When setting up a Strat do you adjust action or intonation first?

[elsupermanny14]

I want to learn how to set up my Strat. I have never done so before and am therefore curious as to what order to follow. Do I set up the action first on my guitar and then the intonation or visa versa? What happens if after setting up your intonation you want to change your action? Do you need to redo the intonation?

 

Another questions is if there is a predetermined saddle hight or space to start from and then go from there?

 

If it helps its a Squier Strat with a standard tremolo.

[Brujo13]

action first, intonation last

[DaleH]

Myself I do intonation last. Because if you have high action (as some prefer) you can pull the intonation out.

[pixelchemist]

always intonation last... otherwise you kinda wasting your time and will have do it again anyways.

[DaleH]

I should add though that you can set it close , just so your in the ballpark but you will have to fine tune after your settup.

[Faber]

Action first - intonation change with the action.

[Citizen_Insane]

^^ All of this.

[EADGBE]

Intonation is always last.

[ArKay]

What they said.

[JZ Guitars]

stewmac.com has a great section on guitar set up on thier site, check it out there's lots of great tips there. It's under "free info".

[Les Paul Lover]

Where yo will have fun too, it's that in floating trem configuration, whe your saddle bridge unit is at an angle, changing the intonation changes the action....... as you are moving the saddle bit on an angled platform.

 

Move your saddle towards the neck, your action gets lower, move your saddle back and your action gets higher....

[BoneNut]

The entire series is very helpful and worth watching. Here's the intonation video.

 

With its floating bridge, the Strat is a bit tricky to set up correctly. All adjustments need to work together in harmony.

 

[YOUTUBE]QEZzELeOclw&feature=channel[/YOUTUBE]

[MrChitlins]

neck relief (truss rod), then nut slot depth, then action, then intonation.

[webwarmiller]

Since you are wanting to learn to do setups, I would recommend googling "guitar setup how to" and then read over the numerous tutorials. The point is to understand the WHY behind every adjustment.....not just the how. You'll notice that people do things slightly differently which is also the point of reading the numerious tutorials.....there is no set in stone method for many things. Remember a setup is all about personal preference and one guitarist's ideal setup might feel like crap to you.

[geekocaster]

intonation - action - intonation

[wagdog]

 

neck relief (truss rod), then nut slot depth, then action, then intonation.

 

 

This.

 

FWIW, I do check the intonation FIRST as DaleH said and get it in the ball park, then do the setup in the order above.

 

Also, if you're going to be moving your trem (like decking it, or lifting off the back by an 1/8"), I would do that first and then get the action and intonation in the ball park, then start the above list.

[ashasha]

 

Where yo will have fun too, it's that in floating trem configuration, whe your saddle bridge unit is at an angle, changing the intonation changes the action....... as you are moving the saddle bit on an angled platform. Move your saddle towards the neck, your action gets lower, move your saddle back and your action gets higher....

 

 

This can be an issue, but I usually block mine temporarily so that I at least have a stable base to work from. I also set it so that I only have about 1/8" of backwards travel so that the angle isn't too extreme.

 

Nothing sucks more than trying to make precise adjustments and you've got one part that shifts on your all the time.

[MrChitlins]

I do check the intonation FIRST as DaleH said and get it in the ball park, then do the setup in the order above.

 

Very good point. I do that too as a precursor to the full list. I also sit and play the guitar for a little while after doing so to get a feel for what else might be ailing it before diving in to a full setup.

 

Also, since I don't have a really good tuner yet, but do have my guitar connected to my pc, I've been using this:

 

 

http://www.aptuner.com/cgi-bin/aptuner/apmain.html

 

Beats the hell out the tuner on my Tonelab.

[WRGKMC]

If the instrument is really screwed up, You may have to cycle through your adjustments several times. If for example, the intonations off alot, bringing it in can change the total pounds pressure pulling on the neck.

 

I would do things like set basic height, releif, and intonation to ball park it, IE set the first saddel with a ruler to match the scale lengthe (2 x the distance from the nut to 12th fret crown) then measure the string heights off the fretboard on the 1st and 6th string, then radius the other strings in the case of a fender. Next I'd set the relief so I have .009 clearence at the 5th ~7th frets.

 

Then I'd cycle through the adjustments untill no more changes occur after making adjustments, making sure I'm in an upright playing position, Have new strings on and stretched in, Have a good crown on the frets, Nut height tweaked if I had done a recrown and polish, and retuning after every set of adjustments.

 

Floating trems can be a bitch too. For a standard strat bridge, you have it set so when you pluck the G string and pull up so it hits the body the note goes to a perfect A note before stopping. Any adjustments, and especially intonation will mess that up so cycling all adjustments is critical.

 

I'll usually end up on intonation, but It may also be relief. If I set everything up perfectly then then check it in a week or so the truss may settle in and flaten or bow a bit too much. I might just treak the truss if thats all thats needed and leave the intonation alone if thats whats needed.

[BoneNut]

 

If the instrument is really screwed up, You may have to cycle through your adjustments several times. If for example, the intonations off alot, bringing it in can change the total pounds pressure pulling on the neck. I would do things like set basic height, releif, and intonation to ball park it, IE set the first saddel with a ruler to match the scale lengthe (2 x the distance from the nut to 12th fret crown) then measure the string heights off the fretboard on the 1st and 6th string, then radius the other strings in the case of a fender. Next I'd set the relief so I have .009 clearence at the 5th ~7th frets. Then I'd cycle through the adjustments untill no more changes occur after making adjustments, making sure I'm in an upright playing position, Have new strings on and stretched in, Have a good crown on the frets, Nut height tweaked if I had done a recrown and polish, and retuning after every set of adjustments. Floating trems can be a bitch too. For a standard strat bridge, you have it set so when you pluck the G string and pull up so it hits the body the note goes to a perfect A note before stopping. Any adjustments, and especially intonation will mess that up so cycling all adjustments is critical. I'll usually end up on intonation, but It may also be relief. If I set everything up perfectly then then check it in a week or so the truss may settle in and flaten or bow a bit too much. I might just treak the truss if thats all thats needed and leave the intonation alone if thats whats needed.

 

 

 

Great info.

I cycle through everything too and still end up doing minute tweaks a few days after too.

[csm]

We should ask MHUK how he did mine. However he did it was DEFINITELY the right way to do it -- he made a great guitar even greater.

[DaleH]

 

Great info. I cycle through everything too and still end up doing minute tweaks a few days after too.

 

 

weeks ,months.