ever uncomfortable or unsure with what you ’ re doing , stop . Bring it into your shop and get a professional to look at it . That said , a lot of the work that I do on guitars is very simple , requires inexpensive tools , and has little-tono risk of damaging your instrument . These are things that I am confident you can do to keep your guitars feeling , sounding , and looking great .
Second : These are the techniques that work best for me . If you have heard other theories or techniques on setting up your guitar that are contrary to what I ’ m suggesting , try both options and see what works best for you and your guitar . Ultimately , that is the only thing that matters : does it feel good to you ? If the answer is yes , who cares how you set up the guitar as long as it isn ’ t doing any damage to the instrument .
Third : I ’ m not going to go through each step of a full setup in detail . That would take way too long and be very difficult to properly describe without pictures or videos . Instead , I ’ m going to focus on five tips and tricks to help you along the way when setting up your instrument .
Protip : If you ’ re completely new to setting up your instrument or you ’ re looking for a quick refresher , then YouTube is your best friend . Most major guitar companies have instructional videos online on how to work their guitars , so try to find a video on your specific guitar .
Alright , with all of that out of the way , let ’ s jump right into the tips !
Tip # 1 : Take Pictures and Notes
Most of what I ’ ve learned about guitar teching comes from a lot of trial and error , and this tip definitely comes from error . On some guitars ( like some Gibsons or Gretsches ), the hardware is held in place by the tension of the strings . When you take the strings off , those parts can fall off . When you go to put the strings back on , you may be stuck guessing the direction of the bridge or the placement of the tailpiece . I have made this mistake twice and was left searching the web for pictures , trying to figure out what goes where .
So , for the first tip , I suggest taking pictures of the guitar before you start working on it . Take pictures of every place that the string makes contact with the guitar . This includes the tuning pegs , the string trees , the bridge , and tailpiece . If the guitar has a tremolo system , make sure to take pictures of that as well .
I also try to take as many notes as possible when working on a guitar . This way I can reference the notes and the pictures the next time I work on a guitar to change any parts of the previous set up that I didn ’ t like . These notes and pictures can also be useful if you do need to bring the instrument into a shop . They ’ re an all-around good reference and resource when setting up your guitar .
TOOLS
If you ’ re either starting out or looking to expand your guitar maintenance tools , I have some suggestions on what to get next . I have two categories that I put guitar tech tools into :
Absolute Must Haves
• New set of strings
• Wire cutters
• Set of Allen keys
• Screwdriver ( Phillips and flat head )
Heavily Suggested , but Not Crucial :
• Fretboard cleaner ( I use Music Nomad ’ s F-ONE oil )
• Guitar polish / cleaner ( I use the Dunlop 65 )
• Microfiber cloth
• String cleaner ( I use the Music Nomad string cleaner )
• String winder
• Fret polisher ( I use the D ’ Addario Fret
Polishing System )
• Dusting brush ( I use the Music Nomad ’ s Nomad Tool all-in-one guitar cleaning tool )
A lot of these things can be purchased together as kits or multitools . For example , Dunlop makes a cleaning kit that includes a set of cleaning solutions and a microfiber cloth . I also have the Music Nomad Octopus multitool which has two screwdrivers and 5 different wrench sizes .
Tip # 2 : Clean It Up
This is something that I didn ’ t learn until I started working on other people ’ s guitars . I always want to return my customer ’ s guitars not only feeling and sounding great , but also looking tip top . So , when I began working on other people ’ s guitars , I started using oils and cleaning solutions on my setups . Not only does this make the guitar look better , but it prolongs the life of the guitar , and it makes it feel significantly better to play . I now use a fretboard cleaner and guitar body polish on all of my setups , for customers and my own guitars .
The most important thing to clean on
CANADIAN MUSICIAN 45