Greetings Fellow Stratheads-

I recently bought a great book - "How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great"- It by Dan Erlsdale (Something like that- sorry I don't have it in front of me)- WOW ! What a difference a good set-up makes- and doing it yourself saves you plenty of $$$$

My MiM Strat was playing alright- Some Fret Buzz up around the 10th fret but nothing too bad- I Followed the book and set-up my baby- Truss Rod, Bridge Saddles, Pick-up Height...The Whole Deal. Well I giged with it lastnight and I was blown away - My Bandmates were blown away...It was like playing a brand new guitar.

So..If you dont do it already...I urge you to learn how to do your own set-up and intonation- It makes a world of difference. And it is not very difficult to do. I had it done ..Plus a new pickguard installed in just over an hour.

The Freeze

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There's Always Room For MELLOW !!!!

2000 MIM Stratocaster, Midnight Wine W/Texas Specials
2000 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
1969 Fender Vibro Champ

Great advice from "The Freeze". Everyone should know how to set up their own guitar. Hey "Freeze" where did you get your book at? I may learn something from it.

You can order it from the stew-mac site.

Mine is "The Player's Guide To Guitar Maintenance" by Dave Burrluck..... pretty good book too as it has pictures and diagrams which helps with the explanation/descriptions.

Yeah setting up your guitar is essential, nothing against guitar techs but I think it is better doing that job yourself ....... I have 7 electric guitars and I am setting up more often than when I had only one.... I actually love setting up my guitars... it's a process comparable to when you are with a girl and you find her G spot lol guitars have a G spot too

Excellent advice Freeze. Everyone should know how to set up their guitar. I have been doing it for years. I hate setting up my ESP because the Floyd Rose Tremolo, but the Fender is easy as pie. Also a good way to save $$$.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

i am going to have to check that book out. its always something i wanted to do myself, but as i get older and my guitars more expensive im to nervous to mess anything up worse than what it was, but hey i agree completly you should learn to do it yourself.

I recommend buying a piece of crap to fiddle with until your skills are sharpened a little. (no offence to anyone who owns one)If you can get a Squire Bullet to sound great, your ready for anything. I started to do set-ups with my first guitar which was a POS Fender copy. I am more leary of doing major modifications myself than set-ups.

I saw a person on another thread that was going to put together his own guitar from parts, best way to learn how to work on them is by doing that.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Thanks for the suggestion The Freeze, tonight I ordered this "How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great" from my local books pusher. Should be here in a week or two. Bout time I start tinkering my gear. And with the recent prices increase I think that it's a good idea to buy a stealthy guitar and beef it up while learning in the process.

Claude.

Well, maybe those books referenced are good resources, but I never needed more info than Fender themselves have provided to Setup my Strat:

From the original Owner's Manual for my '78 Strat, to the current PDF Owner's Manual offered here for Fender Guitars and basses, and the online Setup Guide for Strats in the support area, they all provide the necessary info for a proper setup.

I don't understand why this is such a big deal to some players? I learned how to setup my guitar in the first month of owning it? <shrug>

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Visit ALL of the exhibits. I have!

The book is How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great!
And he has another that's more in depth-Guitar Player Repair Guide 3rd Edition
That one comes with a DVD of some simple tips as well.

Both are worth the price, whether you're a working musician, aspiring to be a working musician, or it's juts a hobby.


Check out Dan's site:
http://www.danerlewine.com/guitar_repair_books.html

Also, as mentioned below, you can get guides on fender.com for various Fender guitars & amps. Those are helpful, but Dan's books also have info for other guitars.

For Strat players, there is also-The Fender Stratocaster Handbook: How To Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, And Modify Your Strat by Paul Balmer who also wrote The Gibson Les Paul Handbook: How To Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, And Modify Your Gibson And Epiphone Les Paul

So there are plenty of good resources for guitarists out there.

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

When I built my first Partscaster Stratocaster I fiddled with everything. the neck, neckpocket, setting up the tremolo, all of it. It seem that I spended more time doing adjustments to get it right. (I quess I'm like EVH trial and error) But watching You Tube Vids I seems to got a better understanding on setting up a guitar to my taste. These books seem to be the ticket and its a great idea to have one nearby. I gonna purchase one this week or order one to see if there anymore I could do to my new Strat to improve it's playable. Thanks for the tip~!!!!

One thing not so great about the fender instructions is that they tell you how to adjust the truss rod with the strings on. Well, on my strat it is impossible to do. I have a CP 60 and the hole that is put in the top of the pickguard for truss rod access is just not workable.

Since I was lucky enough to have access to one of the top guitar experts in the southeast, I took my guitar to him for set up. He explained what he was doing as he set it up and to adjust the truss rod, he removed the neck. When I asked about the truss rod hole in the pickguard, he said "Oh, those are useless."

I guess this is one advantage of the MIA strats because their truss rods are adjusted from the top of the neck not the bottom.

Anyway, my strat now plays great and it only cost me $20 which included a new set of strings. Not that expensive when you consider what the guitar cost....

Well, my Strat has got the "Bullet" truss rod adjustment at the top of the neck, so the original manual, and current guidelines, apply. I really don't know how you can finalize a TR adjustment without any string tension on the neck? Perhaps a good luthier would know... <shrug>

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Visit ALL of the exhibits. I have!

The guy that did my set up adjusted the truss rod BY SIGHT with the neck removed from the guitar. Then, after reinstalling the neck and strings, he showed me how the strings now had the proper clearance in the center of the neck. Scary. Of course, we are talking about a luthier with 40 years of experience.