Does my guitar need a prof. setup?

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by MC5C

I'm a firm believer that an awful lot of competent guitarists can do an awful lot of setup work with a little experience and thoughtfulness.

I'm sure you're right. But I'm just into playing, not tech stuff so much. I take mine in for a pro setup. Sounds like the OP should, too.

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by MC5C

My real comment is on the idea of "professional setup". I'm a firm believer that an awful lot of competent guitarists can do an awful lot of setup work with a little experience and thoughtfulness.

Actually agree with you with some conditions.

To explain I will use an example, I am not an electroplater, a good friend of mine is, I have an electroplating line in my workshop and I can electroplate, with the proviso that everything is perfect to start with and nothing goes wrong. If something goes wrong and the end result is of poor quality, I do not know enough about electroplating to identify where and why and how to fix.

I do believe the same exists in the field of guitar repairs or setups, with a perfect guitar and all conditions correct, yes anyone can do it, however if at the end of the work, the guitar buzzes / frets out feels uncomfortable the average person does not know how to identify what is causing the problem and what is needed to fix it.

Those of us that do it for a living, see many a time where a lay person has done the work with the right intention only to realise way too late they are out of their depth and end up doing damage to their instrument

Steve