Nathan Fowler Guitar Project Blog guitar repairs, mods, and restoration

How Important is a Setup?

That's a really good question that a lot of guitarists ask, and maybe more should. Any guitarist that has played a really well setup instrument knows just how big of a difference it makes.

One big misconception is to think that a setup doesn't affect the sound of the instrument, so it is easy to think of a setup as less important compared to type and brand of string, and waaay less important than pedals right? WRONG!!!!! Read on to find out why!

The guitar in this photo been through a lot - but even though I've had it 6 years, it's only seen play on stage in the last 6 months! Don't get me wrong, it's fun to play, and I love the feel of any vintage instrument - but I would constantly battle feedback, and the tone was weak and empty.  So you'd think I found a different amp, or got a new overdrive pedal- but all that is the same. What made this bird sing was a lot of work and experimentation with the setup. Now it is a cornerstone part of my sound every weekend and my sound guy loves it's refined sound just as much as I love playing it.

That's a pretty drastic change that cost me $0.  Get that? I'll say it again $0. A setup on a guitar is a little bit like maintaining a friendship, a little attention goes a long way!

In this case it was a new bridge that accommodated the intonation and action much better, and some drastic pickup height adjustments.

So what?

Have you ever picked up a used guitar that had a $300 price tag but it felt great to play? Have you picked up a new guitar that cost more than a used car and it felt like playing rubber bands - or worse yet - the opposite 'barbed wire' effect?

Here's the deal:

After materials - the most important part of the guitar is the setup. A setup affects a few important things:

Intonation -  That's pitch as you climb the fretboard, an open E string should also be spot on E at the 12th fret.

Action -  This is the elevation of the strings and affects how far they are from the fretboard. High action means the strings are too high making it hard to play, action too low often results in unwanted fretbuzz or muffled strings.

Neck Pitch -  The neck of the guitar should be at the correct angle in relation to the body, as well as the correct curvature.

Neck Relief -  The bow, or curve of the neck has a sweet spot, it's basically just less than perfectly straight. Too much bow or being perfectly straight will prevent a proper adjustment of the action.

Pickup Elevation -  This greatly affects the character of your guitar when plugged in. Think about when you've talked on the phone who has put you on speaker-phone; they sound tinny and awful. But it would be even worse if they tried to talk with the phone right in their mouth! Pickup elevation is especially important if you are a lead guitarist because it affects how your tone will respond to YOU!

There are some rights and wrongs on setting up a guitar, but the finer points come down to tuning the instrument in to the musician. Just like a high performance indy car is made to fit the driver...

Stay tuned for more to come!

nate