what does a set up consist of ?

[cabowabo]

i took my guitar in to a repair shop ,the treble and rythem switch is cutting out ,also the repair guy said that the switch needs cleaning up and set up to help clean up .whats does a set up consist of ? i dont know so i would like to go back on thursday and at least know what to expect
thanks

[River]

We don't know what your repair shop's policies are. If I were you, I'd ask them.

Google's your friend. There are hundreds of excellent descriptions of what can, should, and might be involved in a setup out there.

[jay1williams]

a typical setup consists of

1) check neck for proper relief / adjust as necessary
2) check action / adjust as necessary
3) check pickup height / adjust as necessary
4) check intonation / adjust as necessary
5) check electroncs / de-oxit as necessary

There may be more or less steps / procedures depending on the shop / tech / policy

[r2d2]

My tech also includes wood treatment, mainly on fretboard and general cleaning for body and hardware.
On a fixed bridge guitar you can perform all that procedures with patience and some tools... On a Floyd Rose bridge its a nightmare!

Greetings

[Fracture]

First, you have to convince the "mark" that he will benefit financially equally or better than you from his action.
Second, he must be assured that is no chance of getting caught, or if he does the penalties are very minor.
Lastly, insure that the "mark" doesn't get cold feet.

[Ole'Lefty]

On setups, one thing must be kept in mind. You can have identical models of guitar on the bench for setup and one can take an hour and one can take double that. Action preference and the naturally variable nature of combining wood and metal can drive the tech bus. And then there are little things. A tech may check every fret for firmness of set and detail fret ends as a natural part of a standard setup. Another tech may have a different "small-thing" priority that characterizes his work. Such variations MUST be accepted in assessing a reasonable price-in what is included and what issues the individual guitar brings to the bench.

In my motorcycle racing days I can recall polishing and relieving stress risers and measuring 5 times, while we chanted ,"Attention to detail wins races." (and in those days, Limey bikes provided many opportunities to attend to detail-especially when it came to lubricants staying put and stress risers on the connecting rods) We did "TT Scrambles"; a mix of Motocross and flat-tracking with 650cc big bikes.

[GrouchyDog]

Originally Posted by Ole'Lefty

...
and in those days, Limey bikes provided many opportunities to attend to detail
...

I believe this to be the most gracious expression I've read of the underlying Brit-bike experience. Well done!

[NovaSDF]

Make sure you communicate well to the person who will be doing the work. There are different specs for various styles of music, and even these differ a bit from individual to individual. A perfect setup is a very individually specific thing.

Generally speaking, most metal players prefer the neck to be almost perfectly straight, and action to be very low. They are willing to live with some buzz.

Jazz players prefer a bit more relief in the neck and the action to be a little bit higher.

Let the tech know what style of music you play. If possible, if he has a couple of guitars in his shop, see if he will let you play them a bit to see which one feels the best to you. This may give him a good idea as to what you prefer in your setup.

For the most part, it means checking the height and groove size of the nut, checking the amount of bow or "relief" in the neck and adjusting the bridge for height and intonation.

[Ole'Lefty]

Thanks, GrouchDog--made me laugh outloud. My buddy had a reall Bonneville TT Special-mine(one of a succession of many-totally absent ZEN) was a reworked TR-6. Learned to cross it up on illegal forays onto county fairgrounds---in the dark. It made for more frequent than desired "High-siders."

[NovaSDF]

I might also suggest that adjusting bridge height on an electric guitar is very easy. It's also not rocket science to tighten or slack a trust rod a bit. You can also easily adjust your own intonation.

You might consider just having the tech check the height of the strings at the nut, and then consider tweaking the rest to your liking.

Last guitar I bought used, the guy who sold it to me was bragging about how great the action was. He had a friend who is a tech for some famous players set it up for him. Honestly, I hated it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't me. Spent a while tweaking the truss rod and bridge to get it where I wanted.

Unless a tech knows you well, I think that it's better to learn to do your own setup. The tiniest twist of the stud on the bridge can be the difference between bliss and frustration.

[cabowabo]

well i took in and had him clean the switches and pots which were dirty ,and he did a set up ,all for 60 bucks and a set up done ,went back a few hours later ,and what a difference no more cracklin static from the switch ,and sound much better even with my crappy play thanks for all your input this site rocks for info and friends peace out