Revisiting Brian May - intonation and ‘offset’ zero fret

Answering questions about the clever fix made to address limitations around replacing the zero fret on Brian May’s famous Red Special guitar. Great thinking…

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes19 February 2019brian may, red special, zero fret, refret, intonation, tuning, fret wear, repair, queen

Tuning Problems: What do you mean by 'out of tune'?

When you say your guitar goes out of tune, what to you mean? Does the tuning slip over time as you play or does it sound out of tune in different places? How we attempt to solve things means we have to get to the bottom of what’s really wrong.

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes25 September 2018tuning, tuner, intonation, setup, repair, guitar, bass, acoustic, troubleshooting tuning

String Seating and Witness Points

Up until a little while ago, the term ‘witness points’ was not one I knew. Turns out, though, it’s a very useful concept to understand — especially if you’re having problems getting a string intonated before running out of saddle travel.

Check it out…

SetupGerry Hayes26 June 2018setup, intonation, string, witness points, guitar, bass, tuning, saddle, bridge, repair

An Old G and a New G

When it comes to compensation and intonation the change from a wound G string to a plain one caused a lot of hassle in sections of the guitar community. Get the skinny on G-strings…

When you shouldn't setup your guitar

There are times that I will advise a player AGAINST having their guitar setup. There are times when every repairer/tech should do this.

Find out why…

SetupGerry Hayes15 January 2018frets, refret, fret level, setup, guitar, bass, action, relief, fret wear, intonation

Frets are consumables

Frets don't last forever. They're essentially a consumable item; designed to wear and expire as they're used.

Recognise the signs of fret-wear and a couple of things that will speed it.

Click to read more…

Guitar RepairGerry Hayes4 December 2017frets, refret, fret level, crown, setup, guitar, bass, neck, fingerboard, intonation, fret wear

Sketchy Setups on sale for Black Friday

All this talk of Black Friday sales has prompted me to do something too.

So, all Sketchy Setups guides (including the already discounted bundle) are 20% off for Black Friday. Just use code crazyblackfriday at checkout

Don't dilly-dally. That code is crazyblackfriday

Buy Now or read more.

Books, SetupGerry Hayes24 November 2017guitar, bass, setup, DIY, intonation, action, relief, truss rod, book, ebook, guide, sketchy setups

Problems due to pickup height

Your pickups are too high.

Well, if you're like most guitarists and bassists, your pickups are too high. Sure, it's all about the power but there are a number of drawbacks to setting your pickups too close to the strings.

Check it out…

SetupGerry Hayes17 October 2017pickups, setup, electronics, guitar, bass, fret buzz, tuning, intonation, humbucker, single coil, strat

Setup FAQ: A Round-Up

I've run through a lot of frequently-asked setup questions over the last few weeks. I figured it might be useful to round them up and present them as a list so they're a bit easier to find.

SetupGerry Hayes29 May 2017setup, setup-faq, sketchy setups, guitar, bass, action, intonation, relief, neck, bow, guide, instruction, how-to

Setup FAQ: Setting up for Dropped Tunings

If you play in dropped tunings or you detune your guitar, you'll probably want to give some thought to the instrument's setup. Do you set up for the dropped or standard tuning? What sort of setup adjustments should you worry about. What's the low-down?

Get it? Low-down. Ha. Click through for more info and fewer jokes.

SetupGerry Hayes22 May 2017setup-faq, dropped tuning, drop tuning, detune, strings, action, setup, relief, neck, intonation, tremolo, floyd rose

Setup FAQ: Do I need to adjust things in order?

There are a number of steps to a guitar or bass setup. Does the order these are performed actually matter?

Yes. Yes, it does.

Here's why…

SetupGerry Hayes8 May 2017setup-faq, sketchy setups, relief, action, nut, intonation

SETUP FAQ: What exactly IS a guitar setup?

If you hang around with guitarists or bassists, you’ll probably hear them talk about setups. “I got my guitar setup and it plays great.” “I think my bass needs a setup.” “I think I’ll do my own setup on this one.”

Setups, setups, setups. From the time you start playing and hanging out with other musicians, you’ll begin to *absorb* the ‘setup’ thing. It’ll become part of the world.

I get a lot of questions on setup so this is the first in a series of Setup FAQ.

SetupGerry Hayes28 March 2017setup-faq, setup, guitar, bass, acoustic, action, intonation, pickup, relief, neck

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