STRINGS

Before setting up your guitar, make sure the strings are clean and not corroded. It’s important that you have your preferred type of strings on the guitar because the rest of the setup process depends on it. If you don’t know much about strings, just make sure yours are in good condition or put on a new set to be safe.

Changing Your Strings

Steel-Stringed Acoustic Guitars
Here is a video showing the best way to string an acoustic guitar. By the way, this technique works for most electric guitars as well but there are other videos below this one showing how to re-string various types of electric guitars.

 Gibson style Electric Guitars with 3 Tuners per side and Stopbar Tailpiece

Our friends at D’Addario put this video together showing how to change the strings on your Les Paul style electric guitar.

Fender style Electric Guitars with 6 tuners inline
This Fender video shows how to restring a Fender style guitar with modern tuners. For vintage style tuners, go to 4:10.

TREMOLO

If your guitar has a fixed, non-tremolo bridge, you can skip this tab and go to the next one–Neck Relief. For Stratocaster or similar type guitars with the vintage-style “synchronized” tremolo, read the information below this paragraph. Locking tremolo guitars require a little more expertise so go to your guitar manufacturers site for instructions.  Ok, Strat players, here we go…

Getting It Flush

Begin by taking off the back cover of the guitar to expose the tremolo springs. Then, on the front, insert the tremolo arm and use it to pull the bridge back flush with the body.

With the bridge sitting flush with the body, loosen the six screws along the front edge of the bridge plate until there is a 1/16″ (1.6 mm) gap between the head of the screw and the top of the bridge plate. Tighten the two outside screws back down until they just barely touch the top of the bridge plate. This will ensure that the bridge pivots on just the two outside screws (making the tuning more stable). The other four screws help anchor the bridge in a stable position.

f you have a Fender or Fender-style bridge with only two large screws, the process is similar–use your tremolo arm to pull the bridge back flush with the body and adjust the two pivot screws to the point where the tremolo plate just barely sits flat on the body (not lifted at the front or back of the plate).

Setting the Elevation

Now that the tremolo is flush when pulled back, you’re ready to set the floating height of the bridge. We do this by adjusting the claw screws in the tremolo cavity (in the back of the guitar, under the cover you removed). Make sure the guitar is tuned to pitch and measure the gap between the back edge of the bridge and the top of the guitar. You’re looking for a 1/8″ (3.2 mm) gap at rear of bridge. If the gap is smaller than 1/8″, loosen the two claw screws 1/2 turn each.

The goal is to keep the string pressure even so try to move both claw screws by similar amounts. Re-tune and check the gap again. Keep loosening to raise the bridge or tightening to lower the bridge, remembering to re-tune each time you loosen or tighten the claw screws until you get your majic 1/8″ clearance or gap.

If you don’t use tremolo or prefer your bridge to sit flush to the body, adjust the claw spring tension to equal the string tension. Usually this means tightening the claw screws until the bridge plate rests flat on the guitar body. Go ahead and put an extra 1/2 turn to each claw screw after you get it flat to ensure that the bridge stays flush to the body during string bends. Caution: Do not over-tighten the springs, as this can put unnecessary tension on the arm during tremolo use.

Lube (optional)

Finally, you may wish to apply a small dab of Chapstick® or Vaseline® at the pivot contact points of the bridge for very smooth operation.

NECK RELIEF

Truss Rod

Most modern guitars have a steel rod (truss rod) embedded in the neck to add strength and to allow adjustment of the curvature, or relief of the neck. Many players are afraid to deal with the truss rod thinking that it is too complicated or dangerous for them to adjust. Anyone can adjust a truss rod if they know how to do it.

The important things to know are: 1. it doesn’t take much adjustment to change the curvature of the neck; and 2. the truss rod adjustment should not take excessive force–if the adjustment nut won’t turn without excessive force OR is super loose, you will want to have a qualified guitar technician take a look at it. But, most of the time, adjusting a truss rod is simple. Just make small adjustments (1/8 to 1/4 of a turn is often all that is needed) and watch the relief (explanation coming in the next paragraph). Now, let’s get started:

First, check your tuning. Then, put your capo on at the first fret and fret the low E string just past where the neck joins the body (17th fret for most Les Pauls, Strats and Teles).Use your feeler guages to measure the gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the 8th fret. The gap is the “relief” and should be approximately .010″ (0.25 mm). Many vintage-style necks have a more curved fretboard and will require slightly more relief. Flatter fretboards can get away with less relief. Here’s a table showing recommended relief for various neck radiuses:

Making Adjustments

Headstock Adjuster

Access to the truss rod will usually be at the headstock. It may be covered with a small plate held on by screws or there may be an open hole where the truss rod adjuster is. Find the tool that came with your guitar or find the correct allen wrench or socket for your truss rod.

