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What Are Your New Guitar Rituals?


fixintogo

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Strip off all the plastic. Set the pickups to where I like them. Adjust intonation after I put on new strings. Rock out.

 

 

Pretty much ... restring with 10-52s, tweak action and intonation ... if it's a Strat, screw with the trem springs for appropriate up- and down-bend capability plus whatever it takes to get it to come back to accurate pitch ...

 

Then drop it a few times. Because, as everybody knows, a guitar isn't really yours until you've dropped it. Purists will sometimes also piss on it to mark their territory.

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I take off the plastic, replace the strap buttons with Schaller locking buttons, and add an hex wrench holder to the back of the headstock for guitars with a trem (which is EVERY guitar I buy at this point).

 

Then I rock out on it. Usually for quite a while before I even change the strings, since I've often found different guitars have different needs for gauge, setup, and pickups.

 

After the break in period, I most often swap out the pickups as well. Currently only have 2 out of 13 guitars I've kept the original pickups in. (and one of those I WOULD replace if I could, but the pickups and wiring I desire will not fit the guitar)

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+1 on nut replacement. At least on all my Gibsons. I still dont get how those idiots in Nashville can have so much trouble putting a decent nut on a guitar. They say you get what you pay for, unless it's a Gibson. I remember when their slogan was "only a Gibson is good enough", perhaps now it should be "Only good enough for a Gibson". If I'm paying between 1000-1500 on a guitar, I don't think it's too much to ask for a guitar that functions properly and hasn't skimped on one of the most essential parts of the instrument. What's the price difference between bone or graphite on one hand versus corian on the other? Can a Corian nut be cut properly? Is this a case of generally shoddy labor? I don't know, but I do know I have never had a Gibson that didn't have nut issues at first. Funny thing is I keep buying em.

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Strip off all the plastic. Set the pickups to where I like them. Adjust intonation after I put on new strings. Rock out.

 

 

Don't forget the essential pork based christening for tone: Cook bacon, eat bacon, slather bacon grease on neck.

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I strum it unplugged for a bit, then I look it over for any problems. After that I plug it in to see if it's everything I thought it'd be... If it is, then I take off the stickers and whatnot. I usually stick with the factory setup/strings until the strings need changed and then I send it off to my tech at that point to have it set up to my liking.

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I just picked up a new Godin Kingpin, and I have to say that it has the best out-of-the-box playability of any guitar I've ever bought.

 

The "set-up" involved lowering the bridge and tuning it. That's it. They got everything right, from the nut to the intonation to the neck relief. Even the strings look to be my brand and gauge -- D'Addario .11s with a wound G.

 

Took all of the fun out of tinkering with my new guitar, but I can't complain!

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