1970's Gibson Les Paul Custom. Here is a typical before / after 'nut job'. There were two issues in this case. The slots were too deep at the treble side and were causing buzzing on the open strings. Also the spacing wasn't quite right - the space between the plain strings was noticeably wider than the bass strings. The old nut was a synthetic bone substitute - the new nut is real cow-bone.
Here's another basic set-up. It's a newish Gibson ES-335 with all the usual issues. The frets too high, cheap plastic nut and the truss rod was not even engaged (guitar was never set-up). These shots were taken after the frets were leveled, new nut fitted and action/intonation set. It's hard to show a good set-up visually because it is all to do with feel but these photos give an idea of what it should look like.
Video: D'Angelico Archtop Set-up
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The Set-up
I have completed many interesting repairs to date and have set-up countless guitars.
A normal electric/acoustic guitar set-up includes:
straightening of the neck and action adjustment
check string slots at the nut and bridges
Adjust the saddle for intonation
check electrics and clean pots if necessary
Adjust the pick-up height
tighten any loose hardware
clean and polish frets
Many players want a low action and no fret-buzz. This is possible with a standard set-up if 1) the truss rod works properly, 2) the frets are level with little wear, 3) the bridge is shaped properly with room for adjustment. If these requirements are not met, some structural changes may need to be made to the instrument.
As I mentioned before, often, new instruments (even in the €2000 to €3000 price-range) require some level of set-up. Common shortfalls include frets which are unnecessarily high and not completly level. Factories producing guitars in large quantities need to be highly competitive and produce their instruments cost-effectively.This will often involved using materials which are cheap yet effective (plastic instead of bone for example. Unfortunately, proper fretwork is regularly neglected. Factories cannot justify the cost of employing a craftsman for a few hours on every guitar to get it to play perfectly.
Typical Improvements to new instruments:
removing a moulded plastic nut and instaling a hand shaped bone replacement.
grinding the frets down to a comfortable height.
shaping and polishing fret ends.
Advanced Improvements common to new instruments:
Removing the frets for the purpose of reshaping the fingerboard. Cheaper guitars are often made on a production line witha tight schedule. When wood is cut it needs to be left stand for some time to allow it to settle. This is of particular importance for the neck. If the neck is still settling after final assembly, the new position may not be adjustable by a truss rod alone.
This is time-consuming work but it can completely transform an instrument.
To make an appointment and find out what can be done to improve your instrument, please contact me.
(appraisals are free of charge)
A normal electric/acoustic guitar set-up includes:
straightening of the neck and action adjustment
check string slots at the nut and bridges
Adjust the saddle for intonation
check electrics and clean pots if necessary
Adjust the pick-up height
tighten any loose hardware
clean and polish frets
Many players want a low action and no fret-buzz. This is possible with a standard set-up if 1) the truss rod works properly, 2) the frets are level with little wear, 3) the bridge is shaped properly with room for adjustment. If these requirements are not met, some structural changes may need to be made to the instrument.
As I mentioned before, often, new instruments (even in the €2000 to €3000 price-range) require some level of set-up. Common shortfalls include frets which are unnecessarily high and not completly level. Factories producing guitars in large quantities need to be highly competitive and produce their instruments cost-effectively.This will often involved using materials which are cheap yet effective (plastic instead of bone for example. Unfortunately, proper fretwork is regularly neglected. Factories cannot justify the cost of employing a craftsman for a few hours on every guitar to get it to play perfectly.
Typical Improvements to new instruments:
removing a moulded plastic nut and instaling a hand shaped bone replacement.
grinding the frets down to a comfortable height.
shaping and polishing fret ends.
Advanced Improvements common to new instruments:
Removing the frets for the purpose of reshaping the fingerboard. Cheaper guitars are often made on a production line witha tight schedule. When wood is cut it needs to be left stand for some time to allow it to settle. This is of particular importance for the neck. If the neck is still settling after final assembly, the new position may not be adjustable by a truss rod alone.
This is time-consuming work but it can completely transform an instrument.
To make an appointment and find out what can be done to improve your instrument, please contact me.
(appraisals are free of charge)
Examples
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