whats up guys?

People always talk about buying a new guitar and "setting" it up, for example, intonation adjustment, action, etc. Some even change pickups immediately.

What do you guys like to do when you get a new guitar? I just play mine, without setup, but only because I'm not sure what to do.

What do you guys do when you get a new guitar?

Nothing.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I played my Strat for a week and then took it in to get set up. The Tele I just got feels so good that I'm going to play it till it needs new strings and then take it in. Probably will be about three weeks, although my last set of Ernie Balls lasted almost five weeks. I checked the intonation, it's good. There's no buzzes and the action is nice, so I'm not in a hurry to get a setup. I know I should do my own setups, but my days manage to stay pretty full.

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'10 American Deluxe HSS Sunset Metallic
'10 JA-90 Thinline Telecaster
'15 Music Man JP-15 Blueberry Burst
'07 Les Paul Standard Faded LCPG #82
'14 Carvin ST300
'12 Carvin CS424S
'66 Guild Starfire IV w/Bigsby
'14 Warmouth Partscaster Daphne Blue

I play mine for a while as is and then after a time I will make adjustments as required, if required. Most Fender guitars I have owned come from the factory in a reasonable state of set up. Usually intonation is fairly close and action is set to about average. I will check intonation and make minor adjustments if neccessary. Sometimes the G string can be problematic. Neck relief can be inconsistent with Fenders from the factory (but not always) so I'll check that pretty closely. I usually lower action only very slightly as I don't like it too low. I have not encountered any serious setup problems with Fender electric guitars. Of course I don't own any Squiers so I don't know about them. One (Korean) Strat of mine seems to lose some saddle height on the 1st string (high E) over time. The string frets out when bending higher than the 10th fret after a time if I neglect it. I am considering using one of the softer versions of Loctite on the threads of the saddle height ajustment screws. This is the only Fender I have ever owned which requires periodic adjustment and in truth only requires such about twice a year so I have resisted gooping up the threads and prefer to monitor it. I do like to see that five springs are used so trem claw adjustments are neccessary when I have to add springs to a new guitar. I prefer the firmer feel of five springs. This usually also amplifies the need for any action adjustments I might want as I like my trems to float pretty close to 50/50 and the factory seems to prefer something closer to 65/35.

Acoustic guitars, on the other hand, usually require a more substantial setup to suit my liking. I frequently find the necks have ever so slightly too much relief from the factory where electrics can sometimes be too flat. I like about .008" - .010" of relief. Most acoustics come with .012" - .015". Since I also prefer bone saddles over the typical stock plastic parts I also usually have to spend some time determining optimal saddle height once I dial in the relief. Intonation is not adjustable on acoustics but my discovery of continually compensated hand carved bone saddles (pricey) pleases my ears and my tuner immensely.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

I like to at least check the setup on a new guitar. A lot of times the action is fine for me, but I always like to set the intonation, adjust the pickup height (if needed), and when I bought my Tele I had to tighten the truss rod slightly. Usually I find that most guitars are fairly close to how I like, and only minor adjustments are necessary. And...I always change the strings first thing after a good wringing out session when I bring a new guitar home.

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I don't like to fiddle with my guitars too much. I don't really do anything

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"reach for the sky and aim for the moon, for if you miss you will end up among the stars"

Zoom MS50G
72 tele dlx RI
2011 standard strat
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