How often does one need to get a setup done on a guitar? - Page 3

AZLiberty · #31 02-02-2019, 12:43 PM

Assuming you know what strings you like,

Once, maybe.

I've had a setup done twice. Once on a 12-string to lower the action (huge difference), and once on a Martin 6-string to raise the action. The Martin is still a little low for my taste.

StephenHD35 · #32 02-02-2019, 12:57 PM

I think it depends on the guitar, personal preference and, to a significant extent, where one lives.
I have guitars that haven’t had so much as a truss rod adjustment in five years. I have others that have needed the occasional tweak. I live in the desert, at sea level altitude. My guitars don’t go through a lot of the seasonal fluctuations that people living in areas with distinct changes in weather throughout the year must deal with. Where I live, there isn’t much difference between Spring, Autumn, and Winter. Summer is a different matter.

Osage · #33 02-02-2019, 01:35 PM

When I was in my 20's I worked full time as a recording engineer. Bands would often ask what they could do to prepare for a session and the two things I would always tell them was to make sure the drum heads were decent and to get their guitars set up. It was astonishing how many people would come in spending good money to record and have serious intonation issues/buzzing/ dead spots etc.... I think again that it boils down to if you're playing the thing every night, you might be the last person to notice that it needs work.

s2y · #34 02-02-2019, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osage

When I was in my 20's I worked full time as a recording engineer. Bands would often ask what they could do to prepare for a session and the two things I would always tell them was to make sure the drum heads were decent and to get their guitars set up. It was astonishing how many people would come in spending good money to record and have serious intonation issues/buzzing/ dead spots etc.... I think again that it boils down to if you're playing the thing every night, you might be the last person to notice that it needs work.

I don't doubt it. I'm genuinely amazed how guys will play acoustics with such poor setups and dead strings. Even worse is if they primarily play electric and seldom touch their acoustic. People bash the idea of a guitarist playing bass. Guys who don't practice on their acoustics sound just as weak.

stephenT · #35 02-02-2019, 02:57 PM

Saddles and nuts do wear as do the frets, but assuming there's no structural changes, once a guitar is set up properly all it should need is a seasonal truss rod adjustment.

Osage · #36 02-02-2019, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephenT

Saddles and nuts do wear as do the frets, but assuming there's no structural changes, once a guitar is set up properly all it should need is a seasonal truss rod adjustment.

This might be true of some guitars I guess but I see guitars come into my shop that need setup work all the time. If all they ever needed was a seasonal truss rod adjustment, I'd be out of a job.

mawmow · #37 02-02-2019, 04:14 PM

*** As far as I know, room humidity for acoustic guitars should be kept around 45%, 55 % being acceptable, while under 40 % too dry.

P.S. used to live in an 80% humidity for many years : silicate drying devices may be needed... I did not have any then and had no problem though my guitar room measures averaged 70%.

Wade Hampton · #38 02-02-2019, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcpharm

probably a noob question but how often does one need to get a setup done? i had one done originally on my Larrivee DV09 more than 10 years ago. i then played a different guitar for a while and now that i am playing the Larrivee again, the action feels a little high - maybe i'm just fooled by playing the other guitar. i'm wondering if i should take my Larrivee in for a setup. Thoughts?

JC, what I do whenever I get an instrument that's new to me is get a set up done by a pro. One of the most important jobs is to get the action at the nut where it needs to be: an astonishing number of guitars have got the action too high at the nut, simply because that's how the guitar came and the owner never realized that could be improved. If you never had that done on your Larrivée, that might be the problem right there.

Once I've gotten a pro set up done, generally all that's ever needed thereafter is to tweak the truss rod a bit as the neck shifts with the seasons.

That's on acoustic guitar. I used to perform with a wood-bodied archtop mandolin (I'm using a National resonator mandolin these days.) With the mandolin, I used to have to get the action dialed in twice a year: at the beginning of winter, when the snow was on the ground to stay, and in spring, when the snow was gone to stay.

Mandolin is a much smaller instrument, so everything is much closer together. Plus the arched top and back move more with seasonal changes than flattop guitars do. Just those tiny dimensional shifts were enough to throw out the intonation on the mandolin, so the twice-yearly action adjustments were necessary if I wanted to play in tune and not hideously out of tune.

But on acoustic guitars, even though there can be slight dimensional shifts due to seasonal humidity changes, it generally doesn't have as much of an impact on intonation.

Anyway, I would recommend that you take your Larrivée in to get checked out by your nearest friendly and experienced guitar tech. It might be that you can get away with a simple truss rod adjustment, or the guitar might need some minor work. Again, if you never had the action lowered at the nut, this would be the time to do it.

If you still own or have access to the other guitar you were playing for a while, take it along with you when you take the Larrivée into the repair shop. That will give the guitar tech a concrete reference that he can use to set the action on your Larrivée.

Hope this helps.

Wade Hampton Miller

jim1960 · #39 02-02-2019, 04:36 PM

I only need a setup when I need a setup. It's not like an oil change that you do every 3000 miles.

Larry Pattis · #40 02-02-2019, 04:52 PM

Depends on the individual guitar, and it’s environment.

jcpharm · #41 02-04-2019, 02:48 PM

***UPDATE: took it into a guitar tech and said the top looked a little dried out despite my use of a humidifier (sponge-type soundhole) and closing the case. said to add more sponges (DIY humidifiers), get a hygrometer to put in there, get it to at least 40-50% relative humidity, and try that for a few weeks before coming back to him. i appreciated that he went that route rather than just charge me for a setup. he said the neck was not that significantly bowed and could all be explained by the dried out wood. thankfully no cracks to speak of.

Pura Vida · #42 02-05-2019, 05:15 PM

That's good news. 'Tis the season for humidity challenges.

s2y · #43 02-06-2019, 09:10 AM

Getting control of my humidity was a game changer for me. I live in the Midwest, with very dry winters and extremely humid summers. I'd have to wrench everything during the seasonal changes and some instruments would get "fret sprout". I occasionally need to make a fine adjustment on the truss rods these days.

Also, are you in pharmacy based on your user name? My dad was a pharmacist and is happily retired these days.

jcpharm · #44 02-06-2019, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s2y

Getting control of my humidity was a game changer for me. I live in the Midwest, with very dry winters and extremely humid summers. I'd have to wrench everything during the seasonal changes and some instruments would get "fret sprout". I occasionally need to make a fine adjustment on the truss rods these days.

Also, are you in pharmacy based on your user name? My dad was a pharmacist and is happily retired these days.

pharmaceuticals - but not a pharmacist. research and development. i used to live in the Midwest growing up but have been out on the East Coast ever since.