dancerchris wrote:Guitar setup is pretty easy once you understand a guitars geometry, every guitar player should do their own. If you have a luthier do it they better know your playing style intimately becuase they are going to give you just a "generic" setup otherwise. All of the 'greats' out there have different setups and it's really up to the individual to decide what they like. SRV liked big fat 13's with high action so he could really crank on the strings. Others like girly 8's with super low action. There are a number of websites that give tips on setup, my fave being frets.com. It is great and frustrating to setup on a cheap guitar. Frustrating because the hardware is usually subpar and you generally need higher action to get a buzzless playing guitar due to the frets being less than level. Great because the risk is small.
You should be able to safely turn the truss rod nut a quarter turn at a time (adjusting strings to tune between each rod adjustment). I frequently do a half turn when I do mine for season changes. Remember that tightening the rod (clockwise) increases string tension, decreases bow and vice-versa. To check the level of bow use feeler guages. Measure string clearance at the 12th fret when the string is fretted at 1st (capo) and at the neck to body juncture (usually about the 17th on an electric). This should be a minimum of .010. The actual value is really a function of the player's playing style, string gauge and typical tuning.
Proper setup includes bridge/saddle setup and tuning the nut slots. The most sensative parameter being the nut slots. read up on this stuff and you will be able to have great custom tuned guitars and no seasonal expense for summer to winter variations.
My 2 cents.
good advice and others have put up good DIY posts. BUT a n00b luthier (an average guitar player btw) will never do it as well as someone that does it for a living (not your average player) and has been doing it for years.
I just got my electric guitar back from the SF Guitar Center luthier, he did a full setup, it's really f-ing cool. it's like the ear muffs have been taken off my playing, the notes ring truer so my playing sounds better.
FWIW the guitar is a Brian Moore i9.13 and I paid $95, $15 extra to get the bridge blocked. it was decent before, now it's
. next week, the acoustic goes in. a decade of beach bonfires with that one.
