Stramm8
Active member
LowDesertSludge":60nigysh said:
Daves world of fun stuff. Or something like that. He's got a ton of videos on setups etc. I learned by doing. It's not that difficult.
Daves world of fun stuff. Or something like that. He's got a ton of videos on setups etc. I learned by doing. It's not that difficult.
chunktone
Active member
Learned from a guy at the Gibson custom shop back when I worked there. Everyone should learn how to do basic setup imo.
Alex Stanley
Banned
New member
I started with youtube and the Dan Erlwine book. I can set up a guitar, Floyd and all, just how I like it, even if the saddles or lock nut need shimmed. This morning, I leveled, crowned, and polished the frets on a parts build I just completed. I was able to lower the action substantially, and it plays like a dream. It's not hard, and unless you break out the beer and power tools, you can have your guy reverse it. Just tell him your kid fooled with it.
Hail Satin
Member
poverty and stubbornness
LowDesertSludge
Member
^^^
Unfortunately life has dealt me those same cards amigo. Right there with ya.
Great lunchtime read. I bookmarked that page for when I am confident enough to learn further neckwork aside from truss rod servicing.
Unfortunately life has dealt me those same cards amigo. Right there with ya.
ke2":3soyv65o said:
Great lunchtime read. I bookmarked that page for when I am confident enough to learn further neckwork aside from truss rod servicing.
srommes
Well-known member
I know my limits. I'll restring, intonate, set-up a Floyd, adjust truss rod, shim a neck pocket, wire pick-ups, clear cloat a headstock etc. Much past that and I take it to a luthier. They have the knowledge and right tools for the job.
LowDesertSludge
Member
srommes":2mzmpxc1 said:
With the ability to take care of most of that, i would feel accomplished.
X
xGYPSYx
New member
Youtube. You know how it seems that you're never born in the right time period to be who you are? Well..for guitar players.....this is it.
There has never been more, good, detailed info at our fingertips. You don't have to live next door to van halens tech (but if you do pics or gtfo) or apprentice under someone. Youtube. Google. If you have even mild intelligence and can follow instructions, you'll be just fine.
It's nice to find a 100 dollar guitar on CL as a project....use it as a test bed for wiring, filing, sanding, painting whatever....that way you can take the pressure of learning.
There has never been more, good, detailed info at our fingertips. You don't have to live next door to van halens tech (but if you do pics or gtfo) or apprentice under someone. Youtube. Google. If you have even mild intelligence and can follow instructions, you'll be just fine.
It's nice to find a 100 dollar guitar on CL as a project....use it as a test bed for wiring, filing, sanding, painting whatever....that way you can take the pressure of learning.
srommes
Well-known member
LowDesertSludge":wo97kze1 said:
Thanks man.
I went through a phase a few years back where I did nothing but put together mutts. Mostly Jackson bodies, necks, ordered a few Musikraft necks etc. I had quite a few quality mutts at one point. Anyways, I wasn't going to pay a luthier to put them together for me so I was forced to learn to do it myself. I also had a luthier friend that taught me a few things that were very helpful. All the stuff I mentioned is rather easy. The exception may be soldering, but there are a bunch of good "how to" soldering videos on youtube. Best advice I can give regarding soldering is to get a good, adjustable temp solderong iron.
Seitz333
Active member
Here is a really good post on the Suhr forum from Ed Yoon of Suhr on how they setup their guitars.
Link: http://online-discussion.com/Suhr/viewtopic.php?t=1185
For those too lazy to clink link
"As for the basic set-up procedure, it's essentially the same at most companies. As you know, John and I have an extensive background at Fender and our set-up criteria would be very similar.
First off, the guitar should be tuned to pitch so the neck has the proper amount of tension.
Next thing to check is the neck relief. John and our master builders are experienced enough to eyeball the relief, but to be sure, you can capo the first fret, press down on the low-E at the last fret and use a mechanics feeler gauge to measure the gap between the bottom of the low-E string and the top of the 7th fret. Fender's factory spec is .010" with a tolerance of +/- .002". John tends to set it at around .006". I tend to set it almost perfectly straight on my personal guitar since I play with a light touch. If you hit chords hard on the lower register, you may want to increase the relief to .010 or even higher. There is no hard rule to these settings - it's about what works best for your style of playing.
The action is set at 1/16" (4/64") at the last fret (bottom of the strings to the top of the fret). Again, depending on your style and touch, you may want to lower or raise the saddles. I set it at 3/64", which is pretty low, but because I use a fairly light touch, I don't have any fret buzz problems. In general, I think most people would be fine with 4~5/64" at the last fret. Some companies measure the action at the 12th fret (Ibanez) and some at the 17th fret (the neck-body joint). Ultimately, it's whatever feels most comfortable to you. Some players raise the action as high as 7/64" at the last fret.
The nut height is set at around .005". This work is best left to techs and luthiers if you're not sure about cutting nut slots. If you press down on the 3rd fret you need to see something between the first fret and the string. If you cut the slot too deep, you'll have no choice but to replace the whole nut. Filling in the slots with crazy glue and plastic dust is okay on $200 import guitars, but you wouldn't want to do that on a Suhr or other nice guitars!
The single-coil pickup height is roughly set at 1/8" from the bottom of the low-E string to the top of pole piece on the bass side and 3/32" on the high-E for the treble side. This is with the strings depressed at the last fret. This is a good starting point to move the pickups further away from the strings to balance the output of the different position pickups. You wouldn't want to get it any closer since the single-coil polepiece magnets can drag on the string vibration and cause lose of sustain and weird double-notes to sound.
