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Guitar Setup Tools


dvuksanovich

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OK... so I'm getting sick of paying sub-par repair shops to do desperately average set ups on my axes. I want it the way I want it and I need to start setting up my guitars myself. I know all theory about how to do a setup, but the one thing I lack is the proper tools... or even the knowledge of where to find them.

 

The strobe tuner I know where to find... but where's the best place to find a long straight edge (for neck relief purposes) and the precision measuring tools for measuring neck relief and action?

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Shop around for some tools; Stewart-MacDonald has very excellent, highly specialized tools, but if something a little more general might do- and sometimes for a lot less- look, for instance, at MSC Industrial Supply.

 

The excellent book, How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great by Dan Erlewine, happens to come with a nice set of light plastic radius-gauges inside- a nice free bonus! I've gotten some good use out of mine...

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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I got Dan Erlewine's book...

http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Player-Repair-Guide-3rd/dp/0879309210

Good info in there and a great guide for what tools you need...

Most of the tools I got a Stew Mac but some things you can pick up at your local Autoparts shop...

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Here are some cool radius-gauges that you can print-out on card-stock (for FREE!):

 

Concave Radius Gauges

 

Convex Radius Gauges

 

Besides checking fretboard r and setting the r of bridge-saddles, nut-slots, etc., you can use the concave r gauges to set the initial heights of a pickup's adjustable pole-pieces, and then further adjust them by ear for string-to-string balance and tone.

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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I don't mind paying either... as long as the work is done well. I can't tell you how many times I've requested low action (some buzz acceptable) and gotten the guitar back with high action and no buzz. I always end up adjusting everything myself anyway so I figure why not learn how to do it all and then I won't have to pay someone to set up a guitar that I have to re-set up myself?
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I don't mind paying either... as long as the work is done well. I can't tell you how many times I've requested low action (some buzz acceptable) and gotten the guitar back with high action and no buzz. I always end up adjusting everything myself anyway so I figure why not learn how to do it all and then I won't have to pay someone to set up a guitar that I have to re-set up myself?

 

Set-up is a highly subjective, personal matter, varying not only with the player but with the given instrument; whoever is doing the set-up really needs to know what and how the player plays in order to do a good job. Some back-and-forth communication and trial-and-error is often necessary.

 

That being said, it does sound pretty lame that you got something very different from what you had asked for!

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Have any of ya here tried printing-out those radius-gauges (linked-to above)? I haven't, myself, but only because I already had a set of 'em...

 

You can actually find a good straight-edge at Home Depot or Lowe's.

 

Good call, Tool-Wielding Yeti. (Playing a well-adjusted guitar for lured lost maladjusted hikers, then eating them, sure beats eating termites and ants off a stick, huh?)

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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For example gauges can be made from strips of guitar strings (so logical, yet so uncanny !).

 

Brilliant! Thanks!

 

Here's a humble tip: I buy a multi-tip Allen wrench (one thingy with lots of Allen wrenches on it) for each of my guitar cases, so I always have one handy for adjusting bridge saddles, whammy bar tension, even truss rods (though I don't touch truss rod adjustments that often -- too scared!).

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(though I don't touch truss rod adjustments that often -- too scared!).

 

Don't fear the truss-rod; as long as you go easy and careful with small adjustments like an eighth or a quarter turn at a time, small steps as-needed, you'll be fine; if the given guitar's truss-rod is suspect due to age, neglect, rust, a very little bit of lubricant applied to the threads can often help.

 

Gheeze, I adjust mine a LOT- the climate where I live is chaotic to say the least, being on a big wooded hill overlooking a HUGE lake (mile or two wide, nearly forty miles long) and a valley with a canal and a marsh in upstate New York... ! One Spring a few years ago alone, I must have adjusted my guitars' truss-rods no less than eight times EACH... !

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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