Hello All
After reading Andys blog about having Gracie, his guitar, professionally set up by a luthier, it got me to thinking, how hard can it be to set up and maintain your own guitar?
Like everyone else, I'm used to changing the strings and cleaning my guitar, but I've never done anything else apart from that. So, if I was looking to do a set up, how would I go about it, what measurements would I need to take, would I need to buy any special tools etc etc
I know that having a guitar professionally set up is a good thing to do, but I'd like to gain the knowledge that would allow me to do it in the future.
Thanks
Joe
Setting up your guitar
Joe,
I did my own setup on BB, my Beach Banger. I think I did a pretty fair job. But for Gracie, I wanted to make sure it was done right with no mistakes. The emotional and financial cost I've invested in her is more important. But I do my own work on BB. Major cost and quality issue.
I did my own setup on BB, my Beach Banger. I think I did a pretty fair job. But for Gracie, I wanted to make sure it was done right with no mistakes. The emotional and financial cost I've invested in her is more important. But I do my own work on BB. Major cost and quality issue.
heyjoe wrote:
Check out Frets.com Joe It has all the info you need about tools and how to go about DIY set ups, some jobs not for the faint of heart though
Hello All
After reading Andys blog about having Gracie, his guitar, professionally set up by a luthier, it got me to thinking, how hard can it be to set up and maintain your own guitar?
Like everyone else, I'm used to changing the strings and cleaning my guitar, but I've never done anything else apart from that. So, if I was looking to do a set up, how would I go about it, what measurements would I need to take, would I need to buy any special tools etc etc
I know that having a guitar professionally set up is a good thing to do, but I'd like to gain the knowledge that would allow me to do it in the future.
Thanks
Joe
Check out Frets.com Joe It has all the info you need about tools and how to go about DIY set ups, some jobs not for the faint of heart though
Joe,
It's an interesting question and I too would like to have more knowledge in this area. A couple of months ago (many more now) I raised the action of my Yamaha Steel string by getting a new saddle and sanding it to the right height. It was a fiddly job and took ages as I had to sand the saddle a bit, put the strings back on, tune it, test it, and then do that over and over until I got it to the height I thought was best. I changes the pins too (no expertise needed for that obviously). It was great fun and it made me feel more connected to the guitar and not scared of hurting it.
However, that is a simple job and anyone with time and patience can do it. When I got my guitar set up by an experienced technician (before I did anything on it), besides lowering the saddle, my guitar guy actually had to file grooves in the bridge to reduce the break angle and refile the nut to lower the action at that end too. There is no way that I would do that because I have no idea what I'm doing, I don't have the right equipment and if I muck it up it isn't easily reversible. Changing a saddle is. If you go wrong you can put the original one back in or get another one and start again.
The other reason I felt OK about working on it is that I got it for under $500, so again if I did something really stupid then it wouldn't be an enormous lose. When I get a very nice guitar I'll be thinking twice about working on it. Although working on the saddle might still be a possibility.
Having said that I would still like to know more about set up so I can at least understand what the luthier might need to do and just be more knowledgeable about the process and possibilities.
Thanks for kicking this thread off.
Michele
It's an interesting question and I too would like to have more knowledge in this area. A couple of months ago (many more now) I raised the action of my Yamaha Steel string by getting a new saddle and sanding it to the right height. It was a fiddly job and took ages as I had to sand the saddle a bit, put the strings back on, tune it, test it, and then do that over and over until I got it to the height I thought was best. I changes the pins too (no expertise needed for that obviously). It was great fun and it made me feel more connected to the guitar and not scared of hurting it.
However, that is a simple job and anyone with time and patience can do it. When I got my guitar set up by an experienced technician (before I did anything on it), besides lowering the saddle, my guitar guy actually had to file grooves in the bridge to reduce the break angle and refile the nut to lower the action at that end too. There is no way that I would do that because I have no idea what I'm doing, I don't have the right equipment and if I muck it up it isn't easily reversible. Changing a saddle is. If you go wrong you can put the original one back in or get another one and start again.
The other reason I felt OK about working on it is that I got it for under $500, so again if I did something really stupid then it wouldn't be an enormous lose. When I get a very nice guitar I'll be thinking twice about working on it. Although working on the saddle might still be a possibility.
Having said that I would still like to know more about set up so I can at least understand what the luthier might need to do and just be more knowledgeable about the process and possibilities.
Thanks for kicking this thread off.
Michele
Joe- excellent question. Some jobs are easily self-performed but I always ask myself "Can I afford to do this wrong?" Usually, the answer is no, I want it done right so away I go to the luthier. It has always been money well spent!
