What Makes A Great Set-Up?
Let’s start with a common definition: a guitar set-up is a way of fine-tuning the various parts of the guitar to work together in order to optimize the playability. This is true, but not the whole picture. In my experience, what is commonly left out by many is the human interaction, also known as customer service. Even if you are working on your own guitar, you are working for someone. In my opinion, the road to executing a stellar set-up is 1) asking the player what they want, 2) observing how the player uses their instrument, and 3) utilizing the information gained in your set-up choices, and 4) having a solid understanding of how to make the appropriate adjustments to the instrument. If you add this observation of and interaction with the player to the set-up, you can more easily bring the player and their instrument into harmony - which is a desirable outcome, and, to me, what defines a “perfect set-up”.
A set-up for a guitar is similar to a tune-up for a bicycle or a car. You get it done as needed. Sometimes, little maintenance things come up that need to be addressed, sometimes not. Whatever the case may be, you do the work yourself or get the guitar worked on in order to keep it working - and to keep that harmonious relationship between player and instrument. Some of this maintenance might include making adjustments to action at the bridge, to the truss rod, to intonation, and to the nut height. I consider these adjustments “the basics”. By making these adjustment to any instrument, you can dial-in the playability and get one step closer to the “sweet spot” of optimal playability.
In the past, I noticed myself being rigid around the job of set-up. It is true that there is an efficient way to approach each instrument and an order of operations that is most helpful. That doesn’t not mean that there’s only one way to approach every set-up. In fact, I found myself running into the same issue on different guitars - for example: “what’s with all this fret buzz?” If I did my set-up by-the-book and to the likings of the customer, why is there still fret buzz? I was asking the questions, but I was not listening to the answers or common denominator: fret buzz. On occasion, I suggested a level, crown, and polish in addition to a set-up at an additional cost - because that’s a usual solution for uneven frets causing fret buzz. Many times I was met with budget issues or customers not being interested in the additional investment. They wanted the set-up done, and that was it. I even ended up losing some customers, even though I was suggesting a job that needed to be done. In these cases, the customer did not care about any other job that may have been needed beyond their request of “set-up”. The feeling was that they thought I was a used car salesman using a sales tactic instead of what I really was - which was a professional looking to do the best job possible to prevent further work on the guitar and to satisfy the customer.
To summarize, if you’re following a set-up guide in a book or online, it is important to know that the success of the set-up is an accumulation of factors from the work done on the guitar in the past, the kind of guitar it is, climate, and the way the player has played it or taken care of it. A set-up IS NOT a catch-all fix. Other work may need to be done on the guitar. In my experience, we have a culture amongst players and luthiers that believes a set-up is a mechanical job that will readily fix most issues. This is perhaps why my customers were not open to hearing about the other jobs that needed to be done for the guitar to function properly at that time, and in the future. It is my belief that we need to re-educate ourselves and our customers about what a set-up can do, and cannot do - and that taking care of their guitar and having optimal playability is the goal. Also, a set-up is an art and does not have a set formula that can be applied across the board. This is also why finding someone who is qualified to work on your guitar is very important. Otherwise, a machine could apply a set-up. This is not the case.
Let me tell you a story about why fret jobs and set-up are an important pair. One day I was working on a build at my shop. I was finishing the fret job and moving into the set-up and I realized both these jobs are related. In fact, the playability relies on these two jobs. Without a solid fret job the guitar will not play well in any circumstance, no matter what adjustments you make. If you can’t make the proper set-up adjustments it doesn’t matter how solid your fret job is. To take it a step further, look at the other ways we work on a guitar - every piece of the puzzle matters. When all these little jobs are executed in a solid manner, all needed adjustments (done in the set-up) tend to fall right into place.
I have found that some clients have a tendency to want one guitar to be another guitar. Maybe they like the sound or feel of another guitar. Sometimes, due to poor guitar work in the past, the customer is dissatisfied with their guitar and they don’t understand which adjustments are possible and not possible. After these realizations, I decided to do a level, crown, and polish as part of my set-up. In all actuality it meant an additional 5 to 10 minutes added on to the set-up and always insured that I could execute the best possible setup for the player. In fact, I was able to notice other issues and take action to be the most helpful to my clients. It was a win-win in my eyes. I now approach every set-up ready to do a level crown and polish on the frets as part of the set-up as well as listen to the client and their specific needs. I also keep my time for set-ups to within 1 hour. Most of that time is actually spent talking with and listening to the client. I also ask that anyone in need of a set-up stick around for the hour-long appointment so I can make sure the instrument is dialed-in to their needs. This also gives them time to see the process and get to know me - which builds their confidence in my skills and entrusting their guitars to my care. In my experience, a set-up should not take longer than an hour. This gives enough time for the customer to let me know what they need, for me to assess the instrument, work on the instrument, and test that the customer’s needs in playability have been met. It is also a respect for my time and my cost per hour to keep set-ups to this time frame.
When building your own guitars, it is easy to notice where improvements can be made and make them, or realize they need to be made by someone else or with the help of someone else. It can be a little tricky when you are working on a guitar someone else built or worked on because you don’t know the instrument in and out or its history the way you would if you made it. In fact, sometimes it seems like detective work at a crime scene. If you are willing to be in the moment with what is in front of you instead of being rigid to what the books say, the answers are often very clear. You can see what needs to be done. These are the skills I encourage and cultivate in my students. I encourage anyone building their luthiery skills to work at being the most efficient worker they can be, and open up to the art of luthiery as a craft. Time yourself, strive to improve your work, and build your practice by practicing! Be honest with your clients and don’t take on work that you are not comfortable with. Last of all, take action and do what is needed to ensure your work is the best possible quality at that time, your clients will appreciate you for it .
Top Secret P.S.: I approach any set-up by making adjustments in the order of: neck, saddle, nut. I have found that if I complete my work to each section in that order my set-ups come together very smoothly. For an individualized learning experience on how to improve your set-up skills, schedule an online or in-person setup workshop with me: phone, email.
