So, I want to talk about a few tips related to string ‘break angle’ — the angle the string takes over the nut or saddle. However, I reckon that it might be useful to explain what I mean and to give a little background on this area first.
Let's start with the break angle at the nut — that's the angle at which the string leaves the nut and heads for the tuner.
Read MoreI'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.
Read MoreIf 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.
Read MoreDifferent 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?
Read MoreThere 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…
Read MoreYou'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.
Read MoreContinuing our Setup FAQ: Should you setup your guitar yourself or is it better you pay someone to take care of it for you?
Well, there are pros and cons, fors and againsts, plusses and minuses.
Before making the decision, consider the following…
Read MoreYou've got a shiny new guitar and you're wondering why on earth you'd want to get it setup. I mean, it's new. Isn't it already perfectly set up?
Well, there's a chance that it is perfect for you.
And there's a really good chance that a setup might just be worth considering. Check it out…
Read MoreIf 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.
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From time to time I’ll have conversations with players about intonation issues. Often, they’re worried about weird tuning inconsistencies that have crept in to their guitar or bass. Maybe, they’ll even have done the 12th-fret intonation check and found that it seemed ok but the problems persisted.
Here's why you should consider your frets…
Read MoreRemoving a neck to adjust the truss rod is a bit of a pain.
Some Telecasters, however have a channel cut between the neck pocket and the front pickup cavity. Because the neck pickup is often mounted direct to the body, removing the pickguard on those Teles is easy. And, if you're lucky, you'll have a little notched channel to get at the truss rod.
Read MoreAnother case of hidden screws. Because these are the sorts of things that slowed me up in the past, when I come across one (and when I remember to photograph it), I'll pass it on and hopefully help others in the future.
The original Taylor Expression System used a pair of AA batteries. Usually, these are problem free but, sometimes, a battery can get stuck in its housing. Grrr.
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