GUITAR SET-UP
I get a lot of questions about set-up, such as: How do you do it? Do you need special tools? What’s the best way? What do you charge? Since a lot of people are at home working on their instruments, I thought I’d put together a guide. Most of these adjustments can be made with common household tools. If you don’t have these tools, they can easily be purchased at any hardware store.
Tools you will want to have:
-6 inch ruler that measures in at least 32nds of an inch
-screwdriver small enough to adjust the saddle screws at the back of the bridge
-allen wrenches for making truss rod adjustments and saddle adjustments
Now that basic tools are out of the way, we can get into the process. I approach every set-up the same way, every time. I start at the neck first and make any necessary adjustments. I then move on to the saddle or saddles and make adjustments. Then, I move on to the nut. After I finish work on the nut there might be some back and forth along the instrument with fine tuning because every instrument and player are different.
Neck Adjustments
The first thing you want to do is determine if the neck is straight, in back bow, or showing relief (bowed forward). This is best determined and seen under string tension as the customer hands the instrument to you or as you look at a guitar you own or want to purchase. Next, I ask about or check for high frets. A fret rocker helps, but is not necessary. You can simply play each fret to test it out, unless the customer has already informed you of problematic areas. Then, I remove strings if necessary, put the neck into a straight as possible position, and begin my work. At this point, I level, crown, and polish the frets to deal with uneven frets if present. Then, I clean the fingerboard and re-string if needed. If new strings are not wanted or needed, I simply put the neck into an as-straight-as-possible position by adjusting the truss rod (usually turning clockwise to tighten and back bow the neck, or counter-clockwise to add relief and loosen the truss rod nut). These aren’t big turns on the truss rod nut, nor do they require excessive force. If it’s your first time, start with 1/8 turns which will seem more like clicks. At this point, it’s a good idea to dress the fret ends if they are sticking out of the fingerboard in any way. With inexpensive guitars or well-played guitars, sometimes a level, crown, and polish is a good measure in general. With all of these adjustments made, the work on the neck is finished.
Saddle adjustments:
Before we can make any adjustments to the saddles we need to restring if necessary. The saddles are where we will adjust the intonation and string height over the neck (action). With strings in place, tune to the desired tuning. Then, adjust the action by raising or lowering the strings to the players liking. For the lowest action, I use my ruler for guidance and bring each string down to 2/32nds of an inch. This is measured from the bottom of the string to the top of the fret closest to where the neck meets the body (usually the 15th-17th fret). Next, I tune to pitch and check intonation by playing the open string and tuning to pitch and fretting the 12th fret or 24th fret (if it has one). In order for the guitar to be intonated, the pitches need to match. If they don’t match, the saddle needs to be moved forward or backward and retuned until the pitches match. Once intonation is achieved, you can check playability and comfort. If you require lower action then you can lower each string until it starts to buzz and then raise it until it stops buzzing. Bigger strings require more space to move, so a bit of relief in the neck can be made at this point to accommodate this movement. Neck relief on the bass side of the neck is beneficial to extended range instruments and can be adjusted via the bass side truss rod. After you have made all of your adjustments, check the intonation once again.
Nut adjustments
The nut action is the last thing I adjust. I use nut files to lower the slots, but in a pinch a small triangle file or needle nose files can be used to adjust the height of the nut slots. Having a low nut height helps make the first position more comfortable to play. If you don’t want to or don’t need to make these adjustments, then you can stop after the saddle adjustments.
In my experience, there is no blanket set-up or “correct” set-up. Each instrument requires slightly different adjustments. Each player has slightly different needs. It’s important to remember or notice these needs and make note of them in the case that you have to make corrections to the instrument for the player. It is helpful to have some of the specialized tools (available on the market), but not totally necessary. Being able to do your own set-ups will greatly benefit you. The process is fairly simple, if you allow it to be. There is always great value in taking your instrument to a professional that you trust, especially if you get stuck.
This article is meant to be a guide. If you have any questions please contact me: Perry Vasquez
The Set-Up Workshop can be done via Zoom or in-person.
You can also check out my YouTube channel for tips and tricks.