Setting up a guitar properly is about adjusting small things on the instrument to get it working to the best of its ability and making you instrument comfortable for you to play. Any guitar that has a poor setup won’t be fun to play. I’m sure many people have not purchased guitars or even given up playing guitar because it just didn’t feel right to them when in reality, with a good setup they may have enjoyed it a lot more. There are three main parts to a guitar set up.
- Truss rod adjustments
- String height
- Intonation
We’ll have a look at all three today and get your guitar playing the best it possibly can.
Truss rod adjustments
The truss rod is a rod that goes down the entire length of the guitar neck underneath the fretboard. Adjusting this truss rod lets us put a very slight bow in the neck of the guitar or if the wood is bending and warping due to the tension from the strings pulling on it you can adjust the truss rod to reduce this. For optimal playing that will take away fret buzzing you want a very slight up bow (concave on the fretboard side).
How to check for neck bow
You can check this visually by turning the guitar on its side and looking down the neck to look for any curve. A more accurate method is fretting the 1st fret and one of the last frets on the neck, then check on the 7th fret if there is space between the fret and the string. If the string is touching the 7th fret the neck is perfectly flat or has a back bow that needs to be adjusted. A very small gap between the string and the 7th fret is optimal.
Adjust truss rod
Most guitars have access to the truss rod up at the head of the guitar. It may be an open and visible hole or it may be covered by a small piece of plastic you need to screw off to get access. They are usually adjustable using an Allen key. Some older guitars may have the truss rod adjustment end at the body end of the neck and may need a flat head to adjust, so if you can’t see yours on the head of the guitar you may have to check there.
With the adjustment at the head end of the guitar turning the Allen key counterclockwise will start to correct a back bow (convex on the fretboard side) turning clockwise will loosen the rod to reduce forward bow. Only turn small increments at a time (1/8th) of a turn and then check again as to not damage the neck from too much tension.
String height (Action)
The height of the strings to the fret board is known as action, an overlooked but important part of guitar setup. High action is a greater distance from string to fret vs low action, a smaller distance. This is measured at the 12th fret from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string. Different players prefer their action so there isn’t a perfect height for everyone. Lower action is generally a little easier to play and can help you play a little faster but higher action stops string bussing when playing more aggressively so there is a bit of a trade-off that you might need to play around with and take a bit of time to figure out what you prefer.
Different types of bridges
If there are buzzing strings, the truss rod may need adjusting or you may need to increase the action at the bridge to elevate the strings further from the frets. There are two main types of bridges when it comes to adjusting action. Bridges on Stratocaster, telecaster and similar type guitars generally have bridges where a very small Allen key is used, and you have the ability to change each string height individually. Les Paul or some hollow body type guitars have a bridge where you can adjust the bridge height at each side moving the whole bridge piece up or down.
How to change the action
Loosen the strings a little before adjusting and then tune them back to pitch before checking again as the string tension can have a small effect on the neck bow. A good approximate string height to aim for if you are unsure is approximately 2.4mm for the thick E string and down to 1.6mm for the thin E string.
Intonation
Intonation is about getting the string length correct so that when the strings are tuned correctly, the fretted notes all up the neck will be correct too. If you’ve ever picked up a guitar and started playing up the neck and some of the notes sound off, the intonation may be off. Intonation is changed at the bridge where the saddles (the pieces of the bridge the string sits on) can be shortened or lengthened; this is usually done with a Philips head screwdriver.
Check your intonation
To check your intonation, make sure you’ve already set up your truss rod and string height to your liking, then tune the strings. For each string, play the open string and check the tuning, if its correct then fret the 12th fret and play the same string. This should play the same note an octave up (you can use an online tuner to check the notes on your phone or computer).
How to fix intonation
If the 12 the fret note is off from the open string note you will need to change the string length to correct it. When 12th string note is flat, you will need to adjust the saddle towards the neck to shorten the string. If it is sharp, adjust it away from the neck to lengthen the string (only make ¼ turn adjustments at a time). Each time you adjust you will need to retune the string and check again. This can take a few minutes but can make a noticeable difference if your intonation is off.
Guitar setup can be really important if you want your guitar to sound as good as it possibly can and make it comfortable and easy to play for you. take your time and make small adjustments at first when setting up. trust me it will pay off in the end.