How do you set up your guitar?Music

[oopssorryy]

I have a lowly Epi SG that I got years ago. With in the first couple months I had plaued my instructors MIA Fender, his early 70s SG, and his late 60s LP. They played soooo much better than my SG and I was bumbed until he taught me how to set up the Epi style guitars.

Now about 5 years later I am adjusting my friends guitars after they play mine and ask me what I did. Until yesterday. My good friend has an Epi LP that is getting bad fret buzz on the low frets, on its 6th-4th strings. The neck is slightly bowed out in the middle, but he likes it like that because it make soloing on the upper frets easier. I told him the only thing I could think of was to shim up the nut on the 6th string side, but that would mean I would have to remove the nut. He didnt like the idea, so I spent about an hour attepmting to work it out at the bridge with no results. Anybody have any ideas?

 

[Bigbazz]

Straighten the neck with the trussrod (small turns, 1/4 turns at a time at most), if the neck is bowed up (up in the middle) then notes will choke out and frets will buzz, fiddling with the bridge didnt help because the problem is the neck being bent. Loosen it a 1/4 turn, leave it for 15-25mins, check tuning and test and repeat if needed, when the neck is straight adjust the action at the bridge to sort the levels.

If he doesnt like it, then you can always put it back that way. Seems silly to me, I play a lot of soloing, action is low on 2 of my guitars and the necks are as straight as an arrow, if they were bowed out I would have to raise the action to compensate. If your friends guitar neck was straight, he could set the action lower at the bridge.

 

[oopssorryy]

Thats how I have mine ATM and I have no issues. He wants his guitar to play like mine but wants too keep the bow. I told him to live with the buzz or fix the neck.

 

[Roger the Horse]

I tune my guitar before playing it

 

[Solo]

Nice low action, 10 gauge strings 👍 Tuning is optional

 

[Roger the Horse]

Low action is generally preferable, unless finger picking. I normally use 9 gauge strings, I think.

 

[Slash]

I normally use 9's, light and ultra light and a 10 here or there, all mixed together. I run 2 B strings and those 2 are strung backwards on my guitar for added signature style, but requires a lot of extra tuning. Ah well. ATM I run into a straight up distortion and then into a splitter that runs into 2 seperate amps with max bass and treble with variable mid and settings on the pedal to give me a really heavy sound while making it slightly easier to pick up all kinda of harmonics, similar to how Zakk Wylde used to set up, while keeping it original if you follow.

I need to come up with the money for extra stuff like EQ etc.

 

[Bigbazz]

I have a feeling the meaning of this thread was misunderstood! HOWEVER - I like that idea for a thread too. He meant as towards setting the guitar itself up, so that it plays and sounds properly, with neck trussrod adjustments and bridge adjustments etc. Pretty much every guitar that is bought new isn't properly setup to get the most out of it and with a good setup it can be improved greatly. Though that can go down to rolling the edges off the fingerboard with a knife, making adjustments to the nut, or using cloth/tissue to deaden the sound of springs in a tremolo system, filing down and then using a lubricant like a grease or wax on the knife edges of a floyd rose type locking tremolo.

Where as I get the feeling some are thinking more along the lines of how and what you run in your rig.

For me that is.

Ibanez Jem (11-56 strings CGCFAD tuning) - Cornford Hellcat 2x12 Combo (I retired the Peavey 5150/Marshall 1960 half stack). Usually with just a delay in the effects loop. But for my new live rig I am going to be trying it like this.

Between the guitar and the amp.

Digitech Bad Monkey overdrive (its analogue not digital, a tubescreamer type overdrive/boost)
Danelectro Surf n' Turf compressor.

In the effects loop -

Digitech Digital Delay
Boss NS2 Noise Gate
Marshall Bluesbreaker overdrive (for volume boost)

 

[oopssorryy]

Well he is dealing with the fret buzz so why not let the thread change direction. Currently I am running 9 guage Jimi Hendrix strings, with a spider II amp. Nothing special but I'm a fan. And I can't say how good it is to roll the edges of your fret board!

 

[Pyle_PMG]

I use open tuning.

So I can play with my slide

 

[oopssorryy]

I have tried that, but I get bored with it really fast. Most likely it's because I fail with slides