[mattwood]

Originally Posted by TheGITM

There are some different schools of thought on setup steps... here's mine:

1a. Check neck relief AND geometry to bridge/saddle
---Capo on 1st fret, push down on 14th fret, measure string gap at 8th fret
---Should be in the range of .005" to .012" (1mm-3mm), depending on preference
1b. Straight edge check from fingerboard to bridge
---If straight edge is noticeably below the top of the bridge there is a geometry problem that may require a neck reset

2. Assuming step 1a and 1b are good - check nut
---Measure string gap on 1st fret for each string by holding down each string at the 3rd fret and tapping on the top of the 1st fret
---String should just clear the fret so a little 'tap' should be a barely noticeable 'click'
---Adjust nut, as necessary
---NOTE: if frets are noticeably worn down significantly, you may want to stop here and address the frets

3. Once relief is set and the nut is set, now you can look at the string gap at the 12th fret to determine what saddle adjustments might be needed
---If the action is high at the 12th fret and you want to lower it, you will need to take 2x that amount off at the saddle
---So, if you want to drop the action at the 12th fret by 1mm, you would need to shave 2mm off of the saddle
---If the action is low at the 12th fret and you want to raise it, you would need to add 2x that amount to get to your desired action
---You can either shim the saddle, or replace it -note: if you shim the saddle, I recommend using a shim made from the same wood as the bridge, if possible

That's my basic checklist of steps. I should add, though, the very first thing you should do if you're looking at a guitar for the first time, is sight down the neck from above looking at the nut, frets, and saddle to make sure everything looks parallel. Before doing anything, you want to be sure there is not a twist in the neck. If there is, you really don't want to do anything else... except cuss and pray it's under warranty.

Edit to add: The other potential issue is more related to any residual fret buzz that might be present after setting the action - you may need to check for/correct any unlevel frets.

Edit to the edit: I would take care of all of the potential setup issues first, then address any remaining intonation issues.

I happened to find someone in my area who works on guitars and took my guitar to him and he said much of what you recommended. He feels there is too much relief in the neck but also found the nut slots were too low and recommended filling them and reslotting them. He also said that there were a few frets that had raised that need to be lowered. Basically the strings were too low on the first fret but too high up the neck. The only other thing he found was that the bridge and saddle were slanting towards the sound hole. There is some belly behind the bridge which I guess is the culprit. We talked about the possibility of using a bridge doctor but since it's a narrow bridge a hole can't be drilled and I don't really want to do that He thought that issue could be addressed later if needed. He didn't find the intonation issues to be as bad as I thought they were and part of the culprit may have been me pressing down too hard due to the action. Once he gets the other things done he is going to lower the action just a little at the saddle. Thanks for all of the replies.