Good luck! :cheer:
Good luck! :cheer:
-
Hydroman52
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:52 am
- Status: Offline
Here's an idea. If you take your guitar in to be set up, ask the luthier if it would be possible for you to be present to watch the process and ask questions. If the answer is yes, make sure you bring a small gift of appreciation for the on-the-job training.
I have done some setup work. I have had some successes and some failures. First off you need to figure out what you want to do if anything.
Do you want to lower the action at the 12th fret, or raise it? Do you want to lower the action at the nut? (careful there, that one caught me). One way to tell what you want to do is to play some bar chords up and down the neck. If frets 1 to 3 is alot more difficult than fret 7, and 8 or 9. Consider lowering the nut. Now I said consider it. The decision to do it or not is based on a action test. That per frets.com is performed by fretting the 3rd fret and checking for string clearance at the first. There should be a little...not a lot.
Ok tools:
first go get a 1/64 inch precision metal ruler. harborfreight.com has those for about a dollar. You will use this tool to determine where you stand at the 12th fret for action.
A good spacing here might be .125 of an inch at the low E. .080 an inch has been recommended at the high E. But these are personal choices. I did one guitar with .125 at the low E and .125 at the high E simply because that was all the bridge would support without sending it. And I didn't want to do that. The second one I did at .125 and .080. Don't know if I like the difference going to the high E. But that is just me.
But back on tools...you got your ruler to decide where you are and what to do.
Next you might need:
a cheap rotary tool. For quick sanding
a drill press vise. For holding the object to sand in place and blocking you from going past your mark.
And fine sand paper from stewmac.com and thick super glue from there if you are doing the nut.
Now if you have decided you want to change the nut or the saddle I would recommend
tusq units from http://www.graphtech.com/. If you are going from plastic they will give you more sound and a fuller sound. But you will get them for the same reason taylor does. Because they presand and shape them. You only have to do sanding to fit. I recommend going with new units if you are changing yours so that if you mess up you can go back to what you had.
Another thing to consider is neck relief. Check frets.com for that. That will involve adjusting the truss rod by turning the bolt with a hex wrench that might have come with your guitar. This might not come into play unless you change string gages and buzzing is introduced. My advice here is unless you have a purpose in adjusting the truss rod, don't experiment. I went from medium strings to extra light strings on my Jasmine S34C and I am still not happy with the setup. Going to have to go with maybe light strings.
I would also check tuners for anything lose. Any lose screws will buzz if the vibration hits just right.
Final note: in addition to frets.com there is http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/default.htm
which is also good for repair advice and troubleshooting.
Do you want to lower the action at the 12th fret, or raise it? Do you want to lower the action at the nut? (careful there, that one caught me). One way to tell what you want to do is to play some bar chords up and down the neck. If frets 1 to 3 is alot more difficult than fret 7, and 8 or 9. Consider lowering the nut. Now I said consider it. The decision to do it or not is based on a action test. That per frets.com is performed by fretting the 3rd fret and checking for string clearance at the first. There should be a little...not a lot.
Ok tools:
first go get a 1/64 inch precision metal ruler. harborfreight.com has those for about a dollar. You will use this tool to determine where you stand at the 12th fret for action.
A good spacing here might be .125 of an inch at the low E. .080 an inch has been recommended at the high E. But these are personal choices. I did one guitar with .125 at the low E and .125 at the high E simply because that was all the bridge would support without sending it. And I didn't want to do that. The second one I did at .125 and .080. Don't know if I like the difference going to the high E. But that is just me.
But back on tools...you got your ruler to decide where you are and what to do.
Next you might need:
a cheap rotary tool. For quick sanding
a drill press vise. For holding the object to sand in place and blocking you from going past your mark.
And fine sand paper from stewmac.com and thick super glue from there if you are doing the nut.
Now if you have decided you want to change the nut or the saddle I would recommend
tusq units from http://www.graphtech.com/. If you are going from plastic they will give you more sound and a fuller sound. But you will get them for the same reason taylor does. Because they presand and shape them. You only have to do sanding to fit. I recommend going with new units if you are changing yours so that if you mess up you can go back to what you had.
Another thing to consider is neck relief. Check frets.com for that. That will involve adjusting the truss rod by turning the bolt with a hex wrench that might have come with your guitar. This might not come into play unless you change string gages and buzzing is introduced. My advice here is unless you have a purpose in adjusting the truss rod, don't experiment. I went from medium strings to extra light strings on my Jasmine S34C and I am still not happy with the setup. Going to have to go with maybe light strings.
I would also check tuners for anything lose. Any lose screws will buzz if the vibration hits just right.
Final note: in addition to frets.com there is http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/default.htm
which is also good for repair advice and troubleshooting.
Brother Wiley spent some time typing this helpful set of instructions right here.
http://www.totallyguitars.com/forum/83- ... e-workshop