Guitar Setup Question - Valid unexpected modification?

DrewPeterson7 said:
It depends on how you look at it - for me, I do kind of enjoy doing my own tech work, so I don't mind the investment of time. If it's not something you enjoy, though, it may be "cheaper" just to pay someone else to do it, based on what sort of value you put on your time.

But yeah, action is a very personal preference, and some people like it higher than others - there's nothing wrong with bringing it back to the guy and saying, "listen, I tried, but I just can't get on with this." My only suggestion would be to get in touch with him soon and let him know you're, maybe not unhappy with the setup, but having a hard time getting used to the lower action, and ask him if after another week or so you still don't feel comfortable on the guitar, if he'd be willing to raise the action back a bit for you. If you come back out of the blue a month down the road, I suspect he'd be a little taken aback, whereas if you contact him soon after you get the guitar back he'll probaby just offer to comp you the adjustment free of charge.
Click to expand...
Good advice. He guarantees his work for 6 months, but a quick heads-up isn't a bad idea, either. It's only been a little over a week so, if I'm still having trouble in a couple of days, I'll probably get in touch with him. I think the action is the real killer, especially as I'd gotten used to bending notes in the second and third positions, which kills my fingers now.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
But yeah, action is a very personal preference, and some people like it higher than others .
Click to expand...
really .... the ONLY way to be sure to get it exactly like you like it is ti learn to do it yourself unless you're one of those that likes it with whatever standard measurements are out there.
personally I absolutely hate low strings ..... but I do know how to adjust them (a simple matter of turning some small screws ) so I just do it myself.

But you're not stupid for feeling bad about it .... you like what you like and this is upsetting to you .... totally understandable.
But now's the time to learn how and just do it yourself from now on.
 
HomeRec said:
I understand that. I've just never been a fan of "you're being stupid for feeling bad" approach.

Realizing that I have no choice but to "get over it" doesn't make me any happier about it happening in the first place. That's all.

As to the grand scheme of things, you're right - to you, it probably isn't a big deal. However, in my experience, I've found that people attach different weight to different things. What may seem completely trivial to someone may seem fairly monumental to someone else, and vice-versa. So I try not to question peoples' motivations because, usually, I can't pretend to understand them on their level. But that's just my opinion.

P.S. - For what it's worth, the appearance of the nut isn't a huge thing at this point (except for the perception of the guitar which is, as you say, irreversible) - it's mostly the way it feels.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying you're stupid, not at all; time heals all wounds, and whatever you can do to accelerate the process is good, that's all I'm saying. Many times, just getting over it is your only alternative. That, and venting about it on an internet forum... :D

One dark day I knocked over my Gibson B-25 onto its face on a concrete floor, snapping off the headstock right above the nut. It was my baby, my first real guitar (paid for by mowing lawns and hauling trash), the instrument I cut my teeth on, my constant companion for more than 15 years, and it was my own stupid carelessness that destroyed it in an instant. I cried.

It's not the appearance of the nut that makes that guitar special, it's your 20 years of experience with it. You still have your baby, though it's changed a little bit. The difference in feel is easily corrected, and soon the brass nut will get all tarnished again and no one but you will know that there is anything different about it.
 
yeah, at least you still have it.
Last year I had a $5000 sax that was the most 'special' sax I'd ever played fall over a railing at a gig and be destroyed.
Something about that sax just fit me in a special way. I've never had one play like that before in my 45 years of playing and the replacement isn't nearly as good.
Anyway ..... it was a drag but I was laughing it off the same night.
It's just gear ..... what really matters is the memories of the time spent with it and that isn't going anywhere.
 
Lt. Bob said:
really .... the ONLY way to be sure to get it exactly like you like it is ti learn to do it yourself ...
Click to expand...


Or find a shop that actually does good work. We may not get it right in the first time, but we will keep trying until we do. And once we know what you like, we can do it everytime. Don't get me wrong, if you want to do your own setups, that's your choice, but some people just don't want to. Most of the best players I know don't have any interest in doing their own work - they just want to play. We've got one customer - who fortunately is very nice and extremely funny or his perfectionism with his guitars could get on one's nerves - who, during the change of seasons, is frequently in the shop once or twice a week until they settle down and stop moving. Our shop manager, who does all of this customers work, knows his preference (on each of his instruments) so well that he gets it right every time. This is one of those times when it is a really good idea to be good friends with your repair folks!


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
I agree it takes someone who knows exactly what you want in a setup to really get a stringed instrument where you want. My suggestion to dealing with a new tech is to tell him everything you possibly can about what you want (and that may require a little self education). If you already have a guitar that has a setup you like, bring it along to show the tech what you mean, keeping in mind that you won't be able to get a D-28 setup for bluegrass to play like a strat.

For the most part I do my own setups, largely because I've got so many student guitars, banjos, and mandolins, and the cost would be too much. Besides, it's fun to bring them around into players. For the good guitars and such I'll dress frets and make minor adjustments but leave nut and saddle work to my tech, a person that has known me and my playing style since he was learning the trade in the early '70's. He recently did setups on a J-200, J-45, and a Guild Mark IV, and they all came back perfect. And I mean perfect. I was going to sell that J-200, but not now.

A few months ago I got a great deal on a Fender American Deluxe Ash strat that the seller said had a professional setup done. Though it came with a shop reciept for $130, I couldn't see what they did to it other than tightening the trem to lock it down. Fret ends were sharp and irritating, and the truss rod was loose and rattling. Anyway, I'm slowly going through it as it gets played as a second guitar on gigs and it's coming around nicely.

A good tech needs to love what they do, be good at it, and with the advantage of working on hundreds of instruments, they can outdo a hack like me anytime.....if they know what you want.
 
apl said:
Blacky's were pretty low when you got her, right?
Click to expand...
I don't remember but I think they were. One thing for sure, someone had put them in that PIA 'locked' around the peg wrap that's such a pain to remove.
:D
 
Lt. Bob said:
I don't remember but I think they were. One thing for sure, someone had put them in that PIA 'locked' around the peg wrap that's such a pain to remove.
:D
Click to expand...

You don't want them slipping now do you.;)

This is how to do it.:D
 

Attachments

  • wrapitup.jpg
    wrapitup.jpg
    47.8 KB · Views: 115
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top