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You are here: Home / Guitar Setup / The Importance of a Good Setup, Part One

The Importance of a Good Setup, Part One

I’ve played guitar since I was in high school, which was longer ago than I care to dwell on! I am also the sort of person who lives by the axiom, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!”

Because of this, I did not understand the benefits of having my guitars setup and serviced by a luthier for most of my early years as a player. I also tended to believe that something must be flawed with my guitar if it needed anything other than new strings occasionally. As long as I could play it and nothing seemed wrong, I figured that all was well.

The fact is, most guitars can really benefit from a good professional setup. Even well-made guitars are subject to the stresses of changing weather conditions, string tension, and the relative fragility of the thin woods that are needed in order to resonate with rich tone. When you combine these factors with the reality that many factory-made guitars come with a less-than-ideal setup to begin with, the need for a good luthier to fine tune your instrument’s playing action becomes apparent. Commercially made guitars are generally shipped out with too much neck relief (to prevent customer complaints about buzzing), too high an action (for the same reason), and with excessively high nut slots. Quality acoustics will usually come with nicely polished level frets, but most new guitars (especially electrics with bolt-on necks) need to have the frets leveled and dressed. And even the finest custom instruments will benefit from an occasional tune-up, just like a high end sports car.

A basic setup will include checking and setting the amount of bow in the neck, called relief, by adjusting the truss rod. If all else is as it should be (level fretboard and frets, etc.) there does not need to be much relief in the neck, and a properly setup guitar will not buzz with a nearly flat neck. The action (string height above the frets) will be checked and adjusted at the first and twelfth frets. This is accomplished by adjusting the nut slots and saddle height. The truss rod is for keeping the neck straight against the pull of the strings, not for adjusting action. As long as the frets are in good shape, setting neck relief and string action are the elements of a basic setup, along with the installation of a set of new strings. A check of the battery (if the guitar has one) and tightening of the tuner nuts and screws rounds out the basic service.

A well-setup guitar will play well all the way up and down the neck, with no buzzing frets. It won’t require excessive hand pressure to play bar chords, and it will look and play up to it’s potential. It is a low-cost way to get the most out of any guitar as it currently exists. In part two of this article, I’ll discuss some more improvements that can be made to get even more tone from your instrument.

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Location

Dogwood Guitars is located in beautiful rural Knox County Ohio, on state route 3 between Centerburg and Mount Vernon. Less than an hour from Columbus, Delaware, and Mansfield, we serve the entire central Ohio area with full-service setup and repairs. … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonial: Dogwood Monarch

"I loved my handcrafted Yamaha LX5 until I played my brother's Larrivee. So I bought a Larrivee. The Dogwood acoustic makes my Larrivee sound like my old Yamaha. The Dogwood is superior to my Larrivee D-03R in every way - tone, action - even looks. I … [Read More...]

Blog: Spalted Maple Rosette

I love spalted wood, especially spalted Maple. My affection toward this unique combination of color and pattern goes back to the 1980's, when I became introduced to the work of James Krenov. In 1983 a friend and I discovered a huge spalted Maple … [Read More...]

Building a Monarch: Final Assembly

It is now time to assemble the guitar, dress the frets, install the bridge and pins, fit and install the tuners, make the nut and saddle, and set the final action. A pickguard is usually installed and the completed instrument is polishes and strung … [Read More...]

Why Buy a Handmade Guitar?

There are a lot of choices out there for the prospective buyer of a fine guitar. It's no secret; a handmade instrument can cost a lot. For that matter, any of the better guitars purchased from a quality manufacturer is going to command what most … [Read More...]

Bending Machine

Building a Monarch: The Box

Bending the sides begins the process of making a guitar body. A bending form is required for each type and size of body, and the appropriate form is installed in the bending machine. This jig uses a heating blanket and spring loaded cauls to gently … [Read More...]

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Technical Articles

Humidity, Temperature, and Your Guitar

Maintaining your wooden instruments at an appropriate level of humidity year round is vital to their health and well-being. It is surprising how many owners of expensive instruments are unaware of this. I suppose that the primary reason is a lack … [Read More...]

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Viewpoint Articles

The Three Elements of a Great Guitar

Guitar players and collectors have so many choices available to them. New, used, factory brands, custom hand built...how do you narrow down the choices to the best option for you? In my opinion, any guitar should be measured by three … [Read More...]

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