Set ups?

[Tone2TheBone]

Am I missing something? I read and hear a lot about how some players are digging their new guitars/basses and how they love certain aspects of the guitar and the set up. I guess what I'm wondering is...doesn't everyone set up their own guitar after buying a new one anyway? You know...raising or lowering the bridge to our preference...adjusting the truss rod to suit the new environment etc. I just figured we all change stuff on our axes at will. Is there more to it than this I'm wondering?

[Nelskie]

I would guess that would depend on a lot of things. Like if you bought the guitar from a shop, or through an online site. Most shop-purchased axes will have a pretty good set-up on them. Depending on the skill and knowledge of the staff, it could be the perfect set-up for that particular type of guitar. Maybe the tech is a Tele player himself, and knows the best way to set one up. This is purely luck of the draw, mind you. My new G & L came with a really good set-up right out of the box, though it was purchased from an actual music store (also an Ebay store), where it was set-up and played before it went into stock (as evidenced by the little initialed tag attached to one of the tuning pegs). All I've done to it since receiving it was change the strings. Overall, I'm pretty happy with that set-up.

My experience with mail order stuff is that it will always need to be set up after getting it. Changes in temp (imagine shipping stuff in the dead of winter to Fargo - yeah, you get the picture), humitidy, stresses from shipping, etc., all take their toll. Often times, I like to let my new axes "acclimate" to their new surroundings, so as to make sure the new set up will "take". In some cases where the factory set-up was horrifyingly bad, like with my Squier Tele II, there was little choice except to bring it in.

I guess I've always been very lucky to have an ace set-up man at my disposal. The guy I use now has set up so many of my guitars, so many different times (p'up changes, etc.), its almost like he has a sense of how I like things, no matter what axe I bring in. He's a very good player, too, so occasionally he'll throw me something outside of what I normally do set-up wise, and see if I like it (of course letting me know that he did it.) If it doesn't suit me, he sets it up like it was, and away I go. Personally, I couldn't set up a guitar to save my own life. And yes, I have tried, with disasterous results.

Bottom line: it's pretty much personal preference. Particular players like things a certain way, and for them, the set-up is key. Hacks like me just like to make noise, and as long as it stays in good tune, I can manage with just about anything set-up wise. If I can hang laundry on it, however, it's probably a bit too high! Ha ha ha!

[Tone2TheBone]

Dood...so you're saying YOU don't personally set up your guitars yourself? You're a tweaker and a pup mauler like me aren't you?! (soldering gun sizzling in hand....ouch)(with allen wrenches falling through the holes in my pockets...clank)

[Nelskie]

Personally, I couldn't set up a guitar to save my own life. And yes, I have tried, with disasterous results.

Yes, sad but true. I leave that stuff to the professionals.

[Tone2TheBone]

Due to my speed reading abilities (or lack thereof) I didn't see that part. :O

[r_a_smith3530]

Proper setup can include many things. What about when you have a guitar with a high fret, or worse yet, a fret that sits a bit high on one side. Have you ever played a guitar that was "dead" at one point of the fretboard on a particular string?

Yes, a standard setup should include truss rod adjustment, setting string height and intonation, but may also include other items as well. Adjusting pickup height for optimal output is a given.

Have you ever played a guitar where the first and sixth strings were so close to the edge of the fretboard that you found them constantly rolling "over the edge" midway down the fretboard? That's a setup issue too, albeit a more drastic one, as nut replacement in order to correct string spacing is a somewhat involved process.

Do your pots crackle as you adjust volume or tone? Setup!

BTW tone, you'd be surprised as to how many inexperienced players play just what they got out of the box!

[Tone2TheBone]

Rob,

The first electric I ever got (prior to a "real" one) was a Memphis Les Paul copy and the first thing I did was take it apart to see how it was put together. Since then I've tinkered and learned how to adjust things, replace nuts, tuners, replace pickups, redo entire electronics and replace pots, caps wire harnesses etc. I'm a madman with a soldering iron! I love putting things together and figuring stuff out. Along the way I had great help from techs and friends that knew a lot more about it than I did. I guess I was just surprised that some people don't do these things much or at all.

The other day I asked Robert Renman about his way of filing frets so now I have that under my belt too if I ever need to do that. I was always too broke to have someone do work for me on my equipment that it just became a neccessity for me to do it myself.

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

Been messin with strats and teles so long i can set mine up in under an hour, i have found my prefered set up and just employ it on all my fenders.. i too will from time to time strip a guitar down just to re set everything and give it a thourough cleaning and fretboard polishing ...i like em low and slinky and close enough for rock n roll... 6S9L

[SuperSwede]

My setup knowledge is restricted to intonation. I am interested in learning more about guitar electronics/setups. Any reading recommendations? Preferably on the net.