Martin "00" Guitar Specs. Compensations may need to be made, if you plan to change string gauges. May be subject to additional charges, see checkout for details. Check The String Height At The 12th Fret. Remove the strings, though, and suddenly you’ll find more loose nuts and screws than a whorehouse on a funny farm. HOW TO DO IT If your frets and fretboard are severely filthy, begin with a little Windex to dissolve the worst dirt and grease. This distance plays a key role in your setup because it determines the ease in which your guitar can be played. D.I.Y. Exclusive deals, delivered straight to your inbox. Free Christmas Shipping ends My 1995 Martin HD 35 has been nothing but a problem child since purchased new. Below are some target numbers that will give you a starting point for determining where you prefer to set your action. First things first; strings. Check its pitch with the electronic tuner. Installing a Nut/Cutting Nut Slots Information on fine tuning a nut slot. Setup will vary according to the person setting up the guitar and how the owner prefers the setup. TOOLS Lemon oil or light wood oil, Windex, cotton rag, a guitar pick or a Popsicle stick. Compensations may need to be made, if you plan to change string gauges. Read the PRS story; get factory tour details for your next visit, and check out our career opportunities. The first issue associated with Classical or Flamenco style guitars is that a lot of builders assume that it is unnecessary to build the neck with an adjustable truss rod inside of them. A guitar is only as good as it plays. Ask questions, show off your gear, or simply chat with fellow guitar fanatics. FACTOR★★★★ You’ve got the power to voice your guitar the way you want it to sound. Good clear tone on the majority of the neck with and a light fingering feel. Today we are going to go through the process of setting up a Les Paul style guitar with a tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece. Visit our corporate site. Product Specifications What are factory setup specs? Good parts can help, but more important is the basic guitar setup. A good setup includes checking a guitar’s electronics. Angling the pickups—most often, sloping them down toward the low E string—may help to even out the response across the strings. HOW TO DO IT If you’ve got a bolt-neck electric, give the neck a twist. Acoustic guitars are best inspected with an automotive or dental inspection mirror and a small flashlight. On an electric guitar, this … New York, Suddenly your ax feels like butter. The best sounding, most beautiful and most expensive guitar is of little use if it is too hard to play. Strings Removal. Nut Slot Files. If it wiggles, tighten the bolts at the neck-body joint. What are the factory specifications for my PRS guitar setup? We will go through the most critical adjustments that affect the playability of your Stratocaster. TOOLS Heavy-duty wire cutters to trim excess string length; otherwise, use your fingers to wind excessive string length into coils. If the guitar’s truss … A handful of musicians have built their careers around the 12-string guitar—Lead Belly, Leo Kottke, and Roger McGuinn come to mind—but for most guitarists, an electric or acoustic 12-string is a specialty instrument to be hauled out when a song needs a little extra jangle. You’re reminded why you fell in love with your instrument in the first place. You love the way it feels in your hands! We’ll briefly discuss each procedure and tell you what tools are required. FACTOR★★★★ Just don’t spray the cleaner in your eyes. If any open string buzzes, its string slot is low and the nut must be shimmed up. Sight as on steel-string but the In other words, that’s the gap we’re looking for between the 12th fret and the bottom of the high E string. HOW TO DO IT On most electric guitars and some acoustics, the strings simply slip through the bridge or tailpiece and are held in place with string tension on the ball end of the string. Also, look for a small screw on the crown of the tuning button (not every tuner will have one). Get the latest news, reviews and product advice straight to your inbox. FACTOR★★★★ Cleanliness is next to rock godliness. Let me preface this page by stating that I am a guitar dealer, not a technical advisor for the world. FACTOR Add one star if you’re confident, mechanically inclined or have seen a pro perform the adjustment. Play each string as you switch between pickups. Set-neck electrics—both solid body and semi-hollowbody—rarely develop cracks, but now’s the time to go hunting. When tuners are under tension, they can feel firm. Then, simply grab your favorite guitar polish and get busy. … This height decides how ‘aggressive’ one can play before fret buzz occurs. Sighting down the neck, the level planeformed by the 1stto 14thfretsshould be aligned exactly with the top surface of the bridge. Of course, this means the other slots must be deepened to compensate for the higher nut. Phone Hours | For players with a heavier pick attack or for those seeking wider dynamics and a more “airy” tone, lower the pickups slightly. And keep the polish off the fretboard, unless it’s lacquered, and off any movable parts. The only time you would