Okay, My Project Guitar... I need Set-Up Help.

Hey guys, my project guitar is finished. It just needs set-up (apparently). I strung it up, tuned it, then I realized two things.

It wouldn't keep tune, and the tremolo is sticking out of its cavity!!!

What do I do in order to put it to the way it's supposed to be?

Oh, and for those wondering, it's a strat project. With regular Fender-style tremolo.

Need pics.

That problem is fixed. (Not enough Spring Tension). However, there is a new plethera of problems.

Fret Buzz all across the High-E. All the notes open are intonated, but... all the notes on the fretboard are sharp (as in, too high). Action is kind of high.

I need help with all of this! How do I lower action? How do I make the notes more intonated?

Sounds like you need a complete set-up. Strat floating trems can be very tricky, because anything you adjust effects all the other strings as well, even when just tuning. In addition, the neck relief may need to be adjusted and the frets dressed. Many times it is necessary to shim a Strat neck to achieve a proper setup as well.

Lowering the action and intonating all happen at the bridge saddles, but that does not ensure a proper setup - everything works together and has to be in balance. If you have not done a full setup in the past, find a good online resource and work through it step by step. You will need gauges and a really good tuner to do it correctly.

If in doubt - take the guitar to a professional.

Thanks!

Go to the Fender site and do the adjustments listed. It gives you string height, pickup height, intonation and setting up the trem. You need a ruler that will measure down to 64ths to get the best measurements, a must for setting up a guitar. You also nee a ruller thet will measure from the nut to the 12th fret.

Thanks guys, I'll tell you what, this place is the best for project help!

Okay, my problems are... high action, and get this... When I try to intonate, it won't do it. In fact, it does the opposite (if the 12th is sharp, you add string, if it is flat you take away string).

So, I take away string, and it doesn't change at all. (All the strings's 12th's are sharp by the way).

It sounds like you need to add some shim at the heel of your neck to get the action in the ballpark. you basically will be changing the angle of the neck. Very common with bolt type gits. Intonation is the last thing you do. WRG is on the money with the Fender website and the settings listed. It gets you real close. I've since found that all guitars have their own little quirks that make them happy. I have 2 guitars with necks as identical as can be. But one likes a bit more relief. Once you get the action, relief, nut slots and everything else correct, the intonation is almost an after thought.

Okay, well... I figured out intonation. But, yet another new problem. No matter what I do, the notes are way too sharp on the fretboard. I understand that a D on the G string, will not be completely "green", (talking tuner-wise).

Basically every string doesn't want to intonate. My High E is the only one that does.

How do I add shim to the heel? Keep in mind, this is a partscaster, so it doesn't have the cool Shim-Adjustment thingy majig like on regular Fender models.

Right now, my main focus is the action. However, making sure that the guitar isn't out of tune throughout the whole fretboard would be a plus.

Also, a couple of other things you may need to know:

My high E, the fretted notes are a little sharp, but they are consistant, and not gradual, like on the other strings.

With each fretted note on the other strings, it either starts out a little sharp, and becomes gradual throughout the fretboard, or... it is horrendously sharp, and is consistant all the way down the fretboard.

And, when I was building this, I had to use sandpaper to widen the nutslots a bit, so then my string gauges (.56, .46, .36, .17, .13, .10) could fit.

try lowering the pickups?

Shimming the neck is simple. Try a guitar pick all the way into the neck pocket and then bolt the neck pack in place. With your intonation concern: how deep are the nut slots? When you press down on the string at the 3rd fret, you should nave less than .010" gap between the string and the 1st fret. I alway shoot for around .005 or the thickness of a business card. For trem equipped guitars, if the customer uses the trem a lot, I stop at .010". This leaves a lot of room for wear. The strings getting sharp when you fret indicates to me that the nut slots are too shallow. Get a set of nut files. Not cheap, but one nut job pays for them. Best price is at Warmoth. Nut slots too shallow can also have a slight effect on your action. It's the first on my set up list. I do everything in order. Nut slots, neck relief, action, bridge saddle radius, trem and then intonation.

I figured out what shimming was. I cut up some index cards, and shoved'em back into the neck pocket, now my action is where I want it at, (well, somewhere close).

Okay! I'll definitely get all of this when I have the chance. My mom is kind of pissed that we are spending so much money on this thing.

It's nice to know that there's people like you guys, who know what the hell to do!

I need feeler gauges, nut files, and replacement strings. I'm starting set-up all over again.

Thanks for all your help and info! Setting-up a guitar is one of those things, that it's nice to know. Especially saying, the new guitar repairman at my local music store charges 75 bucks, just for wiring!

After I get a new amp, (I give up on my Windsor head), stay tuned for my SG build!

And, once again, thanks!

Hey, would it cause problems to use a piece of folded sandpaper instead of a nutfile?

I never thought of that. Seems like it would work for the larger strings, not sure about the smaller ones. I take it you have concerns in that area. Unless the measurement method I gave you earlier is really wide it shouldn't be a big problem. But you get beyond about .015 and it will cause problems with intonation. Get the feeler guages and see what you have before going any further. Yes, nut files are expensive. But they will last you the rest of your life with proper care. Trust me on this one, once you learn to do your own nuts, you won't want a girlfr... oh wait, I mean you will be the envy of all your friends. Once I learned, I started doing other people's nuts. A proper nut job makes a world of difference in your outlook/ I mean, in how your guitar plays.

I might as well get a set! Just, to keep things proper. Now, where to get feeler gauges... Any ideas?

Hahaha, yeah... it's hilarious to tell people that guitars have NUTS.

When you're setting up your guitar, you might need to file your NUTS.

Gotta take care of your NUTS.

Feeler gauges don't need to be expensive. Do you have a Harbor Freight nearby?

