Standard Setups
The goal of my setup is to remove any obstacles preventing your guitar from translating your thoughts and feelings into sound. Every guitar setup is uniquely to best serve the player and their specific guitar. Below, you'll find the basics of what's done on every guitar, whether it's electric or acoustic. Additionally, some guitars require specific adjustments, such as the tail piece of a Les Paul's Tune-o-Matic, the floating tremolo system made by Floyd Rose, active pickups, classical tuning machines, etc.
Aesthetics:
•Polish frets
•Scrub and condition frets and fretboard
•Clean and polish body and accessible hardware
Feel:
•Adjust neck relief via the truss rod for optimum curvature
•Match string radius at the saddle and bridge to the fretboard radius
•Lower or raise the action to adjust string height from the frets
•Raise or lower the nut action and cut the nut for new strings
Sound:
•Secure tuning
•Intonate each string by adjusting the distance between nodal points at the nut and saddle
•De-bur nut and saddles to allow clean contact
•Adjust pickup height for maximum volume and tone without magnetization causing string buzz
•Clean electronics when necessary
Aesthetics:
•Polish frets
•Scrub and condition frets and fretboard
•Clean and polish body and accessible hardware
Feel:
•Adjust neck relief via the truss rod for optimum curvature
•Match string radius at the saddle and bridge to the fretboard radius
•Lower or raise the action to adjust string height from the frets
•Raise or lower the nut action and cut the nut for new strings
Sound:
•Secure tuning
•Intonate each string by adjusting the distance between nodal points at the nut and saddle
•De-bur nut and saddles to allow clean contact
•Adjust pickup height for maximum volume and tone without magnetization causing string buzz
•Clean electronics when necessary