learning some guitar tech

Arsenu,

Arsenu,

Member
Oct 30, 2008
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hey guys... i wasen't sure if this thread would fit here or at equipment or off-topic but it doesn't really matter.

thing is, iv'e been playing guitar for almost 10 years now and i'm completely ignorant about everything tech-wise. other than changing string i have no idea how anything works and im starting to feel stupid when having to take it to the shop for a setup.
so i was wondering where can i learn how to lower the action and all other tech related stuff so i can do it on my own.

i'm sure i'm not the only one who feels that way.
any suggestions?
 
sometimes sending it to the shop is the best thing, if you need frets/fretboard filed or anything like that.

The basic maintenance stuff is pretty easy once you get it down, I remember the first time someone told me turning a truss rod too far could wreck the neck, shit my pants :lol:.

As for action, usually I just adjust the height of the bridge until the strings are as close to the frets as possible but without having any dead frets, also make sure none of strings "bend out" higher up on the neck. You can check the neck relief too by holding down (I think) the 7th and 15th, the string shouldn't be touching and frets between these two points, you can alter that with the truss rod but I've been told you should never turn it more than 1/4 turn before leaving it to settle a bit. This lets the tension even out but also prevent the wood splitting or fretboard flying off or some other apocolyptic event occuring, don't trust me completely on this one, it's just what I can remember!

There are loads of great tutorials on YouTube actually, especially for intonation.
 
thanks guys!
the books looks interesting maybe ill order 1 or 2...
any more useful stuff?
im not gonna trust some random YT guy with my guitars you know...
 
Lots of free info out there.
http://www.jemsite.com/articles-menu/tech-setup-questions/

Aside from the typical neck/string height adjustment/routine maintenance, I would just plan on taking my stuff to get worked on. I don't have the patience nor the tools required to perform more advanced things like fret level's etc.

Assuming your guitar is in operable condition, when you take your guitar in for a basic setup, they typically do only a few things. Adjust the neck relief, bridge height, intonation and throw on the new strings. Now to me that's not worth $60 bucks. A lot of shops don't even include leveling dead frets, or filing the nut slots.

You can get pretty good at setting guitars up yourself though. Just don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. As someone mentioned before, things like adjusting the truss rod seemed pretty frightening at first, because a lot of people out there think your guitars going to explode or something. I used to to try and go with specific measurements when adjusting neck relief and bridge height, but now I just go by feel, simply because every guitar is different.

Start with adjusting the truss rod and bridge height to get a feel for what each adjustment does to your guitar. Step by step instructions can be found in that link.
 
Make sure you invest in some decent equipment - feeler gauges, allen key set and a decent steel rule. The fixtures and fittings on American made (ie USA Fenders and Gibsons) guitars still tend to be in imperial. Anything made in the far east is usually metric.
 
Ensi said:
Seconding this. Get one of his books, they are filled to the rim with good information.

Also: Floyd Rose intonation will drive you nuts.
Click to expand...

lucky me for having a floyd rose on my fav guitar! :hotjump:

which is also the down side because most tutorials explains about any other guitar than those with a floyd rose...
 
projectguitar.com is pretty great, as is youtube. It'd probably help you a lot to buy a cheap guitar like a Squier or Epiphone second-hand to use as a test-bed/experimental piece. It's a bit of a challenge to yourself seeing how well you can get a cheap axe to play, and a great way to learn the ins and outs of the instrument without worrying about destroying your main axe.
 
The way i see things like this is that the people in the guitar stores are just guys that have learned how to do this.

Theres no reason you cant learn to do this just as well.

(Obviously you already know that)

kev said:
youtube for everything.
Click to expand...

I agree. If you dont trust a random guy on youtube, watch a few videos and see what they do the same.
 
Also, whatever you do, DON'T listen to anything Expertvillage has to say. It's astounding how much bad advice can be packed into a single youtube-channel.
 
http://musiciansfriend.com has DVD's for those who need the technical start-up knowhow to care for their guitars and whatnot. I also agree with YouTube, as it's the source for just about anything you need to know and want to "see" how to do.
 
Nimvi said:
Also, whatever you do, DON'T listen to anything Expertvillage has to say. It's astounding how much bad advice can be packed into a single youtube-channel.
Click to expand...

ooh oh, yeah 'expert' village- mostly horrifying. (I did see a good office chair yoga series by one woman though, but mostly garbage otherwise)
 
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