I remember a story from my last marriage. She asked me if I had a chapstik. I told her I have one in the shop. I use it to lube my nuts. She gave me the weirdest look. But it does work pretty well. And it's cheap.

The order you want to do your adjustments are important. One set will affect the other. You do intonation last.

First you want to get the height correct. The high E should be 3~4/64ths and the kiw e 6/64ths. For the strings in between using an under string radius gauge works best, otherwise you can use feeler gauges at the 12th fret.

You can gang up geeler gauges for these measures. Beginning at the high E string they are 1.91 - 1.35 - 1.5 - 1.66 - 1.83 - 1.98 for the low E. press the gauges together tight over the 12the fret for each string and the string should barely clear the gauges when you pluck a string.

Next do your whammy height. If you are going to use a floating whammy, you pluch the third G string, then pull up on the whammy so it touches the body. The note should go from a G to an A note on your tuner. If it goes above A, tighten the whammy, retune the strings and try again. Do it over and over till the note only goes from G to A.

After doing the whammy, you need to go back to the height, then the whammy and back again till there are no more adjustements to be made.

Next is to check the truss rod. Hold down each string at the 1st and last frets and pluck the string in the middel of the neck. The strings should just clear all other frets.

You can also use a straight edge, lay it on the neck, and use feeler gauges and see if the gauge passes between the 5~7th frets and the straight edge. If they pass too easily tighten the truss, if they pass too tightly or not at all, loosen the truss and allow it time to settle in.

retune after doing the truss.

Next is intonation. Adjust the high E saddel where the string just touches it to scalre length. Scale length is doubble the distance from nut to the center of the 12th fret which would be about 25" for a normal fender neck from the nut to the saddel or 12.5" from the center of the 12th fret to the saddel.

The other saddels get adjusted towards the tail in a gradual stepping. The fender site tells you the ball park setup. I usually use a small ruler and measure the first saddel between the edge where the saddel screws go through and the end of the saddel. I subtract 1/32 from the measurement of the first saddel for the second saddel, If the first saddel threaded screw was 18/32 then the second saddel screw would be extended 17/32.

Then the thire would be 16/32, then the forth goes towards the neck to match the second saddel at 17/32, 5th string 16-32 and the 6th low E would be 16/32.

This gets me in the ballpark. You then need to go back, test the truss so the open G string goes to an A note. Intonation will affect the whammy springs more than anytthing elsee. Then you would see if the string height is still correct. Truss shouldnt change much but you doe need to check it again.

Lastly you would use your tuner to adjust the intonation in for each string. Most saddels will likel need to be adjusted towards the tail. You shouldnt have to turn a saddel screw more than one turn if that. You need to go back and check the whammy springs, and string height after each string you intonate. use the 12th string harmonic, and the fretted 12th fret till all strings read a perfect octave on the meter.

By now the guitar should be feeling really good to play.

Next would be your pickup height. Hold the last fret down on the high and low strings. The bridge pickup should be about 3mm or 4/32 from the high E string to the top of the pickup pole, and the low E string should be about 4mm or 5/32. Do the same for the other pickups. This adjustment does vary depending on the pickup type. If you have strong magnets, you can adjust them farther away for a cleaner tone. I wouldnt go much closer though. 3mmeach side is about as far as you want to go. You can leave the bridge at 3mm and the neck pickup at say 5mm. this way the bridge pup will give you a hotter sound for leads and the neck a cleaner rythum.

If a guitar has 3 pickups, I place a small rummer on top of the pols of the neck and rythum and adjust the center pickup so it comes up and just touches the ruler suspended above it on both sides.

Thats about it, you cycle those adjustments through till there is no more adjustments to be made.

Then and only then should you customize your adjustments for how it feels best. Always get it to factory specs then go for a custom feel.

Lastly, if you change string gauges you will have to redo all adjustments. You should memorise them and get good at doing them.

As a guitarist its just as important as knowing how to play the instrument and its something you'll be doing for the rest of your playing career.

Thanks for all the advice! You guys are really awesome! And, no, no harbor freights locally.

Hahaha, I can imagine the weird looks you'd get from saying that! Plus, that anecdote possessed a tip! (Lubricating the nut via chapstick).

Depends on whether the chapstik has been applied?

Sears still has a good tool dept. Wally world usually does as well as Kmart.

Depends on whether the chapstik has been applied? Sears still has a good tool dept. Wally world usually does as well as Kmart.

The Sears here is really goofy. It's hard to find anything there any more, and quality has gone way down ever since they merged with K-Mart. Good luck finding feeler gauges at a Walmart, too. That's something I'd pick up at my local Auto Zone, or similar auto parts store.

Well, my nut slots are too shallow, so, going too deep really isn't the problem. You know that they're too shallow, because why else would the notes on the fretboard be sharp, when I adjusted everything else to a T.

And, I'll look around for feeler gauges, nut files are easy to find.

Haha, maybe once I get older I can start a business, where one of the products I'll sell are guitar set-up kits.

Well, my nut slots are too shallow, so, going too deep really isn't the problem. You know that they're too shallow, because why else would the notes on the fretboard be sharp, when I adjusted everything else to a T. And, I'll look around for feeler gauges, nut files are easy to find. Haha, maybe once I get older I can start a business, where one of the products I'll sell are guitar set-up kits.

That's actually a great idea. Cheap tools are fine for set up work. Include basic instructions and a cheap tuner, something like a Korg CA30. Def get some feeler gages and measure the string height @ #1 fret with your finger holding the string down @ #3.

A deeper nut slot shouldn't make as much difference in intonation as saddle distance and height will. The same goes for neck relief; if there is too much relief in either direction, it'll give you intonation nightmares. I bought a drafting ruler and notched it to use as a fretboard relief tool.

some things should be left to the pros!