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...about a year ago, I couldn't set up a guitar to save my life. I'd played for decades but was afraid of twisting a truss rod. I'd heard way too much crap. Once every other year or so, I'd pony up $40-$100 a pop and get all the guitars set up with new strings. Fortunately, I had a penchant for Asian CNC solid bodies that'd tolerate that and so life rolled on.
Anyway, two botched "project" parts guitars later (that still recovered about 40% of the parts cost on ebay) and probably 30 setups, I feel reasonably capable.
I managed to take a G&L Tribute Bluesboy out of the box tonight and swap the cheapo Korean pickup for a Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II, swap out and clean up a bit of wiring, clean up some sawdust and what not in the neck joint, swap in Thomastik flat 12s and do a full setup with intonation. I'll practice tonight on the new axe. Kind of excited about it. As an aside, the necks / neck joints on the Korean stuff is fricken' incredible. Seriously, the tolerance is pretty remarkable.
Is it the equivalent of going to a "real" tech and getting a Plek job -- of course not? I bet I can get about 90% close though. In fact, short of fret work, nut adjustment/filing and minute adjustments to intonation, etc, I'm good enough. It is sure a tremendous convenience to be able to do this at home too.
How many of you guys do all your own maintenance? Build any guitars yourself?
Good times!
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02-24-2015 12:20 AM
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Congrats, good for you!
Economics and a high school guitar shop job led to my DIY 'skills'…
I only work on my guitars but I've never had a valuable guitar so it's not such a big deal, I don't think I'd touch a 2k+ Gibson.
I'm sloppy and lazy but get the job done, I really have to be in the right mood though.
Intonation, action, truss rod, new electronics/pickups, basic fret job +crown/polish/clean up, basic nut work, fitting/sanding/filling (from a pre slotted Tusq).
Things I've avoided thus far (and will continue to as long as possible…) refret, new nut from blank (cutting new string hole spacing is precision that alludes me, as well as tools for doing so) new saddle from blank (same as above) setting/glueing a neck/crack/break, etc, any kind of finish/painting work, etc.
Generally I can take a guitar, set it up, intonate it and make it playable.
The secret to fret work is an adjusted level neck (no bow) a good wood block, painters tape, a sharpie, many grades of fine sandpaper (+steel wool) and a decent fret crown file (looks like an upside down 'u')
Cheers!
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There are good luthiers around here. Nevertheless. Setting up a guitar is very personal and no one can get it exactly the way I'd like it. I sometimes make very minute adjustments that I doubt any luthier would know that I'd like. Being able to do basic setup (intonation, action, truss rod) are essential skills and so easy to learn. I recommend the Dan Erlewine books for this. Very very useful skills to have and they'll save you lots of money over the years as well.
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The first time I ever tried to DIY set up a guitar, I broke the truss rod. That was also the last time I ever tried to DIY set up a guitar.
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Originally Posted by Broyale
thank you for sharing this crucial story broyale! i have three guitars - all of them stupidly valuable - i would not touch one with anything other than an allen key for adjusting the pickup poles
(and i will turn a tuner when tuning up)
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Good post. I feel that a good rule of thumb when it comes to truss rods is to adjust in small 1/8 turn increments and keep in mind that if you feel like you're forcing it, you've gone too far.
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Since the age of 7, I've been thought how to take care of my instrument, at the time a classical guitar.
How to correctly install the strings is the first step.
*I* have quite a few customers that bring me their instruments just to change the strings.
HTH,
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I like to do all that set up stuff myself too. Helps understand the workings of the guitar I think. I don't like messing with the electronics on a 335 style because in-n-out through the f hole just plain sucks! I have a couple of guitars that need an occasional tweak of the truss rod to compensate for seasonal changes -- no troubles so far. Fret leveling, new nut or bridge are beyond my skill level.
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Learned out of necessity, like post #2. But, rather than taking the chance of screwing it up since it is not something I do on a regular basis, I'll leave it to those who do it for a living.
Strings and minor intonation I'll still tackle.
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I do all the setup work on my guitars except for things like fret leveling or jobs that require woodworking tools.
I can adjust a truss rod and setup the action on all my guitars.
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but how do you know which way to turn a truss rod to achieve a given end (and how do you know what the 'given end' is)
?
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If you're looking at the headstock from above, turning it to the right will tighten it. This will straighten the curvature of the neck (relief). Turning it to the left will loosen it.
If you have a cheap guitar, just try it. The only rule is not to over tighten. Always start out by turning it to the left first to see how much play it has. A 1/8th turn will go a really long way.
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And to further explain the "given end" answers the question, How much relief do you want your neck to have? Originally Posted by Groyniad
This article explains it well enough. Personally I don't use a gauge. Never have for anything involving guitar action. I simply adjust things until they feel the way I want them to and intonation is correct. I adjust all of the relief out of my necks because that's the way I play and my frets are levelled very well.
Up here in the Ottawa Valley annual temperatures vary between -30C and +30C with a concurrent variation in humidity, so it's common for me to have have to perform an adjustment 2 or 3 times a year to keep things set up properly.
Time for a Neck Adjustment?Last edited by Flyin' Brian; 02-24-2015 at 12:56 PM.
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i have a tech that looks after my guitars ....for serious work ......HOWEVER i have learnt to do setups and pickup changes , and even level frets .. and yes initially i asked guidance or advice.... luckily 2 of my students are techs and a third is a luthier so i have people to ask ....
but yes now my guitars sound and play like i want em to ....well worth the learning curve
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Why truss rods break.
