Guitar Set UP

How often should you get your guitar set up?

I set mine up every time I play. I have a routine that I follow before each practice. I know this may sound a bit extreme, but I want my ear to hear a properly tuned string. PRACTICE makes perfect.

Originally Posted by: phillybeatleHow often should you get your guitar set up?

What kind of setup are you talking about.u only set ur Guitar up if it needs it..now changing strings,that's a different story.depending on how much u play.if u play an hour a day,or more,everyday,then i would do a string change,once a month.take a piece of cloth and swipe it along anyone of ur strings,you will see the black grime.unless you wash ur hands before u play then clean ur strings after each use.then u can get two months before playin.the last thing u want are dirty strings,not only for tone,but it will damage ur frets as well.besides that if ur neck isnt warped why mess with it. Same goes for the rest of ur Guitar..i hope this answers ur question.

Once you get it setup the way you like as far as action goes, I wouldn't do a "setup" unless there was a compelling reason to do so. Compelling reasons would be the intonation starts going off or if the action changes noticably. Differences in humidity and temperature can require tweaks to the truss rod. If you change string guages, you may have to tweak your setup to adjust for the different string tension.

I've experimented with the setup on my strat quite a bit before I got it where I wanted. There's always a trade off between low action and fret buzz. I also messed around with pickup heights. Now that it's where I want it, I leave it alone. Otherwise I be endlessly tweaking my setup rather than playing! :-).

My LP I've left with the factory setup. I'm happy with it.

i give my guitars to the same guitar tech once a year to have them serviced and a set up, this keeps them playing nice and i think once a year is enough for me to have them set up.

I've never had a pro set-up.. Maybe it's about time.
My Alvarez E/A I adjusted Truss rod once last spring-- 9yrs old.
My Tele, MIM, 7yrs old-- never
I guess i'm lucky

Originally Posted by: compart1I've never had a pro set-up.. Maybe it's about time.
My Alvarez E/A I adjusted Truss rod once last spring-- 9yrs old.
My Tele, MIM, 7yrs old-- never
I guess i'm lucky

the main reason i have a tech look at them once a year is to maintain them in a nice condition, he gives them a good service and it just ensures my guitars stay in a nice playing condition, If you have the tools and knowlage then you can do it yourself but personally i don't fancy tackling the job of dressing and levelling frets etc... so i'm happy to get a pro to do it for me.

I had planned to have my guitars done each year but now I'm not so sure. My luthier is well known/widely respected in the region and he said such frequency wasn't necessary.

Now...that might be due to the guitars themselves or my style of playing or the amount of time I put in on the guitars. They're all high quality instruments and the three I currently have get a combined total of about 70 hours/month play time. They aren't played 'hard', they're wiped down after every play and get a more thorough cleaning weekly.

So, since they sound nice, play nice and don't seem to have any intonation issues and my luthier says 'don't bother' I guess I'll save the money and the time...

...and see this thread with Stephen White's (GT's tech) super post; http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39932 .

You can understand my personal quandry and up and down on the issue. Intuitively, I agree with Stephen's guidance and like the idea of at least annual 'check ups.' On the other hand, while there are some season-based changes in the guitars' room, the change in both temp and humidity are small, slow and, I think, minor.

I'll probably take my first two guitars in again at the 12-month point along with my new one. That way I can get a handle on the rate of change, if any change at all, during the past year of those previously set up by my luthier and get the new one its first set-up since coming to its new home.

Until I change my mind/have another idea... ;)

Originally Posted by: john of MTI had planned to have my guitars done each year but now I'm not so sure. My luthier is well known/widely respected in the region and he said such frequency wasn't necessary.

Now...that might be due to the guitars themselves or my style of playing or the amount of time I put in on the guitars. They're all high quality instruments and the three I currently have get a combined total of about 70 hours/month play time. They aren't played 'hard', they're wiped down after every play and get a more thorough cleaning weekly.

So, since they sound nice, play nice and don't seem to have any intonation issues and my luthier says 'don't bother' I guess I'll save the money and the time...

Sounds like you found a good an honest luthier :) unfortunately for my guitars, they have a hard life and are used as my home instruments plus weekly band practices plus they get used at gigs, so lots of hard playing plus bumps and knocks that occure on the road so once a year they need a look at but luckilly the guitar tech i know is very kind to me in regards to his prices.

PTC (PAULS TECH CENTER) THEY DO AMAZEING SETUPS.BUT THE COST IS $150 FOR THE SETUP,INCLUDES A NEW NUT .NOW U HAVE TO PAY TO SHIP UR AXE TOO THEM,AND THEN PAY $50 FOR PTC TO SHIP IT BACK.NOW IT DOESNT COST $50 TOO SHIP A GIITAR.Ok they probably add insurance,still think its to much.so your looking at $225 too have ptc do the setup.thank god mine was under warrenty,all i had to pay was the shipping too them.there so good though,i sent my guitar too them to repair a chip,which happend on its own,yeah there was moisture in the wood.anyway not only did they fix the tiny chip,they resprayed the intire guitar.i swear when i got it back two months later,i thought they sent me a brand new one.guitar center is much cheaper.i"ll set my own neck,and adjust the claw screws when changing strings.but if the knife point goes out on the bridge i"ll take it in to gc.