When it comes to setting up an electric guitar, proper intonation and string height are both critical components of a great-playing instrument. The intonation is the distance between each of your guitar’s frets, which determines whether the strings sound sharp or flat when played at the 12th fret (or the halfway point). String height is the distance between the bottom of your strings and the top of your frets. In other words:
The first step in this process is to loosen the strings of your guitar and remove them. Once they’re off, use glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth to clean off any dirt or grime left on your fretboard. Next, you’ll want to take some fine grit sandpaper (I recommend 220 grit) and sand down all of your frets. Sanding down your frets will remove any damage caused by finger oils or sweat over time. You can also use steel wool if you’d prefer, but I’ve found that sandpaper works just as well.
After sanding down your frets, take a polishing cloth and wipe down any dust left over from sanding. Then, take a dime-sized amount of fretboard conditioner and apply it evenly across the surface of your fretboard. Let
There are ten steps to setting up a guitar.
1. Adjust the truss rod
2. File the nut slots
3. String the guitar
4. Cut the string ends
5. Stretch the strings
6. Adjust the bridge saddles
7. Set string height at first fret
8. Set string height at 12th fret
9. Set intonation
10. Test play
There is nothing like the feeling of playing a new guitar. It is fresh, clean, and just waiting to be played. Unfortunately, many new guitars are not set up properly when they arrive at the store. This means that you need to take 10 minutes to set your new guitar up so that it plays better and lasts longer. So what do you need to set up a guitar?
Guitars come in all different shapes and sizes, but the most important factor that determines how well your guitar plays is the neck. The neck should have a slight bow or concave shape to it. For example, when you lay the guitar down flat on a table with the strings facing down, the 9th fret (the fret closest to where you put your strap on) should be higher than the 1st fret (the fret closest to the headstock). If there is no bow or if there is too much bow, then you need to adjust the truss rod. To adjust the truss rod:
Remove strings- The first step in setting up your guitar is removing all of the strings from your guitar.
Loosen nut- After removing all of the strings from your guitar, remove the nut (the piece above where you put your strings through on the
1. Truss Rod: The first thing you need to do when setting up your guitar is to adjust the truss rod. In general, the truss rod is tightened to straighten the neck and loosen it to create a bow in the neck. First, check the neck for any back bow. To do this, hold down the 1st fret and check for any gap between the bottom of the string and top of 7th fret wire. If there is a gap you will need to tighten the truss rod until there is no gap at all when you press down on the 1st fret.
2. Nut: The second thing you have to do is set up the nut. There should be a small gap between the bottom of a string and top of a fret wire on top of every fret. For example, if you are playing with an e note on 5th fret and want to check if it is right or not, hold down that note on both left hand and right hand simultaneously and put your finger on 7th fret on left hand side (1st string). You should feel a small bump of the string that is touching 7th fret but not too much pressure on it because then it will buzz while playing.
3. Bridge: The third step
Step 1: Tighten all of the screws on the guitar.
Step 2: Check and see if the bridge is still in line with the strings. If it is, check the individual saddles to see if they are in line with the strings. If not, adjust them so that they are.
Step 3: Check and see if the nut is still inline with all of the strings. If not, loosen all of the strings and straighten out the guitar neck.
Step 4: Tune up your guitar. It is always a good idea to tune up your guitar before you do anything else to it.
Step 5: Set your intonation.
Step 6: Adjust your truss rod.
Step 7: Adjust your action (height of the strings from fretboard).
Step 8: Adjust your pick up height (if possible).
Step 9: Clean up all of your parts/tools and put them away neatly.
Step 10: Play some music!
I’ll start off with the basic tools you will need. You will need a truss rod wrench, which is usually supplied with the guitar, a 4mm Allen key, a Phillips head screwdriver and some pliers.
The first step is to loosen the strings slightly. This will make it easier to remove them when undoing the tuning keys. To loosen your strings, simply turn each tuning key until the string comes loose.
Next remove all of the strings from the guitar. Keep in mind that after you do this, your truss rod will become vulnerable. When removing or installing a new string be very careful not to put too much pressure on it or you could snap it in half.
Now we can move on to the actual set up process. The first thing we want to do is remove the neck from the body of the guitar by loosening this screw here and then lifting off the plate. This will expose your truss rod screws.
The next step is to adjust your truss rod by turning these two screws here clockwise to tighten it (upward) or counter-clockwise to loosen it (downward). Now keep in mind that this adjustment should only be done when there are no strings on your guitar, as they are what provide
1) Check the Neck Relief – Using a capo on the first fret, fret the low E string at the last fret. Take a feeler gage and place it between the bottom of the low E string and 8th fret. You should be able to slide about 5 business cards in there. If you can’t, you need to adjust your truss rod.
2) Adjust Truss Rod – The truss rod is adjusted by loosening the lock nut, then tightening or loosening with an allen key to get it right.
3) Set String Height – Using a ruler and feeler gages, set your bridge so that the strings are 3/64″ above the 12th fret at both ends of your neck. Use feeler gages to get this right.
4) Set Intonation – This is done easily with an electronic tuner. By adjusting the saddle position on each string you can make sure that your guitar is intonated correctly.
5) Tune Guitar – Tune up your guitar using an electronic tuner.
6) Stretch Strings – Strings need to be stretched out before playing because they have a tendency to slip when played for a long time on a new guitar. To stretch them out take each