Most necks are made of wood, duh, and the most common wood used is some form of mahogany or its close relative. Mahogany is so soft you can dent it with your fingernail.
Both ends of the truss rod press against mahogany. Everytime a truss rod is tightened it compresses the mahogany. Mahogany once compressed does not uncompress. Crushed wood fibres remain crushed. Over time as the wood gets more and more compressed, you need to tighten the truss rod more and more to get desired relief until the truss rod runs out of thread and it snaps.
The trouble with truss rods is that they are made of soft metal and folks misuse the rod to set playing action. Repeated turnings "to make it play like butta" cause the broken truss rod problem. Guitar jockeys also like to overdo things so the truss rod often gets overtightened. Cue, unneccessarily compressed wood.
4 times a year for seasonal changes are fine. Adjusting it for a new string gauge is fine for how often do we switch gauges? Using it to fettle playing action is NOT fine because that is not what a truss rod is for. Yes, it affects playing action but fettling action is at the bridge, not the truss rod. But folks scoff until they break their first truss rod and get a huge repair estimate.
A proper tech or luthier has a jig that applies external force on the neck to simulate the pull of the strings on the neck for desired relief. The nut of the truss rod is then turned and tightened to hold this relief. There is no compressive force acting on the ends of the truss rod or mahogany at its ends except when the nut is finally tightened to hold the shape.
There is a difference in approach. The former uses the wrenching force of a shortening truss rod to force the neck into shape. This approach compresses wood and stresses the truss rod actively. The latter uses an external bending force to force the neck into shape with the truss rod nut tightened to hold the desired shape. The force on the truss rod is passive and the neck suffers no compression at its ends where the rod is held.Last edited by Jabberwocky; 02-24-2015 at 02:50 PM.
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Don't you think that players can do simple setups as well as the "pros"? Originally Posted by dortmundjazzguitar
To each his own...hell there are guys here who take their guitars to a luthier to change strings. Not my style, but then again, I just need to satisfy myself.
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I routinely adjust truss rods, intonation, and bridge height. I've also done the baking soda/krazy glue nut trick, installed hardware, cleaned pots, and soldered patch-cables. I've never changed pick-ups, because I've always been happy with what I've got, but wouldn't be afraid to do it. I don't have a lot of room to work at home and can't really take on anything that takes longer than an hour or so or would involve fumes or chemicals on the kitchen table. So no fretwork, clamping/gluing, or finish repairs for me (not sure I'd have the patience or the eye for them anyway). My one caveat is that I'm less comfortable working on my Strat than my other guitars because it has so many adjustments that interact with each other. Over time, I change this or that (neck tilt, bridge saddle radius, intonation, two points of height adjustment per saddle, relief, whammy bar tension/float) by feel rather than measurement, it eventually all gets pretty out of whack. At some point, I can't get it back in shape, and I wind up taking it a tech.
John
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My credo is this: when you cannot play smoothly enough the trouble is very often not with the truss rod. Practise. Practise. And more practise. Set it once and forget it. Don't play in places where you feel uncomfortable lightly dressed and your guitar will probably play fine.
The truss rod is simply not meant to be adjusted that often. Only when you absolutely must.
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Gibson Custom Shop gave a $1500 estimate to replace a broken truss rod and $2200 to replace the entire neck.
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It is like the lawyers' admonishment: A man who represents himself in a court of law has a fool for a client. Originally Posted by dortmundjazzguitar
as a professional musician my income depends on my clients having the same attitude as me. if you want a professional job done, hire a pro
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A guitar set up does not require a technician. Unlike some jobs on guitar, a setup just isn't that complicated. It does require the right tools and an understanding of how to work on an expensive instrument without tool marks. The hardest part is getting the depth of the nut slots right.
BTW.. for those going to the next level in set ups, nuts from blanks aren't hard. It's something you can screw up several times with no more consequence than time lost. Recommend nice nut files and inexpensive (available on Amazon) bone blanks.
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Consider this. You take a guitar in for a refret. The strings are removed, and at that point the neck will have a back-bow due to the pressure still exerted by the rod. The truss rod pressure is then completely released, at which point the neck should ( and usually does) become straight again. What causes the neck to become approximately straight again, if it's not decompression of the wood? Even 50-year old necks return to approximate straightness, once the truss rod is slackened off. So I don't buy your permanent wood compression idea. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
But I agree with you that, if truss rods are turned too far, past the ability of the wood to compress, they then can break. The reason even experienced adjustors get slightly nervous is that no-one knows where that point is on an individual instrument. We all hope that the desired relief can be obtained well before that point - but there's only one way of finding out. Fortunately, the truss rod nut usually starts creaking before then..
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Franz, CRUSHED wood fibres do not spring back to their former glory. Imagine a dent in wood.
The ends of a truss rod compress and crush the wood forming the truss rod channel around which its ends are buttressed. It is a problem with Gibson style truss rods and mahogany neck construction.
In your example, the longitudinal wood fibres are not crushed, merely bent.Last edited by Jabberwocky; 02-24-2015 at 03:15 PM.
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True. Seasonal adjustments are to be expected, but the guitar should be stable otherwise. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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Jabs, my example is the case in point! Your contention implies that a compressed ( by the truss rod) neck would stay compressed - but it doesn't. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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