Guitar: Adjusting the Guitar: An Open Learning Guide

Many beginning or even intermediate guitarists are unaware that their guitar should be "set up". The adjustments described in the adjustment subsections below (along with restringing and tuning) are called a "set up".

If a guitar plays easily and sounds its best then it's easy for the player to feel successful.

When a guitar is brand new and fresh from the factory it may or may not have had these adjustments done. As a rule, a guitar should be set up when first purchased (used or new) and again when switching string gauges. Consider getting a set up anytime the guitar sounds or feels different than it used to. Perhaps after a guitar travels (altitude changes, pressure changes, and humidity can affect the wood in the guitar) and just like changing oil in a car it is a good idea to get a set up every now and then for maintenance purposes (perhaps twice a year).

Poor set up may be obvious to a player or it might not. In some cases the guitar may be unplayable because it hasn't been set up. A maladjusted guitar can cause strange quirks, for instance frets near the bottom of the neck being too sharp, or can even cause damage (e.g., by using .012 gauge strings on a nut designed for .009 strings, and the tension messes up the nut), and it can easily frustrate the player when their playing is perfectly correct yet things still don't sound right.

In particular if your guitar ever becomes difficult for you to play, a set up will probably help.

It is not absolutely required to set up a guitar, but it is nonetheless a good idea, especially if the guitar is to be taken to the stage. Some people never get their guitar set up. Some get their guitar set up even when nothing previously seemed wrong with it, then find such a dramatic change in the guitar's playability and sound that they wish they had set it up sooner.

These adjustments should generally be done by a professional, qualified repair person. They require precision instruments, some hard to find tools, a steady hand, quite a bit of time and know-how.

Virtually all musical instrument stores will be able to perform a professional set up. Some will do the job better than others. Call a local music store and ask them "Do you do set ups for electric (or acoustic) guitars and how much would you charge?". Getting a set up will probably cost from $30 to $75 USD.

This is a simple adjustment that can usually be performed without professional assistance. The bridge saddles should be lowered if the string action is too high, that is, the strings are too far up off the fretboard. In some cases it may be desirable to raise the saddles for a higher string action.

Most electric guitars have two small screws on the saddle which can be used to raise or lower the saddle. Some saddles have screws that can be rotated using the fingers; others require an allen key. Lower the saddles too much and the strings might rattle against certain frets (this may or may not be inconsequential on an electric guitar; listen through an amplifier). In more extreme cases, pressing a string against one fret might actually fret the string against a different fret, usually the one under the intended one. In both cases, filing the frets might alleviate the problem if the saddle really should be that low. Otherwise, simply raising the saddle a small amount on the side with the problem should be fine.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Guitar/Adjusting the Guitar by Wikibooks contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. This adapted text is shared under the same licence. Contributor history.