Electric Guitar Setup Guide

Here using my friend s old 100 fender squier as a model we break down the essential components of a guitar setup hoping to encourage guitarists to start tinkering.

Electric guitar setup guide.

Steps to intonation do this for each string. Adjust the truss rod. Set intonation tune to pitch. A guitar s action can also be adjust at the bridge.

Some luthiers will install a. Tune the open string with a tuner play the string at the 12th fret and look at your tuner if note is sharp then move bridge saddle back if note is flat. A mechanical stroboscope can be the most accurate display in 2010. Basic set up instructions basic set up kit.

On an electric guitar this is a. First sight the neck. Each step of the process is thoroughly explained and demonstrated. A guitar setup is a series of adjustments that achieve a balance between three components.

Is the neck straight or is. These steps aren t. Setting up a guitar involves working with the bridge nut and neck adjustments to dial in the. Virtually every acoustic and electric steel string guitar built after the mid seventies has an.

We ve broken it down into four simple steps. Turn the guitar on its side close one eye and look down the neck from the headstock towards the bridge left. Use the chromatic equation below to get the pitch frequencies fn for this programmable tuner. Look down the profile of the fretboard on both the bass and treble sides of the neck.

Place the ruler on the 12th fret making sure the ruler ticks are parallel to the string. If note is sharp then move bridge saddle back if note is flat then move bridge saddle forward. Performing a setup on your guitar will allow it to play its absolute best. Play a natural harmonic on the 12th fret of each string whilst checking against an electric tuner.

When these adjustments are completed in the correct sequence they will ensure that the guitar is optimal both in sound and playability. Do this so that you re. Adjust the bridge height. Adjust the saddles forward or backward with a screwdriver or alan key depending on the bridge and tune the string to.

Raise lower or leave the action. Use a programmable electric tuner with stroboscope display that you can plug directly into. Neck relief truss rod adjustment string height action intonation. The 12 step guide to electric and acoustic guitar setup 1.

Tune the guitar to pitch. With the guitar on its side look down the fingerboard edge for overall straightness back bow. For electric or acoustic electric instruments.