It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:33 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: What's involved in a proper setup
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 1:42 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 8:44 am
Posts: 25
Hi Guy's you have been very helpful in the past, so I am hoping you can help this Old Newbe again,

I just finish building me a Partsocaster from all Fender parts, Mainly off of ebay and a few other stores, it came out great, The Fender MIM Maple neck is smooth and the frets are great, The new Strat went together like it came from the factory, but in doing so I am now more cognasent of how badly my 2004 MIM Strat is setup, so my question is what exactly is involved in a proper setup, and how much am I looking to spend.

Jim


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:04 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 6:58 pm
Posts: 262
Location: New York City
Did you set up your "Partsocaster" yourself?
How much of the work can you do yourself?

Love,
Todd

_________________
Up is louder!


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:14 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 8:44 am
Posts: 25
I did put it together, I got the 2008 Fender MIM Maple neck and the frets were perfect, and the Fender body, and Fender parts went together perfectly, I added Lace Red, Silver, and Blue PUPs and it all sounds great, I am pretty mechanically and electrically inclined as I am a Electronic technician, I am a little worried about filing frets as I have never done it before, That's why I am seriously wondering if I should take the older one to get it Professionally setup, as the frets seem sharp on the ends..

Jim


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: What's involved in a proper setup
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:15 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun May 18, 2008 1:35 pm
Posts: 2303
Location: DC
blacktri99 wrote:
Hi Guy's you have been very helpful in the past, so I am hoping you can help this Old Newbe again,

I just finish building me a Partsocaster from all Fender parts, Mainly off of ebay and a few other stores, it came out great, The Fender MIM Maple neck is smooth and the frets are great, The new Strat went together like it came from the factory, but in doing so I am now more cognasent of how badly my 2004 MIM Strat is setup, so my question is what exactly is involved in a proper setup, and how much am I looking to spend.

Jim


cleaning and conditioning of the fretboard, truss rod adjustment , adjustment of the saddle's height and distance from the neck ..., bridge angle adjustment ....... you do all this so you can have a PERFECT intonation ... and whether you like a high or low action... I never took my guitars to a guitar tech because I learned overtime to do all this myself and I kind of enjoy it :)


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:21 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:34 am
Posts: 24
For my strat, I search the owner manual on this very website. I had never done it in the past and I was amazed by the results I got. Start with fresh strings proceed as such. You will be lookin at:

Truss rod adjusments
Bridge settings (springs, height etc...)
Action (string heights)
Pickup heights (That changed everything for me)
intonation

I might be missing something here, but like I mentionned, it is well documented.

Good luck!

ex351


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:27 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 6:58 pm
Posts: 262
Location: New York City
blacktri99 wrote:
I did put it together, I got the 2008 Fender MIM Maple neck and the frets were perfect, and the Fender body, and Fender parts went together perfectly, I added Lace Red, Silver, and Blue PUPs and it all sounds great, I am pretty mechanically and electrically inclined as I am a Electronic technician, I am a little worried about filing frets as I have never done it before, That's why I am seriously wondering if I should take the older one to get it Professionally setup, as the frets seem sharp on the ends..

Jim


It sounds like you can do the set-up your self. As to the fret filing, I don't know. I am probably mechanically similar to you - I've taken my favorite (1977) Strat apart, cleaned it, put it back together and set it back up. I never had to file frets on that guitar. I did do a little filing on a friend's MIM mid-'90's neck. But I was very tentative and only did a little filing. It worried me that I might not be doing it right so I stopped. Didn't hurt anything and I got rid of the burrs.
Someone in the forum can answer better.
Hope this helped a little.

Love,
Todd

_________________
Up is louder!


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:32 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun May 18, 2008 1:35 pm
Posts: 2303
Location: DC
By the way I wouldnt recommend to do any filings yourself... if you feel that you guitar need some fret filing then the best thing you can do is take it to one of those tech centers where they have a PLEK machine and that will make your frets perfect ..... :)


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:39 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 8:44 am
Posts: 25
Thanks Guy's that does help me decide, Yes I do believe I can do the setup myself it was the fret filings that were worring me a bit, I look into taking it to the pro's with one of those machines.

Jim


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:40 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 6:58 pm
Posts: 262
Location: New York City
Synkronized wrote:
By the way I wouldnt recommend to do any filings yourself... if you feel that you guitar need some fret filing then the best thing you can do is take it to one of those tech centers where they have a PLEK machine and that will make your frets perfect ..... :)


Ya, that sounds right. The neck is the most critical part of the guitar. I was afraid of screwing it up.

Love,
Todd

_________________
Up is louder!


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:50 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:58 pm
Posts: 7714
Location: Planet Earth
Todd Montgomery wrote:
Synkronized wrote:
By the way I wouldnt recommend to do any filings yourself... if you feel that you guitar need some fret filing then the best thing you can do is take it to one of those tech centers where they have a PLEK machine and that will make your frets perfect ..... :)


Ya, that sounds right. The neck is the most critical part of the guitar. I was afraid of screwing it up.

Love,
Todd

To have a guitar PLEK setup can cost you 160+ :shock: Here some info about it fro a place that does it.
http://plekhouseguitars.com/

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: