Tuesday, March 1, 2011

How to set up an electric guitar

Setting up an electric guitar is not rocket science, but it is something that a lot of guitarists shy away from. True, if you do this wrong, you can make your guitar play badly, but if you learn to do it right, you could save yourself a lot of cash.

I should probably preface this by saying that today we are only going to do a basic setup. This is enough most of the time, but occasionally more is required, such as filing the nut, or doing some fretwork. If you want to set up a tremolo too, go to this post first: Setting Up or Adjusting a Stratocaster Tremolo

Also, if you're setting up a Les-Paul-style guitar, you might prefer to have a look at this blog post: http://diystrat.blogspot.com/2012/09/how-to-set-up-gibson-les-paul-style.html

So what does a basic setup involve? Let me break it down for you, as follows:
1. Checking and adjusting neck bow (how straight the neck is)
2. Checking and adjusting saddle height
3. Checking and adjusting the intonation (how far back or forward the saddles need to sit at the bridge to keep your guitar as in tune as possible no matter what fret you’re playing)

Those three steps will have a dramatic effect on your guitar and none of them are very difficult, or require particularly specialized or expensive tools. In this article, we will do this on a Fender Stratocaster, but the same rules apply for just about every electric guitar. In fact, most other guitars are even easier to set up. Here's today's patient:



1. Check and adjust neck bow (how straight the neck is)

Since we only want to check how straight the neck is, we need to isolate this aspect of the guitar. In other words we don’t want the height of the nut or the placement of the saddles to confuse us, so we take them out of the equation. Don’t worry; we’re not going to remove any of these components, just circumvent them.

I use a ruler to do this, but you can do it using only strings. I’ll describe both methods below.

Method A: Using a ruler

Get a ruler (or straightedge if you want to be all fancy) that is at least as long as the neck, but not so long that it reaches all the way from the nut to the saddles. If you can’t get one between these lengths, and are willing to sacrifice a ruler, get one that’s too long and cut it to length. Alternatively, you can just cut a little out of one edge so that you can still make full use of the other edge of the ruler.

Now lay the edge of the ruler along the frets (don’t rest it on top of the nut or the saddles).


Method B: Using the strings

First, put a capo on the first fret. This stops the nut from having any influence, say from being too high/low.


Next, hold down the low (thick) E string on the bridge side of the highest fret. This stops the saddles from having any influence.


No matter whether you used method A or B, you can now go about measuring the neck bow. This is done by measuring the string height (the gap between the ruler/string and the top of the fret) at about the 8th fret. There is a lot of debate over how straight a neck should be, and in fact it really is personal choice, but a height roughly the same as the thickness of a B string is a good starting point. Personally, I use a 0.012” feeler gauge to do this, but you could use a B string. Simply slide the feeler gauge/B string into the gap to see if it is too big/small.



If the gap is perfect, congratulations – you may now move on to step 2.

If the gap is too large, then you need to tighten the truss rod a little (similarly, if the gap is too small, you need to loosen the truss rod). Locate the adjustable end of the truss rod. On my guitar it is at the head of the guitar and uncovered.


On some Fender Strats, it is located at the other end of the neck. This is a pain, because every time you want to make an adjustment to the truss rod, you will need to loosen the strings, remove (or partially remove) the neck, adjust the truss rod, re-attach the neck and tighten up the strings again to check the neck bow.

Anyway, here’s how you adjust the truss rod. This must be done with the strings tuned to whatever pitch you usually use. If your neck is too bowed (the gap you just measured is too big), you tighten the truss rod by turning the Allen key (Allen wrench), screwdriver, or socket (the tool required depends on your guitar) clockwise. It is recommended that you only turn the tool a quarter turn (or even an eighth turn) at a time and then give the neck some time to settle. You will also need to make sure the strings are still properly tuned after each adjustment.

CAUTION: If you find that the truss rod is very difficult to turn, then stop now and take your guitar to the guitar shop. It may be that there is a problem with the neck or the truss rod and you may damage the guitar by forcing it. Believe me, you do not want to damage the truss rod.

If, instead of tightening the truss rod, you need to loosen it, do so by turning it anti-clockwise (counter-clockwise). Again, a quarter turn at a time. Once you have got the gap to 0.012” (or whatever gap you prefer), you will have finished this step. Feel free to remove the capo at this stage if it is attached.


2. Check and adjust the saddle height

Firstly check and, if necessary, adjust the low (thick) E string height. Do this by adjusting the height of the saddle on the bridge/tremolo. If you have a Stratocaster then this is done by screwing two little screws in or out. I recommend that you try to keep these two screws at the same height as each other, although some people would disagree with me.


The question here is how high to make the saddle. Well, this is personal choice. Find somewhere were the string doesn’t buzz on any fret from being too low, but low enough that you can play up and down the neck easily. There’s usually a sweet spot where you can just start to detect some buzzing and you can leave it just a tiny bit higher than that.

Now do the exact same procedure for the high (thin) E string.

There are two ways that you can go about adjusting the other strings.

Method one: Adjust each string the same way as you just adjusted the two E strings.

Method two: Use a radius gauge, as follows:

Lay a radius gauge across your strings, close to, but not touching, the saddles. Adjust the remaining strings only (A, D, G & B) until every string is just touching the radius gauge. Radius gauges can be bought from numerous sources, or you can make your own. Feel free to use Google at this point if you don’t know about radius gauges. Just make sure that you use a radius gauge that matches the neck of your guitar. Not all Strats have the same neck radius, so the best way is to rest a radius gauge on the neck of your guitar (with the strings removed if necessary) to find out which radius you should be using.

Incidentally, I use these snazzy radius gauges that can go either above or below the strings (below gives a slightly more accurate result, although the difference is arguable).






I got them from http://www.stewmac.com.

Please don’t take these measurements as the absolute final string height, but more as a good estimate. You can adjust them a little to your own personal tastes after this.

OK, that’s step 2 finished. Your guitar should be nice and playable now. However, it may not seem to stay in tune very well. That’s because the intonation might be off.


3. Check and adjust the intonation

The intonation here refers to the forward/backward position of the individual string saddles. By moving the saddles forwards or backwards, we are actually adjusting the length of the strings. Without going into too much detail, if the string is the wrong length, the positions of the frets will not be correct and the guitar will be out of tune on some of them. Adjusting the intonation is not difficult. All you need is a guitar tuner and a tool to move the saddles forwards or backwards.

Play an open low E string and make sure it is in tune (using the guitar tuner).


Now play the 12th fret of the low E string.


It should also be in tune. If it is too high, then you need to move the saddle back. This increases the length of the string. If the note is too low, then you need to move the saddle forwards. This decreases the length of the string.


Now check both the open and the 12th fret notes again. You’ll have to tune the open string again because by moving the saddle, the tension of the string will have changed and so will need to be retuned.

Once you have correctly moved the saddle so that both the open string and the 12th fret are in tune, you can move on to the A string. Repeat until all of the strings have been done.

That’s a basic setup done. Hopefully your guitar will now be easy to play and appear to be in tune no matter where you play the note. As I mentioned before, sometimes other work needs to be carried out on your guitar to make it play right, such as work on the nut, or a problem with one or more of the machine heads/tuners, but that’s for another day.

Also, if you want to set up the pickup height on your Strat, check out this post: http://diystrat.blogspot.com/2014/03/fender-stratocaster-pickup-height.html.

50 comments:

QBOB101 said...

Perfect! Made my badly put together, not fender, strat sound as close as I'm going to get to a real fender for under £200! Been put off doing it by so many people saying how hard it is and how it can kill your guitar, but if you follow word for word it's straight forward with amazing results. Cant thank you enough for taking the time to post this, cheers.

Anonymous said...

I haven't tried this yet but after someone adjusted my guitar badly in a shop, I haven't ever been able to get it right.
I hope this will help. You've gone to a lot of effort in your web site. Thank You!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Alot....!

Anonymous said...

GOOD JOB MATE!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for sharing this info!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic..thanks so much. I enjoyed the whole set up process using your straightforward instructions.. Michael from Oz!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for that. I've been tinkering for years, but have never got it right - I've just finished following your instructions in setting up mylatest project, a Jap Strat, and it now plays great. Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

Excellent instructions! Thank you.

