Help with guitar setup (it's more than just adjustments)

The difference between a great guitar and total junk is whether its setup is proper or not. But it is more than just adjusting a few things.

Here is a list of regular adjustments concerning guitar setup.

1. Bridge height and/or string saddle height

If you're playing a Les Paul style guitar, string height is adjusted by moving the bridge up or down. You can also choose if you want one side higher than the other.

If you're playing a Stratocaster style guitar, most (usually all) of the string height adjustment is done by adjusting each string saddle.

With some guitars, you have both styles of adjustments, such as a traditional Fender Jazzmaster or Fender Jaguar. Both of those allow both the bridge and the string saddles to be raised/lowered.

For guitars with bolt-on necks, if you "run out of" adjustment, a shim can be placed in the neck pocket to accommodate for that.

2. Pickup height

Generally speaking, this only matters when the pickups are too close to the strings. More often than not, you know the strings are too close if you hear weird "double notes" when playing the wound strings on the higher frets.

For example, if you play a "power chord" (i.e. 5th chord) on the 14th fret using the low-E and A or A and D and hear those weird double notes, lower the pickup and it will usually go away.

3. Truss rod adjustment

Many guitar players never adjust the truss rod in their guitar. This absolutely must be learned because it can mean the difference between a guitar that plays great or terribly.

I wrote a whole thing on that. It applies to vintage style truss rod adjustments at the butt end of the neck, but also applies to a rod adjusted at the headstock as well.

But are you done after doing that stuff?

Sometimes, but usually not.

The photo at top is me getting rid of some sharp fret ends on my Glarry GJazz bass...

...and this is where it's required to do the "scary" stuff, so let's talk about that.

"Perfect setup" usually requires filing stuff

If you want a perfect setup, sometimes you have to remove some metal or some plastic. Or both.

You don't need luthier-grade tools to do this. But you do need tools.

This is what you need:

• Masking tape
• Superglue
• Fret rocker
• Fret crowning file (a.k.a. crowning or dressing file)
• Guitar nut file set
• Sandpaper in grits 220, 400, 600 and 1000
• 0000 steel wool

When you have this stuff, you can then fix most problems with guitar necks. The majority of the time, what goes wrong is either a high fret or two, sharp fret ends and/or the need to fix the height of a nut slot.

There are plenty of YouTube videos on what I'm about to tell you, but here is some general information on what to do to repair common issues using the tools above.

Sharp fret ends

Find the fret that feels sharp. Believe me, if you have a sharp fret, you will know it because it will tear into your skin as you run your fingertip across its edge.

Mask off both sides of the fret.

Use your fret file to smooth out the fret end. Use light passes.

Take off the tape and run your fingertip across the fret edge again. If still sharp, re-tape and file some more. Continue doing this until the edge is smooth to the touch when dragging your fingertip across it. And remember, the tape must be off to test sharpness with your finger. When filing, tape on. When testing with finger, tape off.

When smoothness is achieved, re-tape again, sand lightly with 1000 grit sandpaper, then polish with 0000 steel wool. Remove tape. Done. Do this for all sharp fret ends.

Nut slot is too low

I suggest watching YouTube videos on this first so you can identify whether your guitar has this issue or not. Just search "low nut slot" and you'll find it.

My way of fixing a low nut slow however is different compared to most.

Note: I make no claim this is the correct way to do this. This is my way and it works for me.

Mask off nut both in the front and back.

Using superglue, put a very small drop in the slot. It will sink into it pretty much instantly. Excess will spill on to the masking tape. If any excess spills on top of the nut however, wipe away with a paper towel.

Let the glue cure for at least 30 minutes. Superglue cures a lot faster than that, but best to give it time just to be sure.

After curing, take off the tape and string up the guitar. If the slot height is correct, you're done. If it's still too low, repeat process. Tape the front and back, add more glue, let cure, try again until the proper height is achieved.

If the slot gets too high, this is when you take out your nut file set. File the slot down lightly, then string up again. Keep doing this until the proper slot height is achieved.

Fixing a high fret

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: This is my way of fixing a single high fret. If you're going to level a bunch of frets using a fret leveling beam, you need a notched straight edge to ensure the neck is flat before you do that. For fixing a single fret, you don't need the notched straight edge.

Take off the strings, then take your fret rocker and identify where the high fret is. If you don't know how to use a fret rocker, just search YouTube for "how to use a fret rocker". It's easy.

Mask off either side of the fret.

If the fret is really high and there's very pronounced clicking happening when using the fret rocker, give a few passes using the 220 grit sandpaper first. However, if there's just slight clicking, start with 400 grit instead.

Sand, and periodically test with the fret rocker. When the clicking is gone, you're almost done. Your fret is all nicked up now from sanding. This is when you give a few light passes with the 600 grit, then the 1000 grit, then finally polish using 0000 steel wool.

When done, take off the tape, string up and play happy.

Everything I just mentioned can make most cheap guitars play great

My Glarry GJazz was literally $85 new, and I did not expect it to have perfect build quality out-of-the-box. I was right, it didn't...

...but that was okay. With truly just a little bit of work, I was able to get that bass in fine playing condition.

When you know how to actually perform basic nut and fret repairs, you can pretty much make any guitar play wonderfully.

The neck is what counts more than anything else

In many instances it's true that the only two things keeping a guitar from playing great are the nut and the frets. You can fix this stuff. But you have to be brave about it.

Is filing frets scary? Yes. Is putting glue in a nut slot and/or filing it scary? Yes. But the fear only happens for the first time you do either of those things.

I would argue it's necessary to learn this stuff these days

More people are buying guitars online, meaning you can't try them out in person before purchase.

If the only thing keeping a guitar from being great was one high fret, a sharp fret end or one nut slot that needed fixing, wouldn't it be nice to be able to fix that stuff and keep the guitar rather than having to send it back?

Go buy a cheap electric guitar. It probably will need a little work to make it play great. Use that as your test.

When you can fix the cheap stuff, then you can fix the more expensive stuff afterward. It's well worth your time to learn.

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Published 2020 Nov 12