adjust the truss rod, bridge height and nut slots with new strings on your guitar would be when changing to a different gauge. Signature Club is open to anyone with an interest in PRS. Gently tighten these screws with the appropriate size screwdriver. A guitar’s action can also be adjust at the bridge. Our knowledge base contains over 28,000 expertly written tech articles that will give you answers and help you get the most out of your gear. If you plan to change string gauges, you may need to adjust the specs somewhat to compensate for the changes in string sizes. It should be the same as that of the corresponding open string. D.I.Y. HOW TO DO IT First, get one pickup to sound the way you want. D.I.Y. HOW TO DO IT If your bridge and truss rod are up to snuff, play each string open, then at the 1st fret (FIGURE 3). For the purposes of this acoustic guitar setup feature, we’ll be giving a new bargain B-stock Ibanez AEG a going-over to make it feel just right. TOOLS Small screwdriver, amp (to monitor your sound). Sweetwater Sound Plug in, jam along with a favorite CD, and try adjusting that pickup’s height up or down, using the height adjustment screws on either side of the pickup—not the pole pieces on the pickup itself. HOW TO DO IT With the guitar strung and tuned to pitch, press one of the strings both at the 1st fret and at one of the frets near the neck-body joint. The Epiphone ES-335 Dot was the world's first semi-hollowbody electric guitar, introduced in 1958. That may be true, but for me and my kind of music, an off-the-shelf Guild or Martin or Taylor is just right. Give each string a series of whole- and half-step bends along its entire length as well. Typical is .2-.3mm of neck relief and 1.6mm string height on the low E, and 1.5mm on the high E at the last fret. You will receive a verification email shortly. If you do, your truss rod will eventually catch and you’ll be able to make the proper adjustment. To get your guitar in top playing condition, you need to look at four specific areas: neck bow or relief, string height at the nut, string height at the saddle, and intonation. Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, An experienced repair tech might simply sight down the neck (PHOTO 1) or use a straightedge (PHOTO 2) to take a precise measurement of neck bow. Just as string tension can hide loose tuning gears, it can hide loose joints and cracks. All of these came from Dan's hands-on measurements of the actual guitars. Bring the pickups closer to the strings if you have a very soft touch or if you want to compress your signal a bit with a slightly fuller, more midrangey tone. On an electric guitar, this is a matter of twisting the appropriate screws; on an acoustic guitar, you may have to shim or sand the bridge saddle. And even an ordinary guitar can be your best friend if it's easy to play. An adjustment of about 1/16th of an inch will make a noticeable difference. A setup can also reveal potential problems before they become major headaches. Listen for buzzes as well as false notes—for instance, fretting an E note or bending to what should be an E and hearing an F. Excessive buzzing and widespread false notes mean that you’ve either dropped the bridge too low or excessively counter-bowed the neck. (On some guitars, you might have to poke beneath the pick guard to get to the guts, but with a gentle touch you should be able to access the offending component.). If so, go back and check your work. Setting up a guitar involves working with the bridge, nut, and neck adjustments to dial in the playing action to suit the player. , Note: If you own a guitar with a floating tremolo system, such as a Floyd Rose, leave this job to a good repair tech. Store Hours, If you have any questions, please call us at (800) 222-4700. Steel-string acoustics and electrics will settle to within 20 cents of their correct pitch using this method, and nylon-string guitars will require only one or two more tunings over a two-hour period before settling into pitch. Having correct intonation means that a string sounds at the correct pitch for each fret along its length. Please refresh the page and try again. FACTOR★★★★ If you can wipe your nose, you can polish your frets. May be subject to additional charges, see checkout for details. First, sight the neck just to see what condition it's in. Just like polishing the frets, this is easy-to-do housecleaning-level work. Thank you for signing up to GuitarPlayer. This is a handy guide to setting up your Fender Stratocaster guitar. You love your guitar's setup! Play FIGURE 1 in 1st positing as shown, then transpose it up to 5th position, 9th position and so on, until you’ve covered every note on your guitar. Action determines how much pressure and distance is required for the string to make full contact with each fret. When adjusting the truss rod (PHOTO 3), turn the nut in minute increments—say, quarter turns—checking the relief frequently, and use as little torque as possible. Then apply a light coat of lemon oil and wipe away any excess with a paper towel. String height or action describes the distance between the top of your frets to the bottom of your strings. The string is now forming a straight line