Anonymous said...

what can I use if i dont have a feeler gauge?

stu said...

You can use a B-string (or leftover bit you cut off the end) to check the height. It's just about the right thickness.

Anonymous said...

great site, however your background (though very beautiful) makes reading the instructions very difficult for me

Anonymous said...

Brilliant tutorial!! I can't thank you enough for this! Like someone posted before, someone did a mediocre job at the shop on mine and following your steps, I am excited with the results! Instructions here make it so much more attainable to do it yourself. It's like I have a whole new guitar. Cheers!

mick said...

Fantastic! Just got done with a Squier Strat. All set up and ready to jam.

seicean said...

You, sir, are a life saver. As a Standard Strat owner, I couldn't manage to find out what was wrong it, as it was frequently dropping out of tune, it just dindn't sound right. First I thought it was a bend in the neck, but it turns out the intonation was the problem. Thanks for the quick tutorial.

stu said...

Thanks again for the comments. They are all very gratefully received and really make posting this stuff worthwhile.

metalfury said...

Thanks, a really useful article and easy to follow due to your writing style. A useful future addition would be how to do pickup height setup.

Thanks again

stu said...

Hey metalfury (great name!),

Thanks, and great idea. I'll do a pickup height one in the near future.

Josh said...

Thanks so much for this article. It's big help. I noticed that you don't talk too much about changing strings. This luthier suggests that you should change the strings before you do anything.

http://www.guitarrepairbench.com/electric-guitar-repairs/electric_guitar_setup.html

Should we be worried out this?

stu said...

Hey Josh, I actually thought I HAD written something about using fresh strings, but looking back it seems I didn't. In reply to your question, yes, it's a good idea. Are you in trouble if you DON'T? I think you'll be OK, ha.

Ash Stuby said...

Many thanks for this helpful info. I've just completed a setup on a strat copy, following your blog. It's really helped me to understand the balance of forces involved and the nuances of this type of guitar.

stu said...

Hey Ash, that's great. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

Anonymous said...

very good info indeed and prented so that even idiot guitar players can follow thanks

stu said...

Thank you.

Unknown said...

Hello,

Thank you so much dear! Your article gives us a brilliant information regarding how to set up the guitar, which is the most essential point before going to use it. If want to know about some other Cheap Electric Guitar, then go through our website for the details.

Anonymous said...

What you've got here is, "the ability to communicate", basically the opposite of the "Cool Hand Luke Mantra" being; "What we have got here is a failure to communicate".

As Elton John sung in the song "Harmony", which we all need more of, you fit the bill excellently here.

I have a cheap Asian Strat; but, I put a nice Warmoth neck on it and will be going through it Sunday using your tips here, my man Stu. Thank You and Kudos to all who believe like you as well. Harmony takes effort which you gave well here. Good Day to you sir! Believe in "Harmony", Harmony.

We all make a yellow brick road when we care like you did here.

Anonymous said...

Hey man, great article, and great site overall! I've found a ton of posts with useful and interesting info, so thanks for putting in the effort!

stu said...

Thanks for the compliments, folks. Much appreciated.

Anonymous said...

Excellent job Stu. Thanks for posting it in such a clear way. It demystifies setting up the guitar. I have followed your suggestions and my Strat plays now much better. Great job!

stu said...

Hey, that's great. Thanks for the feedback.

Anonymous said...

These are the most clear instructions that have ever been given by anyone on anything. Huge respect for your ability and generosity in sharing this! Thank you, now I'm going to go and read everything else you've written on you blog!

stu said...

Thank you. Enjoy the rest of the blog!

Unknown said...

so, my guitar is in need of setup, however, I don't have a tuner or any means of creating reliable reference pitch to be able to re-tune while adjusting things, the three low strings (E,A, and D) buzz pretty bad open and while playing up to about the 9th fret which leads me to believe I need to adjust the neck bow and saddle heights, any suggestions?

stu said...

Hi Jeremiah, you definitely need to correctly tune the strings before adjusting the neck, otherwise the neck tension will be wrong. You can either download a tuner app on your phone such as guitartuna, or even just find someone playing the notes on the Internet (very easy to find).

Dad said...

