Guitar Setup Questions:

Is a full and comprehensive setup on a brand nee guitar reasonable?

  • Yes

    Votes: 12 70.6%

  • No

    Votes: 5 29.4%
  • Total voters
    17
This argument has been running over several boards, and I kinda think the consumer has become interested in the lowest price only and quality of service has gone out of the window; as you'd expect in an extreme capitalist society, factory efficiency and shareholder dividends driven...

I'd like the factory to have good QC, and I suspect the likes of Fender and Gibson do for the most part.

I'd also like the store I purchase from to have knowledge about guitars and give me the guitar in a playable state. Sadly, the stores are often running on low margins and high turnarounds, so often no setup is done. Somewhere like the US which is renowned for having great customer service should always set a guitar up before letting it out.

In these days of ebay and internet shopping, many guitars seem to get to the consumer in bad shape. It is a sign of the world we live in.
 
Mr Grumpy said:
This argument has been running over several boards, and I kinda think the consumer has become interested in the lowest price only and quality of service has gone out of the window; as you'd expect in an extreme capitalist society, factory efficiency and shareholder dividends driven...

I'd like the factory to have good QC, and I suspect the likes of Fender and Gibson do for the most part.

I'd also like the store I purchase from to have knowledge about guitars and give me the guitar in a playable state. Sadly, the stores are often running on low margins and high turnarounds, so often no setup is done. Somewhere like the US which is renowned for having great customer service should always set a guitar up before letting it out.

In these days of ebay and internet shopping, many guitars seem to get to the consumer in bad shape. It is a sign of the world we live in.
Click to expand...
If you are going to be an internet shopper, you must be willing to accept the annoying task of return shipping in the event of an inadequacy.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, and that's why I stopped shopping at *at certain Germain retailer*; it was cheaper to buy from them and get it delivered than buy locally - but once you have a problem, the return shipping is a pain in the arse - *a certain German retailer*, after taking my money and sending me a different product returned the product from Korea by boat, so it took 3 months for me to get a refund...

Anyways, I'd rather some local business make some profit aslongas they make a bit of effort to satisfy the consumer.
 
Robert Herndon said:
When I got my brand new 1987 Import Stratocaster, you couldn't ever feel the ends of the frets at all. I guess I just expected others to be like that.

Both my 2003 and 2016 Gibson SG's had fret edges that would pull material off a polishing cloth, even after oiling.

Still have an edgey feeling on my 2016 Gibson SG....8 months old now and lots of orange oil...
Click to expand...
Sounds like those SGs need a bit of fret work. If rehydrating doesn't work then a file will.
 
Robert Herndon said:
Oh....lately been using orange oil...
Click to expand...
I'm working today, so gotta be quick...
This is the oil that I use:
IMG_3826.PNG

Amazon.com: Roche Thomas Bore Oil, 2 Oz.: Musical Instruments

I use it after cleaning with lemon oil. Applied to a cotton cloth, soak a section about the size of a quarter. Start at one end and work to the other, re-wetting the cloth as necessary to slather on the oil. When you're done, look for any pooling in the pores. Take a dry section of cloth, and starting from the same end you started applying the oil, wipe away any excess. You don't have to make it dry, just absorb any pools of extra oil.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
I'm working today, so gotta be quick...
This is the oil that I use:
View attachment 4696

Amazon.com: Roche Thomas Bore Oil, 2 Oz.: Musical Instruments

I use it after cleaning with lemon oil. Applied to a cotton cloth, soak a section about the size of a quarter. Start at one end and work to the other, re-wetting the cloth as necessary to slather on the oil. When you're done, look for any pooling in the pores. Take a dry section of cloth, and starting from the same end you started applying the oil, wipe away any excess. You don't have to make it dry, just absorb any pools of extra oil.
Click to expand...

Awesome! Thanks!
 
Kerry Brown said:
Sounds like those SGs need a bit of fret work. If rehydrating doesn't work then a file will.
Click to expand...

I don't notice it when playing, but it's very noticeable when cleaning....but I keep the 2016 SG for it's wide neck and great tuning stability. The 2003 SG was returned years ago...
 
img_20170506_23206-jpg.4694


Here's another project for Bea. She'd have them all working nicely within six months.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
I'm working today, so gotta be quick...
This is the oil that I use:
View attachment 4696

Amazon.com: Roche Thomas Bore Oil, 2 Oz.: Musical Instruments

I use it after cleaning with lemon oil. Applied to a cotton cloth, soak a section about the size of a quarter. Start at one end and work to the other, re-wetting the cloth as necessary to slather on the oil. When you're done, look for any pooling in the pores. Take a dry section of cloth, and starting from the same end you started applying the oil, wipe away any excess. You don't have to make it dry, just absorb any pools of extra oil.
Click to expand...


I ended up using my supply of orange oil...it was on the shelf and smells good too...I ran tape along the side of the board so the oil could "hang out" near the fret ends...loaded the board up last nigh and let it sit until morning. That board drank up every drop...and guess what??? The sharp edge on the frets has almost completely disappeared and the board now has a more ebony-ish appearance...
 
