Can my Neck Take The Strain?

Is it necessary to drop a guitar’s tuning to prevent its neck from bowing or deforming under string tension? Should we tune lower and use a capo to preserve our guitar necks?

The answer is no. Mostly. Read on…

OpinionGerry Hayes19 November 2019neck, bow, relief, string tension, repair, setup, action, neck relief, guitar, bass, acoustic, 12-string

A Truss Rod is Not for Adjusting Action

Rant time. Again. You’d think I enjoyed ranting.

Let me state this clearly: Truss rods are NOT for adjusting action. Let no one tell you otherwise.

Read on…

SetupGerry Hayes6 June 2018setup, guitar, bass, relief, bow, action, low, neck

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

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

Should I Slacken String Tension For Storage?

Guitar and bass strings can exert hundreds of pounds of tension on a guitar neck. So, it makes sense to slacken off the strings when you're not using the instrument, right?

Maybe not…

SetupGerry Hayes30 October 2017guitar, bass, storage, hard case, flight case, truss-rod, string tension, strings, neck, relief, vintage

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: Where should I actually measure action?

Different guides and instructions call for measuring string height/action at different places along the neck. The most common you'll hear is probably at the 12th fret, closely followed by direction to measure at the 17th fret.

So what's the best way to do it?

SetupGerry Hayes15 May 2017setup-faq, action, relief, setup

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: Do I need a different setup for slide?

You've got a guitar you don't play much and you reckon you might use it for a bit of bottleneck. Wondering if you need to do anything to set it up differently?

Well, you could just go at it and persevere through the clunks of slides of frets until you're Duane Allman. That's definitely valid. Most of us will find things a little easier if we make a couple of adjustments.

SetupGerry Hayes1 May 2017setup-faq, guitar, slide, bottleneck, action, nut, relief

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

Haze Super Setup Sale in January

SetupGerry Hayes31 December 2012acoustic, action, bass, guitar, half-price, intonation, neck, nut, relief, repair, sale, set-up, setup, strings

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