Guitar Set up

[MilkTea]

Hi guys, i would like to know what does it mean by a good guitar set up. And how much does it roughly cost?
More info..
Around 1 month ago, i got myself an ibanez edge 3 guitar. I got it service the following at the same shop. Now then i was able to post here as i was busy.

Knowing that the guitar had a little neck warped and the flyod rose bridge was slanted at an angle(not as what i expected), i brought back to the shop for service. The shop assistant adjusted my guitar neck but told me that the neck cannot be too straight if not there will be fret buzz ??? Is that really true? All along i thought that guitar necks should be straight.

He insisted that the bridge should be slanted backwards ( not sure if u guys understand what i meant)- the back of the bridge is lower than the front. I told him i can't do dive bombs if i have that angle. So he was saying he can adjust the way I like, but do not blame him if anything goes wrong. Was i wrong to adjust it the front of the bridge being higher than the back? I read lots of forums about it and i had never come across the flyod rose bridge being what he initially wanted to do.

Following on, he told me that i should place my guitar on a guitar stand instead of the case. (allow the gutiar to breathe) hmm..

So when i brought home, i felt that the actions seemed fine. But after a few times of playing the actions seemed to get higher and the neck warped a little. i tried to adjust the bridge when tuning the flyod rose, but it's kind of a hassle.
So i was thinking if i should bring the guitar back for him to service it again or i should get a person who is more experience in guitar set ups to have a look at the guitar.

I have never done any set ups for my guitars before, so i don't know how much it would cost or what will be done to my guitar. Another thing is the edge 3 bridge can't keep my guitar in tune. Is there anything that i can do to keep it in tune, instead of changing the flyod rose?

Your help will be greatly appreciated Thanks!

Cheers
Milktea

 

[seekz]

Is your guitar neck twisted? If its not twisted then its not warped.
Usually we call it "bowing" of the neck, and it can go either way.
forwards or back-bowing.

Ideally, its is best to have a dead straight neck.
more importantly to complement the straight neck
you'll need very well leveled frets to go along with it.

A slightly forward bowing neck would be more forgiving
and less susceptible to buzz. However the action would
also be slightly compromised.

At the end of the day a set-up is really what the name suggests.
There's no definite "should" or "should not".

"How you like it" would be the best guide for a tech to aim for.
or else it would be like paying for another factory set-up; although just a little different from the first.



There'll be a certain amount of "drift" when it comes to the adjustments on the truss rod and bridge, its natural but the amount of "drift" varies from guitar to guitar. Thats why some guitar techs provide a free follow-up service. I would recommend you go back to your current tech before you start looking for another.

 

[subversion]

i believe there's no 'good set up', only the set up which works for you. many techs would begin addressing the neck with a straight profile for the player, if it works for him/her then no further tinkering would be necessary. Joe Satriani likes his neck to sport a slight concave, not too straight.

same goes for the action; no standard settings but a preferred setting. we do note however that many guitars were given a factory set up before being shipped off which would not be agreeable to many of us, especially so when it gets messed up along the way, particularly due to temperature reactions (& we often blame the setter, not the temperature, hmm...). Paul Gilbert sports a very low set up for his guitars to such an extent it buzzes at the upper frets but it's not an anomaly, of course- as long as these do not get amplified then it works fine.

i have various action settings for my guitars, some sport very low action, others slightly higher especially for single coil equipped guitars, to her more snap in the mix

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

To keep the guitar in tune i recommend Gotoh locking tuners. And well, get your techie to set it up. if you like the set up, why care? If there's no fret buzz and everything, the action is right for you, then go along with it.

 

[sitkaspruce]

He insisted that the bridge should be slanted backwards ( not sure if u guys understand what i meant)- the back of the bridge is lower than the front. I told him i can't do dive bombs if i have that angle. So he was saying he can adjust the way I like, but do not blame him if anything goes wrong. Was i wrong to adjust it the front of the bridge being higher than the back? I read lots of forums about it and i had never come across the flyod rose bridge being what he initially wanted to do.

