The Complete Setup Guide For Electric, Acoustic, Bass, And Classical Guitars
What Is A Guitar Setup?
A Guitar Setup is a series of adjustments made to an electric, acoustic, bass, and classical guitar to ensure proper playability and performance of the instrument. These adjustments include neck relief, string action height, string radius height, nut height, intonation, and pickup height.
Why Do I Need To Setup My Guitar?
A properly setup guitar takes your playing and sound to a whole new level. Setting up your guitar regularly is vital to maintaining the guitar's performance and ensuring a satisfying playing experience.
MusicNomad demystified the guitar setup process by developing innovative, precision gauges and tools combined with step-by-step general guidelines that anybody can follow to set up their guitar to play and sound great. We call this the KEEP IT SIMPLE, SETUP™ process.
Does A New Guitar Need A Setup?
Most of the time yes, because a factory setup is different than a professional setup. Typically, the factory setup of a guitar will have the string action higher than most players would prefer. The reason is they want to avoid any fret buzz when the guitar is played. However, that would mean the customer must properly set up their guitar after purchase to ensure proper playability.
What Problems Could Arise For Not Setting Up My Guitar Correctly?
If your guitar isn't set up properly, it can lead to many issues that impact playability and sound quality. Here are the potential issues to check for in an improper setup:
- Improper Neck Relief: When you have too much relief in the guitar neck, you will have too high action in the center of the neck. When you have too little relief in the guitar neck, you will often have fret buzz in the low registers. If the neck is too flat or has back bow, it will be very buzzy in the center of the neck.
- Improper String Action: If your string action is too high, it will require more force to press the strings down on the fretboard, which makes playing physically more demanding, especially for beginners or players with less finger strength. High action also causes your strings to play out of tune. As you stretch the string, it goes sharp before it touches the first fret and causes tuning stability issues. Although having low string action is preferable for making the guitar easier to play and takes less force to press down on a string, having your string action set too low can make it more likely to cause fret buzz when playing, leading to a buzzy and uneven sound.
- Improper Nut Height: If the nut height is too low, the open string will buzz. If the nut height is too high, the string will be hard to push down, so your action suffers. As you stretch the string, it goes sharp before it touches the first fret and cause stability issues.
- Improper Intonation: Not having good intonation can cause the guitar to play out of tune up and down the fretboard. It can also cause individual notes on a guitar to sound too sharp or too flat. The accuracy of the fretted note is governed by the distance of the saddle from the frets. If you notice that a fretted note is flat compared to the open string, then the saddle is positioned too far back. If the fretted note is too sharp, then the saddle is too far forward.
- Improper Pickup Height: Most guitars have two or three pickups. When the pickup is closer to the strings it has more volume output and a hotter tone. When the pickup is further from the strings it has less volume and a warmer tone. Magnetic pull happens when the pickup magnet is too close to the string, and could create a warbly sound. You would adjust the pickup height of each pickup relative to each other to match the volumes when switching. You can then adjust bass side and treble side heights on each pickup to get even string balance/volume for that pickup.
How Often Do I Need To Setup My Guitar?
The frequency of setting up your guitar can vary depending on humidity & temperature, playing style, and general wear and tear. Generally, a good rule of thumb is if you change strings or notice any issues with fret buzz, tuning, and overall playing difficulty, then it is probably time to set up your guitar. Another rule of thumb is when the season changes in the Fall (September) and Spring (March).
Depending On My Guitar Playing Style, Should My Setup Be Done Differently?
Your guitar's setup should reflect your playing style to achieve the best tone, comfort, and performance. For example, having higher pickups can provide more sustain and have your chords sound fuller and more pronounced, which is ideal for a strumming playstyle. You may want to lower your pickups if you prefer fingerstyle, as slightly lower pickups can help achieve a more balanced sound and reduce the risk of overpowering bass notes.
Can I Setup My Guitar Myself, Or Should I Take It To A Professional?
With using MusicNomad's KEEP IT SIMPLE, SETUP (KISS™️), you won't need to take your guitar to a professional for most situations. The KEEP IT SIMPLE, SETUP (KISS™️) method demystifies the process of setting up your guitar so that anyone can do it.
How Easy Is It To Setup My Guitar?
Setting up a guitar can be a rewarding project. Not only does it improve your sound and playability, you will know your instrument in a more deeper, intricate way. The KEEP IT SIMPLE, SETUP (KISS™️) method is MusicNomad's answer to creating an easy step-by-step process for setting up your guitar. It even includes an instructional booklet and easy to follow videos.
What Are The Tools Needed To Set Up Your Guitar?
There are a few tools you will need to check and adjust your guitar setup.
- A set of gauges to measure the guitar neck relief, string action, string radius, nut height and pickup height. These gauges are included in the MusicNomad Setup Gauge 6 pc. Set.
- A set of Truss Rod Wrenches, such as the MusicNomad Truss Rod Wrench 11 pc. Set. MusicNomad created a convenient free online tool that gives you the correct truss rod wrench size for over 75 guitar brands, including by model and year.
- A screwdriver & Allen key set. The MusicNomad 26 pc. Set includes all the necessary sizes for all guitar.
- Nut Files, preferably diamond coated files. You will need a file with a smooth, precision cut. MusicNomad's files cut & polish slots simultaneously and do not drift like common toothed files.
- A Strobe Tuner for intonating your guitar.
What Are The Steps To Setting Up Your Guitar?
Pre-Setup Steps
- Remove strings with MusicNomad GRIP Cutter
- With MusicNomad Radius Gauge, measure and make a note of the fretboard radius as you will need this info when you measure your string radius in the setup process.
- Tighten all screws, including tuning machine bushings with MusicNomad Guitar Tech Tool Set.
- Polish frets with MusicNomad FRINE Fret Polish.
- Clean and condition fretboard with MusicNomad F-ONE Oil.
- Clean body and neck with MusicNomad Cleaners.
- Put new strings on with MusicNomad GRIP Winder.
You are now ready to start the setup. View the steps below for either guitars with individually adjustable saddles, or guitars with a fixed radius bridge. Click on the individual step icons to view a full guide of that step.
Guitar Setup By Brand
For more information on guitar setup by brand, check out the How-To Advice videos or the YouTube playlist below.
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