Set ups - Adjustments and a gnats whisker

guitars4you · February 16

So I recently acquired a nice spec'd Custom Shop Strat - As usual it will spend a while on my bench for a check-up and set-up - When all was done, I was somehow disappointed - It wasn't poor but it wasn't what I hoped for and expected with regards to playability - And with such a price tag I don't think I should have accepted 'that will do'

So left it a day or so to settle in, but it was still not right and certainly not giving me any 'I'd buy that' vibe - Just felt to stiff to play and not responsive to a light touch - Might have been fine for a SRV style player who digs in more - As we know some CS replicas are better than others and have some 'magical mojo' in them that makes you buy that one - But rarely do you come across a dud - This wasn't a dud but it wasn't right

So I left it for a few more days, in part thinking 'oh well' and part thinking 'so what' - But equally a nagging doubt said to me that it should be better - So I thought let's give it another go and start again

Goes to show what a 1/2 mm tweak here and a gnats whisker adjustment there can make - It is not one single adjustment as it is a bit of everything in order to achieve the right 'balance' - A couple of nut slots needed a trim - Only a fraction of a mm - The truss rod needed to be straighter, ie less relief and again just a gnats whisker - And a tweak on the bridge saddles - Bottom line is a new beast that is now what I'd have expected

Maybe some guitars have a 'wider parameter' of adjustments within them, that still allows them to play well, with more relief + a higher action etc - After all, we all know that the finer details of a set-up is a matter of taste - But this Strat just did not feel right with more relief and a stiffer action - But now, IMO, it is what you'd expect/hope it would be

So next time you think your last purchase is not for you - Give it another tweak and as I said sometimes it is only a gnats whisker of a tweak here and there - No fret dress or plek work required (occasionally some guitars do need that as well)

Bottom line is it now feels like a 'new guitar' compared with how it was last week

LionAquaLooper · February 16

Happy for you, but I'm now filled with dread at the amount of tweaking and experimentation that lies in front of me with my guitars because they too could potentially be a whisker away from being that much better

That's a massive can of worms that I'm very afraid of lol

OilCityPickups · February 16

My father, being an engineer taught me a 'gnat's whisker' is almost exactly half a 'bug's dick' ... useful to know ...
As to how many bugs dicks are in a can of worms ...i think that's a rather large number!

bertie · February 16

OilCityPickups said:

My father, being an engineer taught me a 'gnat's whisker' is almost exactly half a 'bug's dick' ... useful to know ...
As to how many bugs dicks are in a can of worms ...i think that's a rather large number!

bugs dick is metric equivalent of a budgies pube

OilCityPickups · February 16

:-)

thermionic · February 16

Strats are like this in my experience, much more so than other types of guitar. The combination of 7.25" radius (on mine anyway), having 18 screws to adjust the bridge saddles, and the balancing act of a floating tremolo all adds up to the need to make a series of tiny adjustments.

BillDL · February 16

OilCityPickups said:

My father, being an engineer taught me a 'gnat's whisker' is almost exactly half a 'bug's dick' ... useful to know ...
As to how many bugs dicks are in a can of worms ...i think that's a rather large number!

In Scotland we have what is probably the finest measurement increment.

Kurtis · February 16

I'm not sure I believe in "magical mojo" but I agree with the rest.

I think it can take a while to get your set up spot on. A little tweak, play for a while, another tweak, and so on.

There's generally a fine balance between playability and tone.

rlw · February 16

This is where relatively poor vision is useful as you know that you won't be able to see the tiny measurements required so you give it to somene else to do it.

guitars4you · February 16

Kurtis said:

I'm not sure I believe in "magical mojo" but I agree with the rest.

I think it can take a while to get your set up spot on. A little tweak, play for a while, another tweak, and so on.

There's generally a fine balance between playability and tone.

It is the bit you can't explain - Wordsworth, Shelley and co could not describe it - But when you play it, feel it and hear it you know what it is - It doesn't exist as a product as such, but it exists in an emotional content

guitars4you · February 16

rlw said:

This is where relatively poor vision is useful as you know that you won't be able to see the tiny measurements required so you give it to somene else to do it.

I agree and I dare say a good tech will be better than me as well - But the key part is that sometimes only a tweak can turn a mediocre guitar into a great guitar - I've barely ever known a new guitar that can be improved with some tweak or another - Granted some of that might be tweaking to fine tune a set-up to your own taste - But nevertheless, regardless of price, most 'factory' built guitars can be set-up better than they are from when you first open the box/case

guitars4you · February 16

thermionic said:

Strats are like this in my experience, much more so than other types of guitar. The combination of 7.25" radius (on mine anyway), having 18 screws to adjust the bridge saddles, and the balancing act of a floating tremolo all adds up to the need to make a series of tiny adjustments.

Agree that it is rarely one 'part' of an 'elaborate equation' that improves the whole package - But is it David Brailsford that thrives on excellence/marginal gains is often only down to 1%

The negative though can be weather/temperature - My PRS Hollowbody is set-up to perfection by such a finite amount, that as winter becomes spring and summer turns to autumn it will need a truss rod tweak - Fine again once adjusted, but no room for negotiation as such, when it 'moves' a touch - If I left it in a 'that will do' mode then I can probably leave it in that state all year

guitars4you · February 16

LionAquaLooper said:

Happy for you, but I'm now filled with dread at the amount of tweaking and experimentation that lies in front of me with my guitars because they too could potentially be a whisker away from being that much better That's a massive can of worms that I'm very afraid of lol

