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browndog2woof · Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:41 pm Post subject:

fretted bros,

long time no see ya... been letting loose many things. today i just wish to touch over a topic that might ring a bell! dah lama tarak tulis...

setting up guitars
most of my friends do set up their guitars at many places and by various people. i have no intention of spoiling other peoples business but you, as an owner and player, you deserve to know all this. aku consider your guitar has a proper construction from a reliable manufacturer ya..

a) what do we really mean of setting up? for the sake of polishing and tukar tali aje, spray a few 'pssst' spray here and there, lupa kan... they consist of

- neck, the truss rod part. some truss rod don't really sit properly in the slot. it is best to get it done while they are strung. get the 5th position. some may capo at the 1st fret, but tak really perlu if you know how. just get a desired height that has a minimum gap as possible. the closer and straight, they intonate better.. always loose the rod slightly a quater turn and tighten them back to the desired position

- set the trem tilt/float angle nicely. floyds has a steady anchor, strats and some older gibson type don't (mostly on archtops like charlie christian or L series. they have wooden saddles and smaller anchors sitting on a wooden bridge). always have a steel ruler with you. they might come in handy. check at the 12th fret, adjust the saddles for strat/anchor for les paul type/ anchor for floyd. use the ruler touching at the fretwires of the 1st and bottom E. they must have the same height accordingly the neck radius... balanced them up the best you can and able.

- neck pocket tilt angle. ok, ini really tricky sikit. please prepare shims 2 or 3 pieces, just in case. get this mostly on a sturdy black paper that is mostly used on fender parts internal packaging or similar. get a puncher to hole things up. get the perfect tilt that will not choke the string and must have that 'mojo' vibe ringing tone and body sound...

- tuners and rulers can't help here. they can only assist you. your ears are the ultimate weapon, acoustic test ya.. if you can't do this, let a pro like gg to help ya.. a good piano tuner use their ear to tune like 'kassim selamat' in one of p ramlee's movie. he is a blind man who has good ears. he is blinded out of frustration.

- nut slot. again use the ruler, balanced the height of each strings buy measuring from the 1st fret to the bottom of the strings. one by one. don't rush bro... get a goot micro files from a specific hardware sore like ace hardware etc. etc.

- this will also be applicable to strat type of saddles. tele ada kerja susah sikit but NOT imposibble with compensated type. accuracy still tak 100% but your fingers might do some adjusting like flamenco and classical players. habis anchored gibson and floyd macam mana?

- sini bermula lah 'cat dog' cartoon punya cerita.. fixing a strat 7.25 radius neck with a 12 radiused floyd bole fit ka? noticed that some floyd rose are staggered. if not, shim work on the bridge on the locking part attached to the trem body might need some adjustment. kasi pro buat la...

- same goes to gibson type of saddles (tune-a-matic or whatever), you need some of the x files work.. kasi pro la.. you can't afford costly mistake. you end up selling the damaged bridge kat forum pulak..

- conclusion, the neck postion must be able to produce a good acoustic ringing sound, when attached to the body. they must have the violin type of tilt angle, as a reference but not choking the strings. i've seen a concave neck angle on a set neck guitar. got to do some massive work to put them in place... aiyo, banyak karja la..

- what to listen for? treble, mid and body. the construction must be in perfect order. wrong placement and alignment will result a problem guitar. how chronic is the problem will be based on the track record of the manufacturer or builder/assembler pon another thing ya..

- remember, all slots and filing work must have an angle for the string to have a good sitting position and to move smoothly. then you might be able to do a good intonation work easily.. nanti aku cerita later la pasal buat intonation ya, banyak budak buat intonation hancos, i'm sorry to say this! and also, tight and firm assembly or work is needed! cincai fellas can get lost! your guitar will be butchered by them.. mau ka?

b) setting the pickups...

- again, still too convinced with the killer advertisment? getting a good sound is a packaged from the players effort and to his chain of setup... bukan main hantam beli aje! buy a set of pickups that matches you guitar well la bro, you might get lucky guessing sometimes, BUT not all the time ya..

- to me, if your guitar is lacking of treble, get the ones to balanced things out. same thing goes with mid or bass. pickups manufacturer will have a certain chart or pointer to help. sound clip pom ada, but get too easily be bought ya. the amp and guitar that they use for the demo is also important man.

- assembly is quite easy, but setting and tuning will make you work your ears. are you ready for all of this? hmmmm, here is the most tricky part lies. can you really hear the 'string pull' or 'oscillation' sound? if you tweak the modulation pedals, you might hear some wave and oscillation, but not the 'string pull'... this is what i'm talking about.

- too close with the magnet - your strings won't flow freely, there's a magnectic flux and magnectic force that pulls the string. there's an optimum sound and height for these, but you must trust your ears, again. many people might have problem listening to treble and bass level played on the guitar. 12th fretted note on 1st E must produce the same level as for the 6th E. if your guitar setup tadi 'kantoi', means all of these will go along with it. later, you can balanced out front and bridge ya...

- too far with the magnet? no NRG la.. best to get a good bottom. not overdoing buy buying too high output and too equalised pickup. you might loose some acoustic here.. a good guitar won't need all these. they just need a well balanced tone transfer type of pickups. most of them are quite low output, say 4 - 7k reading. if you are playing metal, why scarifice you goon reasonable guitar tone when you can squash your gain on amp or pedals? kalo degil gak, pakai la 24k reading punya pickups, no volume pot straight to jack! baru hensem!

- strings has their own tonal character too! i like daddario for their mids and treble and ernie ball for a good body and zinggy treble. they sure help you to get the right tones for the right guitars. older ghs are awesome sounding too! but this a free country, choose what you feel is best for you. jangan la pakai nylon string kat js 1 ko dah!

- as for electronics, used a graded type on the wires, pots, switches and jacks. get a phillip 60/40 solder iron, ceramic tip, a 25/40 watts good gun and the soldering paste. kalo kat sini pon fail, aku tak tau la... pakai la wayar lampu nak wiring guitar ko tu...

- so enjoy ya... i do honestly want you to have a proper guitar to play. i'm not getting cut and paste info or from a fairy tale dooly.. i'm just sharing things up with you guys. i'm sorry that i may not an expert to convey my advise on to these works perfectly in sentences but to those who have amere expeience and understanding about guitars will be able to visualised what i'm saying.

and also, i don't do this for a living but i can do what i said above for you. provided that you are willing and ready to pay a hefty price.. aku sure sengat punya 'kaw kaw' nye!.. try me!.. ha ha ha! better find somebody that you can 'lowball' cheap so that 'lowballers' sound will come out.

remember, this got nothing to do with your playing. but a not properly setup guitar will surely won't be able to perform perfectly. goodluck boys and gals..

woof!