So, we get a lot of questions about repairs here at Moore Music, most commonly regarding how a guitar plays or the "set up" of a guitar.
The way a guitar is set up is very personal and changes from player to player. While some prefer a low action with light strings, there are those who prefer a higher action, using heavier strings. There are no rules, so we always encourage experimentation. The one constant in all of this is intonation.
Sometimes, your open strings can be “in tune” according to your electronic tuner, but your guitar sounds out of tune as you play chords up and down the neck. This is the indicator that your guitar’s intonation needs to be adjusted.
Now most guitars and basses that we receive from the factories are already set up and have the intonation dialed in and play pretty well. However, we like to get the guitar’s action as low as possible for our customers to make the guitars and basses play more comfortably. This is where the "set up" begins, and at this point we will determine whether or not a simple truss rod adjustment will do the job or if we in fact need to do a complete set up.
A truss rod allows us to manipulate the relief in the neck of the instrument, whether adding to, or taking away (bring the neck closer or further away from the strings). In many cases this is a very quick fix to make the guitar play great again.
Now, a "set up" requires quite a bit more work, finesse and a new set of strings. We start by adjusting the neck’s truss rod for proper relief. We then adjust the saddles (electric guitar with adjustable bridge) for proper intonation, as well as adjust the saddles for proper string height and proper radius to match the curvature of the fretboard. We will also look at the guitars nut and any string trees that the guitar may have on the headstock, and make sure that there is no binding of the strings at these points, as this will tend to cause tuning issues and string breakage. New strings should be installed to make sure we have the perfect set for intonation. Many times, we come across instruments that have intonation issues simply caused by worn out strings that had several flat spots on them causing the issue.
No guitar set up us complete until the instrument has been detailed from top to bottom. This includes polishing the frets, conditioning the fretboard, and cleaning/polishing the guitar.
To wrap this up, if your guitar doesn't seem to play quite as nice as it did when you first got it, it may need a simple truss rod adjustment or worst-case scenario, a full set up from your favorite tech.
If you have any questions at all about setups or truss rod adjustments, please feel free to call or email!
(812) 479-9595 or email @ info@mooremusicguitars.com
Thanks for reading and rock on!
Dennis
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