between the two frets. These small, fine-threaded parts damage easily under excessive wrist or arm pressure torque. Most tuners have a nut on the face of the headstock and a small screw on the back. Some necks will not adjust right away. This is basic housecleaning, not major fret surgery, like a “crown and polish.” Cleaning and polishing takes only five minutes, but afterward your guitar will look and play like new. Best of all, it’s totally FREE, and it’s just another reason that you get more at Sweetwater.com. Bolt-neck electrics occasionally suffer from lose neck-joint screws, and braces within an acoustic guitar sometimes break or come unglued. We’ll also include a rating system to indicate the level of ease: from 4 STARS for easy to 1 STAR for those jobs best left to the most experienced players. And the simplest D chord sings like a symphony. From ACOUSTIC GUITAR, 07/2006. And is it possible to do it yourself, or should you leave it to a pro? Most steel-string acoustics use bridge pins to hold the strings in place, and it’s important to 1) align the slot in the bridge pin with the string, and 2) pull up on the string as you push down on the bridge pin. Martin "000" Guitar Specs. One of the most bedeviling aspects of guitar playing is the maintenance procedure known as a “setup.”. For amplified acoustics as well as electrics with active pickups, this means a battery check (and, if necessary, replacement). Classical Guitar Set-Up. To wrap the strings properly around the tuning posts, follow the step shown in PHOTO 9. The setup for classical guitars is basically the same as those for steel strings or electrics, but there are a couple of things you have to take into consideration before you tackle the setup. Also, all the nuts and screws that anchor the guitar’s electronics should be tightened. Repeat as needed. If you find something suspicious, get thee to a luthier. Use a guitar pick or a sharpened Popsicle stick to dislodge the grime that cakes against the frets and directly beneath each string. Guitar Setup: How do I use a radius gauge? Loosen it and the strings pull the neck into a concave bow, resulting in higher action—i.e., the distance between the strings and the fretboard. Adjust the Bridge Height. In order to perform a full setup, you will need to strip your … DN/GO 6-str. On an electric, it is usually beneath the truss-rod cover on the headstock or at the body end of a bolt-neck. TOOLS A couple of small screwdrivers, an adjustable open-end wrench or a socket wrench, 3-in-1 oil. Martin "OM" Guitar Specs. © Now is the perfect time to get the gear you want with simple, promotional financing. If the neck is perfectly straight, there will be a tiny gap—just enough to slip a piece of paper or business card through—between the string and the frets in the middle of the neck. Bolt-neck axes with concealed nuts require removing the neck and using a surrogate body and a neck jig—this is a job best left to a pro shop. Few things make an acoustic guitarist’s day quite like playing a freshly set up guitar. Every string rings like a bell from the first fret up to the neck joint. There are many reasons your guitar may need a guitar set-up and over my years as a Luthier, I have seen a multitude of issues with both old and new guitars that have not been maintained or set up correctly. Martin Guitar Specs: Some people like to know all of the technical details that make up a great Martin guitar. Action is a term used to describe the way an instrument is adjusted and how well it plays. Today, it's made by Gibson, but it is still prized by jazz and blues musicians looking for a classic sound. Once you’ve adjusted the truss rod and bridge, it’s time to test the guitar for clear tone. Some pickups with strong magnetic fields can cause a fluttering out-of-tune-ness when they’re positioned too close to the strings, so listen carefully as you adjust, and be sure to play along the entire fretboard after every tweak. *Not applicable with Floyd … Follow setup instructions for a hardtail guitar: First, check relief in the neck by holding the lowest (bass) string down on the second fret with your fretting hand, then hold it down on the 12th fret with your right thumb and tap on the string in the middle to show how straight the neck is. Nylon-string guitars require that the string be brought through the bridge, back around, and then woven in an under-and-over knot, as shown in PHOTO 8. String length ; otherwise, use two sets—one for adjustments and one for playing fine-tuned, we ’ find... Hands-On measurements of the bridge and tailpiece you how to perform them of music, off-the-shelf... 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Person setting up guitar setup specs great Martin guitar specs: some people like to know all of came... Have experience with this modification, leave it to sound 10 to 15 cents sharper than they should have rods! Action spec Floor, new York, NY 10036 of whole- and half-step bends along length... Setup Part 1: adjusting the truss rod to correct for any underbowing or overbowing the... Hands-On measurements of the neck is back bowed, the level planeformed by the 1stto be...
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