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Guitar Setup

Scoot82Scoot82 Posts: 78
edited February 2004 in Musicians and Gearheads
I hear a lot of peope talk about getting their guitar 'setup'. What exactly does a tech do when he does this and how much do they charge. I bought my mexi strat about 8 months ago and never had it setup and was thinking of doing so because everyone says i should. Also, i am thinking of getting new pickups so should i ask someone to install them and then set it up? Also, I have an acoustic that I want to lower the action on..can a tech do that? sorry so many questions....thanks
Well, it's one louder, isn't it?
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    dannyschmannydannyschmanny Posts: 72
    a 'setup' usually includes checking and/or fixing intonation to the best that can be done on the guitar, checking and making sure the electronics are clean and working well, the action can be adjusted as long as you specify that with them...ive never had action set on an acoustic nor tried to do it myself so i dont really know how to go about it, but on electrics you can do it yourself easily.
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    mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Bumfuq, MT Posts: 6,395
    Action and intonation, make sure the neck is straight, set for string guage. A setup will improve the action on an acoustic, as well. And if you're going to switch the pups, have it done before you get it setup.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
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    who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    A set up is like a car tuneup
    If you're happy with the guitar the way it is, it might not need anything. But a good tech will either bring it to factory specs, or your specs with a setup. It usually involves adjusting the truss rod in the neck, adjusting the height of the string saddles, maybe "dressing" the frets.
    Sometimes the lower five frets will wear, and they can file and recrown them so they don't buzz. Usually costs a bit extra.
    They can sometimes pick up little things that you don't notice, and most times you will get the guitar back and you'll like it even better.
    If you know what pickups you want, that's the time to get them in, before the setup.

    A good acoustic person should be able to lower the action. Sometimes it's a simple neck truss rod adjustment, bop,,,, 5 minutes,,, sometimes it's more involved, like resetting the bridge, or the saddle. If the top is bowed, or concave, that can even be fixed if the guitar is worthwhile to spend the money.
    A good tech should be able to eyeball it and give you an idea if it's worth fixing.
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    Scoot82Scoot82 Posts: 78
    cool guys, thanks for the advice, it helps me a lot
    Well, it's one louder, isn't it?
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