For the humbuckers, you have much more leeway as they have much less magnetic pull than the single-coil pickups. A good starting point is 5/64" on the bass side and 3/64" on the treble side. Some players raise the pickups as close as possible to the strings and some lower them to the point that they're level with the body. Once again, the adjustability is there so you can set these things to suit your taste. Don't be afraid to experiment! Our factory setup is a good starting point and most people seem quite happy with it but it's not for everyone. I like my action even lower than John would normally set it and some are going to want it higher. Find what works the best for you."
Link: http://online-discussion.com/Suhr/viewtopic.php?t=1185
For those too lazy to clink link
"As for the basic set-up procedure, it's essentially the same at most companies. As you know, John and I have an extensive background at Fender and our set-up criteria would be very similar.
First off, the guitar should be tuned to pitch so the neck has the proper amount of tension.
Next thing to check is the neck relief. John and our master builders are experienced enough to eyeball the relief, but to be sure, you can capo the first fret, press down on the low-E at the last fret and use a mechanics feeler gauge to measure the gap between the bottom of the low-E string and the top of the 7th fret. Fender's factory spec is .010" with a tolerance of +/- .002". John tends to set it at around .006". I tend to set it almost perfectly straight on my personal guitar since I play with a light touch. If you hit chords hard on the lower register, you may want to increase the relief to .010 or even higher. There is no hard rule to these settings - it's about what works best for your style of playing.
The action is set at 1/16" (4/64") at the last fret (bottom of the strings to the top of the fret). Again, depending on your style and touch, you may want to lower or raise the saddles. I set it at 3/64", which is pretty low, but because I use a fairly light touch, I don't have any fret buzz problems. In general, I think most people would be fine with 4~5/64" at the last fret. Some companies measure the action at the 12th fret (Ibanez) and some at the 17th fret (the neck-body joint). Ultimately, it's whatever feels most comfortable to you. Some players raise the action as high as 7/64" at the last fret.
The nut height is set at around .005". This work is best left to techs and luthiers if you're not sure about cutting nut slots. If you press down on the 3rd fret you need to see something between the first fret and the string. If you cut the slot too deep, you'll have no choice but to replace the whole nut. Filling in the slots with crazy glue and plastic dust is okay on $200 import guitars, but you wouldn't want to do that on a Suhr or other nice guitars!
The single-coil pickup height is roughly set at 1/8" from the bottom of the low-E string to the top of pole piece on the bass side and 3/32" on the high-E for the treble side. This is with the strings depressed at the last fret. This is a good starting point to move the pickups further away from the strings to balance the output of the different position pickups. You wouldn't want to get it any closer since the single-coil polepiece magnets can drag on the string vibration and cause lose of sustain and weird double-notes to sound.
For the humbuckers, you have much more leeway as they have much less magnetic pull than the single-coil pickups. A good starting point is 5/64" on the bass side and 3/64" on the treble side. Some players raise the pickups as close as possible to the strings and some lower them to the point that they're level with the body. Once again, the adjustability is there so you can set these things to suit your taste. Don't be afraid to experiment! Our factory setup is a good starting point and most people seem quite happy with it but it's not for everyone. I like my action even lower than John would normally set it and some are going to want it higher. Find what works the best for you."
LowDesertSludge
Member
Stramm8":3n4fic70 said:
Geeked out on his videos this afternoon. HUGE help and cleared up a lot of questions I came up with.
Thanks for the recommendation.
H
Hung Huy Tran
New member
Trial and terror.
dfrattaroli
New member
The StewMac site has a bunch of excellent vids. As for their tools, sure they're pricey and you can probably get similar items for less. But their stuff is always quality and they do have some stuff you just can't get anywhere else. Over the years, I've collected a bit of a tool-box from them. Worth the money.
1meanplexi
Well-known member
snowdog":17m9bva9 said:
This^^^^. I had the general Idea on a set up but YT has been/is a wealth of information.
LowDesertSludge
Member
1meanplexi":2yryyn98 said:
What's up with Will's Easy Guitar using worn-out porn stars for his intros.
I tried giving Scott Grove a chance, but what a Doosh!
Mailman1971
Moderator
Yup...trial and error for me. No books or Internet back in the 80's. Well I am sure there was books...I just never read them.
I just kept fooling around with the guitar. Was pretty good at soldering in pickups with no prior lesson or experience. You really cant "hurt" anything doing this.
Now I can set up a floyd guitar quickly. Just doing it by ear. Perfect floating level as well.
I just kept fooling around with the guitar. Was pretty good at soldering in pickups with no prior lesson or experience. You really cant "hurt" anything doing this.
Now I can set up a floyd guitar quickly. Just doing it by ear. Perfect floating level as well.
jrh_67
New member
Just get the specs from the manufacturer
couple of simple tools
maybe a frosty beverage
put some music on
get started..... it'll be done in no time....lol
couple of simple tools
maybe a frosty beverage
put some music on
get started..... it'll be done in no time....lol
eric_kv2
New member
I was lucky that I had a friend show me how.
El Mariachi
Well-known member
I took a workshop at a great shop in San Francisco.
My buddy is also a tech and has given me some tips along the way.
My buddy is also a tech and has given me some tips along the way.
