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Post subject: When shopping for guitars...
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:51 am
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A general question for anyone who's gone to a music store to purchase a guitar...

When considering one....

Have you ever measured the action...while in the store? (I've got a 4-inch section of tape measure that has 32nd inch increments on it.)

Do you also check the neck and truss rod adjustment? (with a business card on the 6th fret while depressing the 1st and 14th frets on the low E string?)

I'm sort of curious about this...


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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:55 am
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No, not really. I've never bought an electric guitar that was set up how I like them. All that stuff can be adjusted after the sale and seasoned to my tastes.


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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:59 am
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Last few times I've bought an electric guitar I've just taken of how it feels overall. If it feels good, the action, the neck, the tone, the whole bit, then its a good guitar.


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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:00 am
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I never even think about it because I know as soon as I get it home I'm doing it my way.

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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:01 am
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liveatsix wrote:
No, not really. I've never bought an electric guitar that was set up how I like them. All that stuff can be adjusted after the sale and seasoned to my tastes.


That's probably a foregone conclusion with intonation (and it depends on what kind of strings you use) and I don't typically drag a tuner into the store....

But shouldn't the truss rod be straight on it, at least? And, shouldn't the action be set to manufacturer set heights with minimal fret buzz?


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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:02 am
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I never even think about it because I know as soon as I get it home I'm doing it my way.




Exactly. It's not like those things can't be adjusted easily.

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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:04 am
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hottrod wrote:
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I never even think about it because I know as soon as I get it home I'm doing it my way.




Exactly. It's not like those things can't be adjusted easily.


Oh, I don't know.

Truss rod adjustments aren't exactly the easiest thing to deal with....


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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:08 am
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As an example, have you ever tried a MIM Strat at GC? If so, you'll notice that they don't care about changing the strings or even tuning it, let alone making any adjustments. Every guitar sounds different.

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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:12 am
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I do believe that most if not all Guitar Store would toss you out on your ear if you got out your tools and started making adjustments right there in the store before you buy.

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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:16 am
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Every store I've purchased a guitar from has offered me a certain amount of time of free adjustments from their repair people.
If everything else on the guitar is tip-top, let an expert work out the little things.


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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 11:22 am
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CAFeathers wrote:
I never even think about it because I know as soon as I get it home I'm doing it my way.

I agree, I would just get and then get it adjusted to your taste...

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Post subject: guitar
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 11:40 am
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ive always wondered what that was for .


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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 1:25 pm
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Most manufacturers only do a rough setup anyway. I've never met a guitar I didn't want to tweak.

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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 1:29 pm
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Most manufacturers only do a rough setup anyway. I've never met a guitar I didn't want to tweak.




Yeah youv'e got to customize your guitar to your own tastes.

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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 6:02 pm
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CAFeathers wrote:
I do believe that most if not all Guitar Store would toss you out on your ear if you got out your tools and started making adjustments right there in the store before you buy.


Oh, I don't know about that.

I went to a guitar store today and did just this. I had nothing more than a 4" piece of measuring tape that did 32nd inch increments and a business card.


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