get an instantaneous reading. It also has a sweetened guitar tuning. Intonate using equal temperament & then tune using the sweetened tuning. It sounds good to me.


I asked this in another thread, but got no answers. Spud, do you know how truss rod adjustments and saddle height adjustments affect intonation?

That is, which way (increased or lowered action) causes the harmonic (flageolet) to sound sharper with respect to the open note?


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Nut work scares me for the time being, but intonating is fun. I never measure my p'up heights. Maybe I should.

[Spudman]

It's negligible. If you set the intonation then later change the saddle height you probably won't be off enough to tell...unless you are Eric Johnson.

Someone else did answer that though and said about the same thing.:)

[warren0728]

i set up my own....but should probably have someone else do it! I haven't messed with any custom nuts or wiring.

ww

[Tone2TheBone]

I do almost everything for all my guitars too (except for fret jobs). String changes, intonation, truss rod adjustments, action adjustments, nut replacements, neck shimming and neck straightening (for Fender guitars), replacing trem blocks on Fenders (thanks Tremoloman), electronics such as replacing pickups, wiring cavities, changing pots, caps. Constantly changing the look of my guitars (pickups, pickup rings, pickguards etc.)

[tot_Ou_tard]

It's negligible. If you set the intonation then later change the saddle height you probably won't be off enough to tell...unless you are Eric Johnson.

Someone else did answer that though and said about the same thing.:)
They did? Jeez I clearly missed that. Thanks Spud.

[Plank_Spanker]

I'm definitely not a micrometer guy on setups. When I tweak a truss rod, it's eyeballs down the neck and fingers on the board. I do it all by feel - because that's the end result.

Guitars are amazingly forgiving instrument when it comes to dialing them in. You have to be pretty ignorant and ham fisted to cause irreparable harm.

Just be careful about stripping out the end of a truss rod.................I know someone who did that in his youthful exuberance...............:o :D

[marnold]

The truss rod is really the only place you can do major, irreversible damage. Turn a quarter turn, measure, wait, repeat as necessary.

[fendermojoman]

I've learned how to set up all my axes (6 of them) and I enjoy it. I did have a pro do my re fret job.

[kerc]

When you learn to do good setups, you discover there's a lot of life left in your guitars, especially old and/or cheap axes.

A cheap guitar, well set up, can be a wonderful instrument.

:)