Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: MartinS on August 14, 2008, 03:07:18 PM

Title: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: MartinS on August 14, 2008, 03:07:18 PM
It's all in the subject line, really.
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: ToneMonkey on August 14, 2008, 03:13:15 PM
It should be properly set up all the time  :lol:
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: Stevepage on August 14, 2008, 03:23:40 PM
About once or twice a year by a professional tech is pretty good I think. I do my own set ups but take it to a tech if I can't get my head around something.
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: Twinfan on August 14, 2008, 03:25:15 PM
I tend to make sure it's set up once by a Pro, then I tweak it myself after that.  It'll only go back to a tech for major changes e.g. new nut, fret dress, full setup after string gauge change etc
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: noodleplugerine on August 14, 2008, 03:42:50 PM
I do my own setups (everything cept fret dressing) and do it once a month on each of my guitars (whenever they need a string change basically). I dedicate a night to setting up 2-3 of my guitars and stick a movie on. VERY Therapeutic.
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: Philly Q on August 14, 2008, 03:51:19 PM
As I tend not to keep guitars very long  :oops:, they usually only get set up once.

If you always use the same make/gauge of strings I don't think there's any need to mess with the setup too often, unless you live in a climate where the trussrod needs a seasonal tweak.
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: WezV on August 14, 2008, 03:58:36 PM
yeah, it really depends on how much its being used and whates happenign with the weather

generally most guitars need a tweak or two in the first year as they settle into life as an instrument  and things tend to become more stable after that.... obviously if they are being gigged regularly they need more looking after
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: CJ on August 14, 2008, 09:42:38 PM
i've never had any of my guitars set up... does it really make that much of a difference? i could just never justify the money for it.
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: FELINEGUITARS on August 14, 2008, 11:03:03 PM
Can make a huge difference on a guitar that needs it.
Find a repairman that will do a health check on your guitar and will be HONEST about whether your guitar needs help

I know that it makes a big difference to my customers - although often a fret dress is what really works wonders.
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: indysmith on August 14, 2008, 11:52:31 PM
get it set up if it doesn't feel right I suppose. Definitely worth the money on a guitar that needs it.
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: Will on August 15, 2008, 12:24:40 AM
i've never had any of my guitars set up... does it really make that much of a difference? i could just never justify the money for it.

Feline polished the frets on my XR1 when it was with him; before I just thought low frets weren't for me, now it is easily my favourite.
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: FELINEGUITARS on August 15, 2008, 12:27:25 AM
i've never had any of my guitars set up... does it really make that much of a difference? i could just never justify the money for it.

Feline polished the frets on my XR1 when it was with him; before I just thought low frets weren't for me, now it is easily my favourite.

Yes - the frets were all flat topped and worn, even though they were all level with each other - so we recrowned them - made them a lot more comfy to play on and improved the intonation as well.
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: _tom_ on August 15, 2008, 12:30:44 AM
I really want a fret dress on my guitars but cant afford one yet :( This guy here charges about £110 for one which is a lot but his stuff seems good - I've only played acoustics that he's set up but they felt really nice to play.
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: PhilKing on August 15, 2008, 01:42:56 PM
I check mine everytime I restring them.  I am lucky though and don't have sweaty hands and I am not gigging regularly, so I only need to restring once every 6 months or so (even longer with the SOB strings).  I am lucky in now having inherited just about every tool that Stewart MacDonald sells!  Having the right tools does make life uch easier (especially in fitting new nuts and dressing frets).  But even before I had this I would do my own setups.  I did a one week course with Stephen Delft in the 70's on guitar repairs and setups which was great.  If you are going to do it and want some books, check out Electric Guitar Setups by Hideo Kamimoto (he also wrote another good book called Complete Guitar Repair).
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: Alex on August 15, 2008, 02:20:53 PM
I haven't set up my SG for 2-3 years really, it just play perfect. I always use the same brand of strings and check intonation from time to time but really nothing needs to be adjusted.

My ESP Eclipse on the other hand...  :( argh... I like the guitar but I have had to doodle with the setup so often!  :shock:  I would say I do a setup every 2-3 months on it.

Bottom line: Different guitar will need different amounts of attention and maintenance. You can't really give a general rule.
Title: Re: How often should a guitar be properly set up?
Post by: 38thBeatle on August 15, 2008, 06:35:38 PM
I think it all depends upon how much use they get. Mine are gigged a lot and I am often tweaking them. I have concluded that 2 of them need to be looked at by a tech but I need to get a break in gigs.