Following on, he told me that i should place my guitar on a guitar stand instead of the case. (allow the gutiar to breathe) hmm...

Call Malcolm (aka empty71 in this forum). Best in Singapore and JB. And some says Batam.

OR if you are a DIY kinda person and YOU CAN AFFORD TO SCREW UP A NEW GUITAR, try the link below. I'm the DIY kinda guy, but paid to learn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1c-7-VMY_w

Listen carefully at 3:03. The trick is to balance the strings tension & spring pulls. A good setup will have the strings stay in tune no matter what you had done with that whammy.

Electric guitars needs to breadth? Great suggestion. Please let us know which shop is it?

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

Maybe not breathe... Maybe the case is hot and humid and if you can keep the stand in a place where it's cool, then, maybe it might be better. If not the case is indeed humid, especially in singapore's weather.

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

imo, it's not a good idea to leave ur guitar out of the case because singapore's weather fluctuates quite a bit.

one minute it's freaking damn hot, and another it's raining. turning on and off the air conditioner will also cause mayhem to ur guitar over a long period of time.

best is to leave it in the casing where the change of environment the guitar is experiences is less drastic. If u're scared it'll be too humid, u can always throw in a thirsty hippo sachet in the case, but i think that's not necessary.

 

[fluid]

put silica gel in ur casing

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

How bout a dehumidifier? That works too right?

 

[MilkTea]

Thanks for the reply guys! Sorry wasn't able to read this post as my com is down for the past week.

@ seekz: My neck has a slightly forward bow neck. Like what u said, at the 11-12 fret onwards, the action is kinda high. . Any recommendations where i can bring my guitar to a more experience person for flyod rose set up?

@ Subversion: I think i still prefer a straight neck For me, it's easier to play. But with a straight neck, i was told that there will be fret buzz? how can i prevent it from having fret buzz if i want a straight neck?

@ Jumpin'Jellybean: I just have to change the tuners to Gotoh so that it can stay in better tune? I always thought that it's the edge 3 bridge that is causing the problem. Im still having a high action which is not to my preference. Probably going to bring my guitar somewhere else for a set up to my liking any recommendations? If i place my guitar in an open hardcase, will it be the same as placing it on the guitar stand?

@ sitkaspruce: I heard of malcom. What's the estimated cost for a flyod rose guitar set up? don't really want to do it myself worried i may screw things up. Sorry bro, prefer not to mention the shop name.

@ Madwerewolfboy, fluid: Yeah i put in some silica gel in the hardcase alr hope it will help!

Thanks people!

 

[Phil]

My neck has a slightly forward bow neck. Like what u said, at the 11-12 fret onwards, the action is kinda high. . Any recommendations where i can bring my guitar to a more experience person for flyod rose set up?
There's quite a few good techs around to choose from. Here are some of my personal favourites:

Beez @ LookforBezz
KC @ Zen Guitarwerkz
Mike @ Standard Value


I think i still prefer a straight neck For me, it's easier to play. But with a straight neck, i was told that there will be fret buzz? how can i prevent it from having fret buzz if i want a straight neck?
If you want it to be relatively buzz-free with a very low action, I guess you just have to have a really light touch.
Strings vibrate elliptically, so if you plan to play hard you need to give it some clearance from the frets to avoid buzzing.

I just have to change the tuners to Gotoh so that it can stay in better tune? I always thought that it's the edge 3 bridge that is causing the problem. Im still having a high action which is not to my preference. Probably going to bring my guitar somewhere else for a set up to my liking any recommendations? If i place my guitar in an open hardcase, will it be the same as placing it on the guitar stand?
Tuning stability is never just based on a single factor. Better tuner-heads will offer more stability in term of staying in tune. Your trem will definitely play a part overall as well.

I doubt our hardcases are completely air-tight, but it would surely offer more protection from humidity than if you left it in the open on the stand.