There is no one setup for a guitar that is right for every player. And too many factors, including environmental, will have an impact on the setup. I know every guitar I buy, new or used, is going to need to be setup to my own preferences before I can be completely happy, or for that matter before I can even fairly evaluate if the guitar is going to work for me long-term. It will also need to be adjusted as the seasons change and as it gets played. To me, this is the reason there are so many adjustment points on a modern instrument. It's also the reason that I have learned to do setups myself and bought tools where needed to get the job done.

Any maker has a minimum standard for instrument setup before it leaves the factory. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't. Part of it is in the retailers hands but I don't trust any of them that much, not even Sweetwater's muti-point setup by the time the guitar gets to California.
 
gball said:
There is no one setup for a guitar that is right for every player. And too many factors, including environmental, will have an impact on the setup. I know every guitar I buy, new or used, is going to need to be setup to my own preferences before I can be completely happy, or for that matter before I can even fairly evaluate if the guitar is going to work for me long-term. It will also need to be adjusted as the seasons change and as it gets played. To me, this is the reason there are so many adjustment points on a modern instrument. It's also the reason that I have learned to do setups myself and bought tools where needed to get the job done.

Any maker has a minimum standard for instrument setup before it leaves the factory. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't. Part of it is in the retailers hands but I don't trust any of them that much, not even Sweetwater's muti-point setup by the time the guitar gets to California.
Click to expand...

I agree...

I used to have a luthier buddy do all my setups...then one day, I hung out and watched him and thought, "Shoot, Man...I can do that!"

For me personally, I setup the necks pretty flat...a little under .010" but usually never over that. My 2016 Gibson SG has the lowest action of all my Gibson's - .040" on the bass and .030" on the treble side...
 
Strangely enough, I don't measure a thing when I do setups. It's all feel for me (sound with pickups and intonation) and every guitar is different. I just keep changing things incrementally until it's "right,"
 
gball said:
There is no one setup for a guitar that is right for every player...It's all feel for me (sound with pickups and intonation) and every guitar is different. I just keep changing things incrementally until it's "right,"
Click to expand...
Yes and no.Make up your mind!
Assuming no twisted neck or proud frets and a properly cut nut, with the guitar tuned to playing pitch (i.e. the pitch you tune to normally),
Begin by setting the bridge height for frets 17-21(2) so that the strings play buzz free at the lowest possible height.

Start with low E. For TOM, dogbone and lightning bar bridges, lower the bass side until it buzzes, raise until clear. Check A and D raise slightly if needed to get clean notes. Then do the treble side. If you bend notes up here, try a few typical bends, to make sure they don't buzz out.
For Strat style bridges, set the outside E strings, then approximate the neck radius and fine tune the other saddles as needed.

When all strings play clean go to the lower frets and neck relief. Play the high E string from fret 1 to fret 16, increasing relief (loosening trussrod) to relieve buzz or decreasing relief (tightening trussrod) to lower the string height. So tighten, by fractional turns, until it buzzes and back off until it doesn't. If you bend strings , do your typical bends to insure they don't buzz out. Once satisfied, check the other strings and make small adjustments as needed.

Once you have acceptable relief, i.e. no buzz and easy action, set your intonation and you're done.

This is the opposite order of most setup directions. It is based on performance and not measurements, hence, I don't take any. It works because the neck is immobile between frets 17 and 22. The trussrod only affects lower frets. By setting the upper end first, you know any buzzes are coming from too little relief. This method works for most guitars, with truss rods.
 
I'm kind of new to doing full setups...but, for some odd reason, this Les Paul Custom Replica has been super easy to setup, almost as if it adjusts itself. I really had to fight the 2016 Gibson SG's Nashville bridge to get the intonation correct....but interestingly, even with the elevated tailpiece, the SG has the lowest action of all my Gibson's....
 
Most new guitars will need to be setup, because you weren't there at the factory, so they only get it close. The owner's manual specs are just guidelines, no two people will have the same exact requirements. I have two Gibsons, my 2014 stock Melody Maker and my N-225, that have never needed adjustment. I play with .009-.042 strings and both of those guitars came out of the box perfectly intonated and with great action. My SGJ and LPJ were certainly "acceptable" setups, but not quite as low as I like my strings. The "Platinum" Melody Maker was setup for someone in Miranda Lambert's band who has a heavier touch than me, but it was well within the normal parameters. My 2003 SG Specials have needed no attention since their first proper setups upon arrival. The ebony fingerboards make the necks very stable. I have had to readjust guitars because of changes in my technique over the years. I play much lower and lighter action today than I did even twenty years ago. I most recently found the sweet spot for my Strats after going from .009-.042 to .007-.038 strings awhile back. Surprisingly, it took very little movement to adjust the guitars' relief. (It took me about two hours to adjust my attack and finger pressure.)
 
I too have fully adopted the Biddlin method a year or so ago, thanks you and others for repeating it and posting links for us.
Setups are about adjustments.
Ironing out fret issues is another.

I dont expect much of anything from anyone these days.
But I am only buying budget level guitars and deal with it myself quiet satisfactorily.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top