Don't be afraid and not so sure it is experimentation - If you do it yourself, then make a slight adjustment from a 'known starting' point - Then you know where to go back to if you have to - But tweak a touch - Re-tune, check and play, then tweak again if required - The only dedicated tools you'll need if you haven't got any are top nut files - But otherwise most other adjustments are Allen key and/or truss rod wrench/spanner - As a guide line, if you are new to this then start on a cheaper copy - Most will need a tweak and generally such a tweak can radically improve all/most Far Eastern budget based guitars - You probably won't make a Squire Strat into a Custom Shop Strat, but you can make a poor Squire into a better Squire

From the amount of part exchanges I see, plus guitars offered to me for sale and the many I see for sale at guitar shows, the large majority are not that well set-up - Some very poor - So in many ways we are trading in, selling guitars that we think don't suit us, yet in reality a set-up will transform them - I NEVER EVER sell a part exchange, that comes my way, as it is/was - Every guitar goes on the bench as in the main I know it needs it and I can generally improve it in one way or another - In very simple terms the guitar is the salesman not me - If it plays well, feels, good and sounds good, then I'm in with a shout of a sale - If it feels and plays like a crock of shit then chances are you won't buy it

BigPaulie · February 16

bertie said:

OilCityPickups said:

My father, being an engineer taught me a 'gnat's whisker' is almost exactly half a 'bug's dick' ... useful to know ...
As to how many bugs dicks are in a can of worms ...i think that's a rather large number!

bugs dick is metric equivalent of a budgies pube

The unit is known in the West of Scotland as "a midgie's baw-hair".

Kurtis · February 16

guitars4you said:

Kurtis said:

I'm not sure I believe in "magical mojo" but I agree with the rest.

I think it can take a while to get your set up spot on. A little tweak, play for a while, another tweak, and so on.

There's generally a fine balance between playability and tone.

It is the bit you can't explain - Wordsworth, Shelley and co could not describe it - But when you play it, feel it and hear it you know what it is - It doesn't exist as a product as such, but it exists in an emotional content

Yeah, still not sure there is anything magical about a guitar set up. Or indeed anything about it that can't be explained.

Musical_Mystery_Tour · February 16

Kurtis said:

still not sure there is anything magical about a guitar set up. Or indeed anything about it that can't be explained.

Unless it is why Gibson is still waiting for that patent it applied for :-)

BillDL · February 16

It is for precisely the reason described in the opening post that I don't measure neck relief, nut relief, or pickup height with feeler gauges or other measuring implements. I go by eye and feel. I sometimes set the action on the saddle/s to an average starting measurement after I have adjusted relief and nut slot depths, but I then go by feel as I adjust the action. I am also a believer in setting the adjusted guitar aside and checking it out again the next day in case the neck has shifted, so the tools stay out until then. In fact I usually have a couple of Allen wrenches and a couple of screwdrivers lying on my coffee table in the livingroom almost continuously.

The first thing I do with any guitar that I hold for the first time after tuning it up, whether it be a new one I've bought or one I'm setting up for somebody else, is:

1. Fret a string at the 1st fret with my left hand, fret the same string just below the neck to body joint with my pinky, and stretch up the neck with my thumb to around the 8th fret and tap the string while watching and listening to assess the action. Most guitars work best with a thick wiry "bawhair" of clearance.

2. Fret each string at the 3rd fret with a finger on my left hand in turn while tapping it over the 1st fret with a finger from my right hand and watching the string movement and listening to the "ting" as it touches the 1st fret. A "bawhair" clearance is good, but I aim for a fine bawhair thickness on the treble strings and a thick wiry bawhair clearance on the bass strings.

3. Fret all the strings at the 12th fret and look at the clearance of the pickup polepieces. I invariably set them lower than I would normally be looking to set them until after I have checked and set the intonation because I don't want any magnetic pull to adversely affect that aspect.

4. Check the intonation. Assuming the action and relief are fairly close I set the intonation at this stage subject to later tweaking if I need to alter the relief or action significantly. Otherwise I just go for a "close enough" intonation, then adjust relief and action, and return to set the intonation accurately afterwards.

When initially assessing the nut slots I usually err on the side of safety and leave them a bawhair shallower than I think will be needed until after I've done other adjustments including relief, action and intonation, then do the last nut slot filing and check everything again.

When setting the action, if it's obviously too low or high I set the outside two strings so that the Low E sounds all notes clearly all the way up the neck without buzzing or rattling on the next frets up, or being damped, and I set the High E so that it doesn't choke out on bends. I then set the other strings to the approximate fretboard radius and I have my starting point. When lowering the action overall I always deliberately lower it until the strings rattle or choke out then raise them until they don't. When raising the overall action I just watch and listen until rattling and choking stops and leave it there. No magic or measuring, just eye, ear and feel. If I'm not getting an acceptable action this way I do measure the action to see how far out it is from other similar guitars in order to assess why this is so.

When setting pickup heights I usually have them too low while doing intonation, so I will lift them until I hear the magnetic pull adversely affecting the string vibration and them lower then a bit again until the effect goes away and the strings ring clearly. Thereafter it's just a case of balancing out the loudness across all strings. That's when I have a screwdriver in my pocket or right next to me for hours as I play and readjust, play and readjust, etc.

I invariably have to do some very minor tweaks the next day after making my final adjustments. Necks on brand new guitars that haven't before been kept at pitch continuously will move a bit before finally settling.

With most guitars there is usually a stage when they seem to come alive and ring really well, and it's usually after a very minor adjustment like one tiny squeak of about 5 degrees of the truss rod or a fraction of a mm lowering or raising of the pickups. It's very satisfying when that happens.

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Set ups - Adjustments and a gnats whisker

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