Colin.....
Hi stu, I have a USA HSS and had is pro setup when brand new... always wondered why the E and B strings we dead and full of buzz and also double tones. After following your guides almost good but still but same then when I lowered the 2 pt trelolo it wouls be really bad again..... I eventually noticed the saddles were sitting flat on the base plate unlike the rest of them and after a little experimental I cut a U shaped shim from aluminum and reaised the height a ittle then wala she works pretty good now, guess next step is intomation and maybe finding some original saddles as the only way to adjust these is to grind them off flat where as I might be able to grind but leave some feet for the deck when at the right height

Unknown said...

hi !
many, many thanks for your setup guide.
it's been a long time since I've fully setup a guitar, but your site motivated me to do it.
Had an old plank of a guitar (Hamer super strat copy) which had a warped neck from new.
I bought a cheap strat copy neck, (the guitar only cost me £60 new !), fitted it but it never really played right.
I even fitted a set of Texas Specials to it !
still sounded crap.
Just spent an hour or so setting everything up (pickup height, neck relief, intonation, nut height, saddle height etc) and it plays 100% better !
Next step is to level the frets, as there are some high points, and the edges are unfinished (I said it was a cheap neck!)
Instead of sulking in a corner, it's now sat with it's other stable mates (8 more guitars ! - including an American Standard Tele with Duncan custom shop pickups, and an American Clapton signature deluxe) feeling rather happy with itself - and it's got good reason to be !!!
Now - where is that fret file.... :-)

Unknown said...

Used this for my seven string baritone Jackson and..... Wow... Just flat out plays great now, thank you for making this article and making it perfectly clear and simple, you just saved me $60 too if not more lol

Dad said...

I am trying to unsubscribe but it brings me back for more comments guess I will find another way

stu said...

David and Damon, that's great. Thanks for the feedback. Dad, great job getting the saddles where you needed them. Sorry about the unsubscribe thing. I've no idea how Blogger does that unfortunately.

EdFred said...

How or when in this process do you think about adjusting the nut

stu said...

Hi EdFred,

The set up is generally done with a capo on the first fret in order to circumvent any interference from the nut. If you find that everything is working great with the capo on the first fret and then once you remove that, things go wrong (e.g. strings are suddenly far too high, or there's suddenly tonnes of buzzing, etc.), then that's the time to look into the nut.

EdFred said...

Should the .012 relief be on both E strings

EdFred said...

By the way, thank you for this excellent topic. I should have posted this all at once. Can the gap on the first fret be the same as the gap noticed on the second fret when holding down the string on the first fret. I am asking do you think it is safe to lower the nut slot with this in mind. It seams that if that gap is to high those lower notes if you finger to hard are sharp. I am working on a Les Paul Studio. Thank You.

stu said...

Hey EdFred, yes both strings (all six strings really, though of course it's trickier to measure the inner ones).

Great question about the nut. It's safer to leave the nut just a little bit higher than fret height, although theoretically it should be possible for it to be exactly fret height. The second half of this post may be of some use to you: http://diystrat.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/hofner-colorama-ii-restoration-project_15.html

EdFred said...

Thanks Stu, that really makes sense. And thanks for sending the link for your 2012 post on making a new nut that is great. What is your opinion of Gibson's new nut (Tektoid) They say it is better then bone, as bone is not uniformly dense. I am so glad I ran into your Blog.

stu said...

Hey EdFred, thanks for your comments. It makes doing this worthwhile. Funnily enough I've tried quite a few materials for nuts, but haven't used Tektoid (yet). I'll let you know if that changes.

Unknown said...

Ive been building partscasters for years, been doing repairs even longer. Makes me wish I'd had the internet around when I was figuring all this stuff out for myself! Hahahaha great blogs, all of em, really spot on.

Jason said...

Thanks a bunch!

Unknown said...

I realize that this is an old post but I've been playing and trying different things on my straTSP for years. This and the tremolo one are the very very best I've seen or used.
Thanks Stu

Morrissey

Uncle Ken said...

I have always checked the intonation by comparing the pitch of a string fretted at the 12th and the same string harmoniced at the 12th. That obviates the need for continuous retuning between adjustments or having to use a tuner.

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