How to Set Up Your Acoustic Guitar
I would first like to say that I have been a guitar and stringed instrument technician now for almost 16 years. There are many postings of incorrect ways of how to set up your own acoustic guitar and I’m hoping with this article to make things a little bit clearer. Many people try to find a deal on an acoustic by shopping at yard sales or flea markets. There are alternate methods of finding cheap guitars on the web also as we all know. The problem is that a lot of the instruments get sold cheap for a reason. There are so many factors to consider when buying a used instruments that most people tend to overlook due to lack of knowledge.
In this article I will be explaining how you can set up your own acoustic guitar fairly simply without having to spend money by having a professional do it. Sometimes the reason people by a cheap guitar in the first place is because it’s all they could afford. The last thing they want to do is have to pay an extra fifty dollars to have it set up properly so that it’s at least playable.
First off, check to see how the neck is. Now most people don’t know how to sight a guitar neck to check if it’s bowed or back-bowed. Basically just set the guitar on the ground upright holding it at the headstock. You can rest it on your foot as an alternative which is my method of choice. Now using the strings as a straight line, look at the edge of your fingerboard along it’s length and see how the straightness of the neck is in respect to the straight string. Generally there will be a bit of a bow in the neck right around the 5th and 7th frets. The bow is called relief. All guitars need a small amount of relief in them to eliminate buzzing caused by the string hitting the frets. The relief in the neck is controlled by a steel rod which runs the length of the fingerboard inside the neck. Another method for checking the straightness of the neck would be to use a metal ruler or straight edge. Lay the ruler along the fingerboard in between the strings and see. If it rocks, that means the neck is back bowed or you have some uneven frets. If you can see a gap under the straight edge around the center, it means the neck has relief.
The amount of relief you want varies with each guitar but a general rule of thumb is to depress a string at the first fret and again on the last fret. Holding that same string down on both ends of the fingerboard, see how much distance there is when you depress the string in the middle of the fingerboard to the 5th 6th or 7th fret. It should be somewhere around 1/32 of distance. If the neck has to be adjusted at the truss rod, You Must first find the access hole which is usually inside the soundhole of the guitar facing the fingerboard. In other cases with some other manufactures they tend to put the truss rod access on the headstock of the guitar with a little plastic truss rod cover plate which you must remove to gain access to the allen nut. If your neck requires less relief because it is bowing in the middle, You Need to turn the truss rod 1/8th of a turn to the right (clockwise) and check it again. This applies regardless of which end the truss rod is on. If your neck requires more relief because it’s back bowing and causing a lot of buzz, you need to loosen the truss rod (counter clockwise) turning an 1/8th of a turn to the left and checking again between each turn until the neck is where you want it.
Assuming we are done with the curvature of the neck, now lets talk about the saddle at the bridge end of the guitar. The saddle is the white piece of plastic which sits inside of the bridge on the guitar. The strings pass over the saddle into the bridge pin holes. Sometimes people will upgrade the saddle with different types of material to enhance the tone. In most cases of guitars with hith “action”, the problem lies here. Quite often the saddle is simply too high and it’s usually like that right from the factory. You can measure the strings to see how bad it is at the 12th fret. Take a small ruler and have a look. Place the ruler on the fret behind the string. The bottom of the low E string should read around 3/32nds. That’s pretty optimal playing height. If you need to lower your action at the saddle, loosen the strings but do not remove them. Simply loosen them to the point of being able to remove them from the bridge but leaving them wrapped around the tuning pegs at the other end. I choose to put a capo on at the first fret before pulling the strings out of the bridge. This keeps the strings from unravelling at the tuners. Now simply pull the saddle out of the bridge. IT IS NOT GLUED. You can easily sand some of the material off of the saddle by placing the sandpaper on a flat surface. Place the saddle on the sandpaper and move the saddle back and forth sanding the bottom of it until you get the desired height. It is good practice to draw a line with a pencil and ruler on the saddle so you can gauge it better.
Assuming we are good at the saddle/bridge end now and the strings are back in place and tuned up to pitch, lets check the individual string height in the nut slots. The nut is the white plastic bit which seperates the strings before the turn around the machine heads/tuning pegs. You can push the string down in the third fret. Holding the string down in the third fret with your finger, see how much distance is from the string to the FIRST fret. They should be at about 1/32nd. The LOW E however I leave at about 2/32nds since it’s a fatter string with less tension and needs more flop room so it doesn’t buzz by hitting the first fret when you strum.
These are the main three areas involved with setting up an acoustic guitar. Some guitars may need more then just a simple set up. Especially if frets are uneven and such. But I hope this helps some of you people out there have a better understanding of what’s involved in acoustic guitar standard setups. Thanks for reading.
About the Author
Scott Mowbray www.guitarmedic007.com
Scott Mowbray is a certified guitar technician in Vancouver and offers full guitar set-up, guitar repair services, and advice to clients throughout Vancouver and the lower mainland. He also services banjo, mandolin, bass guitars and ukulele.
Andy McKee – Rylynn – Acoustic Guitar – www.candyrat.com
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