Next, sight down the edge of the fingerboard from behind the headstock, looking toward the body of the instrument. If the neck is too concave (large gap between the strings and the fingerboard), turn the truss rod nut clockwise to tighten the truss rod and remove excess relief. For a neck that is too convex (strings too close to the fingerboard), turn the truss rod nut counter-clockwise to loosen it and add relief to the neck. Check your tuning, then re-check the gap with the feeler gauge and re-adjust as needed.

Neck Joint Adjuster

Some instruments have the truss rod adjustment nut at the base of the neck near where the neck meets the body. Sight down the edge of the fingerboard from behind the body, looking up toward the headstock of the instrument. If the neck is too concave (strings too far from the fingerboard), turn the truss rod nut clockwise to tighten the truss rod and remove excess relief. For a neck that is too convex (strings too close to the fingerboard), turn the truss rod nut counter-clockwise to loosen it and add relief to the neck. Check your tuning, then re-check the gap with the feeler gauge and re-adjust as needed.

Caution

Make sure you have the correct tool to adjust the truss rod nut. If you find that the adjustment nut is very difficult to turn, or if your guitar or bass needs constant adjustment, or if adjusting the truss rod has no effect on the neck or if you’re simply not comfortable making this type of adjustment yourself, take your instrument to a guitar tecnician to have the neck relief adjusted.

ACTION

The “action” is basically the distance between your guitar’s fretboard and the strings. The goal is to adjust it as low as possible without the strings buzzing or rattling against the frets. Players with a light touch can get away with lower action. If you play hard, you’ll need a slightly higher action.

To measure your guitar’s action, first check your tuning. Then, use your 6″ (150 mm) ruler to measure the distance between the bottom of the strings and top of the 17th fret. Adjust your bridge saddle(s) to the proper height according to the follwing chart, then re-tune. Experiment with the height until the desired sound and feel is achieved.

PICKUP HEIGHT

Note that these recommended pickup heights are general guidelines. In most cases, you’ll want to use them as a starting point and adjust higher or lower per your personal preference.

Generally, pickups generate more sound the closer they get to the strings. However, raising pickups too high can cause strings to be out of tune, generate false notes or wolf tones and other problems. On the other hand, pickups adjusted too low can have low output and sound thin and weak. Your goal is to find the sweet spot and this guide is meant to help you get started.

Adjusting Pickup Height

Most pickups have height adjustment screws on either side. Strats typically have a phillips head screw on the bass side and another on the treble side of each pickup. Les Pauls and other humbucker-equipped guitars typically have a slotted screw on each side to raise or lower the pickup.

To measure the pickup height, fret the low E string at the last fret and use your 6″ ruler to measure the distance from the bottom of the string to the top of the pickup pole piece. Repeat on the high E string. Do this for all pickups. Here are the starting heights for various types of pickups:

INTONATION

The final step of your guitar setup is to get all strings to play in tune at every fret. Here’s how you do that for guitars with tune-o-matic style or strat style bridges. Fire up your digital tuner and tune all strings to pitch. Now, start with the low E string and work your way through each string checking and adjusting intonation of each.

Check Intonation

Compare the tuning of the 12th harmonic and the fretted note at the 12th fret for the string you’re checking. If the two notes are different, adjust the bridge saddle for that string to bring the two notes to the same pitch.

Adjust Intonation

If your fretted note is sharp
Loosen the string at the tuner enough so that the bridge saddle can move freely. Use the screwdriver to turn the bridge adjustment screw to lengthen the string. If the string-length adjustment screws are on the pickup side of the bridge, turn counter-clockwise to lengthen the string. Only turn the screw 1 full turn.

If the string-length adjustment screws are on the tailpiece side of the bridge, turn the screw clockwise 1 full turn. Then ,tune the string back up to pitch. Check the tuning of the 12th harmonic and fretted note at the 12th fret again. If still sharp, loosen the string and turn the saddle adjustment screw another turn, and so on until the 12th fret harmonic and fretted note at the 12th fret are the same.

If your fretted note is flat
Loosen the string at the tuner enough so that the bridge saddle can move freely. Use the screwdriver to turn the bridge adjustment screw to shorten the string. If the string-length adjustment screws are on the pickup side of the bridge, turn clockwise to shorten the string. Only turn the screw 1 full turn.

If the string-length adjustment screws are on the tailpiece side of the bridge, turn the screw counter-clockwise 1 full turn. Then, tune the string back up to pitch. Check the tuning of the 12th harmonic and fretted note at the 12th fret again. If still flat, loosen the string and turn the saddle adjustment screw another turn, and so on until the 12th fret harmonic and fretted note at the 12th fret are the same.

Now enjoy a guitar that plays easier and sounds great. Single notes and chords will all sound better on a guitar with proper intonation.