subject: Find out how to setup a guitar [print this page] Find out how to setup a guitar Find out how to setup a guitar
If you've ever wondered how one can set-up your guitar, or your 4, five or 6 string bass guitar your self, you have come to the best place. Read on.
It is highly recommended to change your strings before you begin, and install them correctly although this is not absolutely vital.
*In all the explanations below, the headstock is pointing to your left.
In case your electric guitar has a Floyd Rose or a tremolo bridge, you will want to block it before continuing . The most practical way if you don't have many tools at your disposal is: detach the plastic cover behind your guitar; next place skinny coins or picks between the part of the bridge that protrudes downward and the body till the gap between the flat part of the bridge (just below the bridge pickup) and the body is 3/32". Loosen the springs and tune to standard A' 440.
If your guitar has a Floyd Rose tremolo system, add picks or coins till the bridge is level to the body, then take off the springs and tune to standard 'A' 440.
Electric guitar Setup Step 1: Adjust the truss rod
We do this to avoid the strings from touching the frets- and buzzing- as they vibrate. Put a capo on the first fret, and press the fifth string on the 17th fret with a finger (I use the middle) while lifting the 6th string so it presses against your finger-nail.
Use a spark-plug calibrator to measure the distance between the top of the 12th fret and the bottom of the fifth string.
Fender Telecaster: 0.012
Fender American standard, vintage 0.012
Gibson: 0.004 - 0.006
Floyd Rose: 0.012
Bass guitars: 0.014
Adjust the truss rod with an Allen key. Turn clock-wise (toward the first string) to loosen and counterclockwise (toward the 6th string) to tighten.
Notice: if you have access to the truss-rod just below the last fret instead of by the nut, invert directions.
Set action:
This means adjusting the height of the strings.
With the capo still on the first fret, gauge the space between the bottom of the strings and the top of the seventeenth fret using a 6-inch ruler in 64ths. Use the table below merely as a basic guideline: explore different possibilities until you find the height that fits you best.
Fender Telecaster 4/64"
Fender American standard, vintage 4/64th-inch
Gibson 3/64th-inch or 4/64th-inch
Floyd Rose4/64th-inch
Bass guitars 3/32nd-inch
Remove the capo and tune to standard A' 440
Guitar Setup Step 2:Setting the height of the pickups
Determine the distance between the top of your pickups and the bottom of your strings (1st and 6th) when pressing at the last fret. Adjust as needed.
Fender Telecaster- 6th: 3/32nd-inch, 1st: 5/64"
Fender American standard, vintage sixth: 1/8", 1st: 3/32nd-inch
Gibson- 3/64nd-inch or 4/64nd-inch
Floyd Rose- sixth: 1/8th-inch, 1st: 3/32nd-inch. If it has humbuckers 3/32nd-inch on both sides
Ultra, Plus- 1/16" on either side
4 string bass guitars- 4th: 1/8", 1st 3/32". Or, 1/16th-inch on both sides.
5 and 6 string bass guitars- 6th/5th: 7/64th-inch, 1st: 5/64"
The general idea is that pickups should give similar signal intensity no matter pickup or string.
Test to determine if the strings buzz and adjust as needed. Eliminating fret buzz completely is neither probable nor crucial. Set so that your guitar is comfortable to play, and the buzz cannot be heard through the amp.
Electric guitar Setup Step three: Setting the intonation
Tune your electric guitar with an electronic tuner, utilizing the natural harmonics on the twelfth fret. When pressing the string on the 12th fret, you'll notice a similar pitch.
If the tuner says it is too flat, then shorten the vibrating part of the string by tweaking the saddle. If it is too sharp, elongate the vibrating portion.
After extending or shortening, tune to the natural harmonic again and repeat till you get it the way that you like.
However, if your guitar has a tremolo bridge system or a Floyd Rose tremolo system, put the springs back in place and tighten them slowly till the picks or coins fall out. Place the plastic covering back in place, and you are done!