I heard of malcom. What's the estimated cost for a flyod rose guitar set up? don't really want to do it myself worried i may screw things up. Sorry bro, prefer not to mention the shop name.
As with most services, it is always best to contact the said individual yourself for a quoute.
Malcolm; fix@mtlutherie.com


Yeah i put in some silica gel in the hardcase alr hope it will help!
I am afraid silica will not help much.
Silica gel are simply not meant to be used for musical instruments. For your guitar, you want a relative humidity of 50% there about.
If it's too dry, you run the risk of cracks, too humid and you get bulging bellies etc. So 50% is the ideal RH.

And the problem with silica gel is that it's sole purpose is to bring the humidity down to 0%. That in itself presents a problem already, because 0% is not what you want.

Also, when silica gel is used in Singapore, the sheer humidity of our atmosphere overwhelms it. In other words, it will absorb and absorb in an attempt to bring the RH back to 0%. What happens is that it just gets saturated really quickly, sometimes in a matter of hours. And then it just stops working. So for a short while the RH in your case drops drastically, assuming you put enough silica gel inside, and then when the silica gel dies, it shoots back up again. Not exactly the royal treatment for your instrument.

 

[psyence4]

I think the guitar tech was right about the neck bow, all necks are designed for some level of relief, which is adjusted via the truss rod. Google "guitar relief"

May I know what is your reason for wanting a 'perfectly straight' neck? If it is perfectly straight then by geometry there are 2 cases: either

a) the strings would be contacting all the frets or
b) your action would be very low near the nut and very high at 24th fret which you don't want.

Many established sites and magazines stress that an ideal neck is not perfectly straight...

Also I don't think silica gel is a great idea. The main idea is to keep the guitar in a temperature-constant and humidity-constant enviroment. The latter isn't that hard since the air is always around 98-99% RH, unlike in the US for example. Keep your guitars in a dark, cool place (preferably not in air con) and it should be fine. A stand is better than a softcase but I guess a hardcase would be better.

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

A stand is better than a softcase

why is this so? i'm puzzled when people say that

 

[lazy3yed]

Ideally, the blade (knife edge, may not necessarily be the base plate) should be perpendicular to the trem posts. Some like it ever so slightly forward as they find that it helps the trem return to pitch. Slanted backwards is not really a good idea, me thinks.

So when i brought home, i felt that the actions seemed fine. But after a few times of playing the actions seemed to get higher and the neck warped a little. i tried to adjust the bridge when tuning the flyod rose, but it's kind of a hassle.
Milktea

Yeah, the neck will take a while to settle after truss rod adjustments. Usually fully settled within a day or two, provided the humidity and temperature dun fluctuate too much.

How did you adjust the bridge? It's always best to relief the knife edge of any pressure (loosening the strings) before adjusting the posts. The knife edges will get worn out otherwise.

To keep the guitar in tune i recommend Gotoh locking tuners...

How would locking tuning machines help with tuning stability in a double locking trem system???

 

[MilkTea]

Thanks for the help guys After playing it for a while, i'm actually quite okay with the actions and flyod the tuning isn't that bad after all! Once again, thanks for everyone's help!

Cheers
Milktea

 

[deuter]

Anyway , just making a small question here .
=x
is it possible to convert an right hand electric guitar to a left handed one ?

 

[Phil]

Anyway , just making a small question here .
=x
is it possible to convert an right hand electric guitar to a left handed one ?

You can, to an extend. But you'd have to go through a lot of trouble and modifications to achieve it.

Starting with body-shape, you'd have some problems with most bodies, even with the more forgiving double-cutaways like Strats it'd be more difficult to reach the highest frets.

Say if you've something with a single cutaway like a Les Paul, you'd have a lot of problems reaching the last few frets.

Naturally, you'd also have to change the nut as the normal right-handed nut will not fit when you invert the string positions.

And of course you'd have to deal with a off-balanced guitar when strapped or get the strap-pin re-located. And also you'd have to deal with the 'new' positionings of the knobs and trem-bar. But as they say, if Hendrix can do it, why can't you?

Anyway all these applies to to an electric. Acoustic are a lot more troublesome because generally, the bracing, bridges and tone bar are set up for right handed players.