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These are the steps to a basic setup.What Is A Setup?
A setup is when you adjust your neck relief, string heights, first fret action, pickup heights, and intonation. A good setup can make your instrument play beautifully and sound great. It is important to use the right tools for each step. Most of them are inexpensive and widely available. It is equally important to do the steps in the right order. If you don’t, you’ll end up chasing your tail and having to repeat steps over again.
Are you one of those who’s afraid they’re going to break something? Relax! I will tell you when to use caution–and when to have a pro do it. I got you. Anyway, here are the steps. Do them thoroughly and do them in this order.
Click the links below for a thorough walkthrough of each step.
1. Neck Relief
First, neck relief. It refers to the very small degree of bend you want in your neck. This is the foundational adjustment upon which the entire setup depends. You must do it first and you must do it right. This is one of those steps where you do need the right tools but they aren’t expensive.
2. String Heights
Next, string heights. This is the adjustment that has the most influence on how close your strings are to the fingerboard. Some people like super low action, others don’t. But I’ll give you some good starting point measurements to shoot for. Again, you need the proper tool for this, but it isn’t expensive.
3. First Fret Action
On to first fret action. This refers to how far away your strings are from the fret wire of the first fret. It is largely determined by the string slots in the nut. I’ll tell you how it works and what to do if you’re brave and can buy expensive tools. But this is actually one step I recommend not doing if you’re new to this. If it genuinely needs attention, take it in. If not, leave it.
4. Pickup Heights
Pickup height is a subject that many do not understand. A great many players believe that your pickups should be as close to the strings as possible without interfering with your playing. This is wrong. But it’s easy to get right.
5. Intonation
If everything else has been done correctly, you can now set the intonation. Even if it was correct before you started your setup, it will likely need adjustment now. If done right, your instrument will play in tune all the way up and down the neck.
That’s it! Five steps. Four if you follow my recommendation to skip first fret action. Your instrument should play and sound great. Now what? Well, you’ll want to check on your neck relief a couple times a year, especially when the weather changes from winter to spring and from fall to winter. Changes in temperature and humidity can and will affect the wood of your guitar neck. This means your neck relief will need tweaking from time to time. But the rest of your setup is basically set.
I think it’s a good idea to keep a record of your maintenance. I like to use a spreadsheet. One tab for each instrument. On each row I put the date, what strings I put on (if any), what the neck relief is (after I’ve adjusted it as needed), and even the string heights. This way I don’t have to remember if I changed strings on the Ibanez last month or what the neck relief of my Sire was last time I set it. I have a record of it.
Anyway, thanks for visiting broke-ass guitars. I hope you have found what you’re looking for. If you’d like to drop me a line, hit me up on the contact page. Thanks again!