All Matters Music
Your ability to play the guitar is incredible. You can sing your favorite songs while accompanying your voice with guitar music. However, playing the guitar is not enough. You must also know when your musical instrument needs a setup, and learn the basics of tuning your guitar. In this post, we talk about how to set up a guitar so your equipment create powerful music all the time.
Table of Contents
What is a guitar setup?
A guitar setup is a maintenance procedure that every guitar needs to go through periodically. It is all about the “fine adjustment” and “basic maintenance” of your guitar. In this process you can make the necessary adjustments in order to make your guitar contest to your preference of playing habits. A guitar setup is also beneficial in exposing possible issues with your instrument before they become a huge concern.And in this process, the setup focuses on the modification of tuning stability, string height, hardware adjustment, and neck.
You can setup your guitar on your own as long as you know how, or you can hire a professional to do it for you. But if you are a novice in the guitar world, it is best if you take your guitar to an expert for a tune up. It may take one to two days to complete, or even more, depending on how busy the guitar shop is, or how complicated the issues are.
How to setup a guitar
Tuning your guitar is an essential process that is required so your instrument will produce better sound.The setup mainly includes adjustment to the truss rod, intonation, action, and string height. And in some cases, additional work may be done like nut filling, fret dressing, frets cleaning, or tremolo adjustment. Let us look at a couple of steps to setup your guitar.
Adjustments to the truss rod
The truss rod is a metal rod that is located in the neck of your guitar that runs through the body. Tuning this section allows you to provide relief to your guitar’s neck, since it typically warps after prolonged use.If there is excessive neck relief, a bow shape occurs, and lack of relief leads to a back bow. Too much or lack of neck relief is not good for your guitar, since it can cause exceedingly high action, or leads to a fret buzz.The purpose of setup for the truss rod is to ensure the neck is fully straight.
Adjustments to the tremolo
A floating tremolo is not good for your guitar sound. It means that your equipment needs to be tuned for efficiency.Adjusting the tremolo includes excellently harmonizing the tension among the tremolo’s spring system and springs. This balancing process makes it possible for the tremolo to move freely at an equal distance.And the result is a well-tuned guitar that stays in tune even after constant usage.
String action setup
The distance between the fretboard and the strings is called string action. If the distance is big, you get higher action, which indicates that you need to press tougher down on the frets in order to play your music. And if the distance is narrower, you achieve low action, which requires less amount of force to play. So you need to figure out your personal preference in terms of action, and setup your guitar that way.The string action is adjusted by constricting the truss rod, or adjust you bridge’s saddles or screws.
Intonation setup
The intonation of your guitar is the functionality of your equipment to stay perfectly in tune. This process is done by strumming on the guitar’s open strings and find out if the 12th octave or fret matches. You would need to adjust the bridge’s saddle, and make your adjustments to either flat or sharp. The trick here is to determine if the 12th fret and the open string is in tune. Because if they are, then all your guitar notes are in tune.
Hydrating and polishing
Guitars are created using wood, and since the material originates from trees, your guitar needs to stay hydrated in order to last long. Without hydration, your guitar can crack due to the deficiency in moisture. To keep your instrument hydrated, use a conditioner that is formulated specifically for a fretboard. And at the same time, applying a fretboard conditioner also polishes your guitar.
Fret dressing
Fat dressing a process of reshaping and leveling the guitar frets. Though it is not typically part of the regular maintenance, you need to know that it is needed inorder to bring the sound back to its original power. The good news is, it takes years for your frets to wear down. And when they become uneven, simply straighten them out. If repair is not possible, then changing your frets completely works best.
String radius setup
The fact is, not all fretboard are totally flat.And so you need to make adjustments according to the alignment of your fretboard and your guitar strings. If both aspects do not have the same radius, then your guitar can have improper string action and fret buzz.
Signs that you to setup your guitar
As a musician, you can tell if something is not right just by listening to the guitar sound.
Here are the top two signs that your guitar needs urgent setup.
- Intonation – the accuracy of the pitch is not right.
- Action–the string height is too tight or too loose.
Conclusion
Guitars need a setup right after you buy one because new instruments are mostly not in tune. This is especially true if you ordered your new guitar from online. A lot of things can happen during transit that could affect the tuning, so a proper setup is needed. Also, you need to setup your guitar regularly for basic maintenance. Constant use can cause your instrument to go out of tune, and setup is a means to keep your equipment in prime condition.
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