Hi,

This might be a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyway

Often people recommend to have the guitars properly set up by a guitar tech before purchase. All the guitars I have tested have been hanging in the store for a while, so I suppose they have already been setup. However, this weekend I'll be testing a MIM Standard Strat that has been ordered in for me, and I was wondering - should I ask the tech to set it up before I try it out? Also - what is included in the setup procedure? What do the tech actually do?

Thanks,
Henrik

+1

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Yes! Even guitars on a wall (actually, especially guitars hanging on a wall) at a guitar shop need to be set up when you buy it. Your actually going to want to try your guitar before it gets setup, so you can tell the tech how you want it to be relative to how it alread is. A set up usually involves; checking the neck straitness, adjusting the bridge to get the action, and intonation to where you want it to be, checking and sometimes dressing the frets (making sure they are level, and dont have any over hang), making sure the nut is cut to the strings you're going to use (most standard type strats i.e; not vintage style come equiped and set up for 9 gauge strings, vintage type 10 gauge). So if for instance it has 9 gauge on there, and you want 10, the whole guitar is going to have to be set up to compensate for that, if you dont, the neck may bow, and the bridge will rise greatly due to the increased tension, the opposite for lighter guage strings. He may also check the pickup height and adjust accordingly. All of this also will help with tuning stability too, if its not setup, it will probably go out of tune as soon as you strum a couple chords. Although most guitars are setup before leaving the factory, more offten than not, is is a very basic, and quickly done setup, and they all need to be setup after you get it. Guitars that arent may never play, and sound the best that they can, especially for newer players who dont know how to make adjustments on their own. Unfortunately, this caused many an new guitar player to abandon it all together because; it was more difficult to play, or it always had tuning, or buzzing problems. Even if your strat was setup with great care at the factory by their best people, it would still need to be setup again because 1) it gets tossed around during shipping, and 2) because its wood, it expands and contracts with temprature changes that happens in shipping. Most likely, as long as you're buying you guitar from a shop, which it sounds like you are, the first setup should be free with your purchase. After that, you're going to want it to get setup at least once a year, which should run between $50- $100, probably more on the lower end, but may be more depending on what needs to be done with it. Good luck, and enjoy.

PS. Make sure you put new strings on it, I know they probably will, but make sure they do.

Great information! Thanks, guys! Especially the guide available under the support pages was very helpful.

I asked a guitar tech at another shop whether or not all the Strats on the wall were setup, and he said "yeah, they're all setup from the factory, so there's no need to do anything with them". I now know better.

Thanks!
/Henrik

Ah, that really is sloppy. Tells you what you need to know about that shop.

Whether those guits have been hanging on the wall for months or only just came out the box from the factory, conditions are changing all the time. Especially in a shop where the front door is opening and closing all day, and sometimes it's empty and sometimes it's full of guys generating heat and filling the air with their clammy breath.

A good shop will be periodically giving their stock a little check over to make sure the action, relief and intonation haven't drifted off, and keeping an eye out for fret sprout. And absolutely any shop should check the guitar over thoroughly - a full setup - before you walk out with it.

I was under the impression that was part of what being an Authorised Fender Dealer was all about.

Shop somewhere else if you have the option, is my suggestion...

Cheers - C

They used to give you a setup with the string gauge of your choice, a cord, a couple sets of strings, a handful of picks, a polishing cloth and a strap.

If you can't get a free setup, go to another dealer. The setup from the factory generally sucks and so does the final inspection. Add shipping it across the country do you think it's still setup? Unless you go to a Mom and Pop shop, you'll get nothing unless you complain.

Yes, I will definitely talk to the guitar tech about this. Referring him to Fender's own setup guide on the support pages might convince him

/Henrik

Learn to do your own set ups, and get them how you want them, and save the money.

I've had some guitars that were set up years ago and don't need one since.
Of course these ones stay at home, and are protected from most seasonal changes by the local climate. If you're taking it around to various places, and gigging or practicing with a band a lot--it may need one sooner.

Check at each full string change.

If you learn--you can tell.

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

My point is the guitar should be setup before you bring it home. They are rarely good out of the box. Sam Ash is the worst. You try a guitar on the wall then the sales guy hands you a guitar in a box and you're off. He says if there's a problem, bring it back. How about making it right before you get it home. What a concept.

The two places I deal with, Cintioli's Music in Phila. and Georges Music are a great place to buy equipment. Cintioli's has the edge. You get prices generally better than the chains in a Mom & Pop shop. I've been dealing with them for over 30 years. When you walk in on a Saturday you don't have a bunch of 14 year old wankers making a bunch of white noise. It's great.

Please note that "set up" is not the same for everybody. If you ask a store tech to set up your guitar, they will refer(hopefully) to Fender stock specs. That is a good starting point. You will have to let them know some specific of your preferences.
-Action, high, low, medium
-string tension, loose, tight, medium
-string gauge, .009, .010, .011
-tremelo tension, easy, stiff,
-knob rotation resistance, loose, tight (just kidding)
If you have a good tech, they should be able to help you get your guitar the way you like it, but you have to tell them in specific terms what you are after. I personally set all my Strats up to stock Fender specs, and then adjust as needed to get the feel I like. No 2 guitars are the same, so you are better off learning this stuff yourself!!

Hemingway a guitar that you buy particularly from a manufacturer of distinction should be able to go straight from the shop to the stage. Any shop not prepared to do another hours worth of work to satisfy a customer isnt worth dealing with. Particularly at the moment when shops are fighting for customers. If any goon in a shop had told me my guitar was setup in the factory i'd have laughed in his face, walked out the shop and probably kicked a display stand over on the way. How can a guitar travel across a couple of climate changes and a few timezones and maintain its setup?

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No no and no

nah i'd target the prs's and glass cased models on further thought. I quite like the look of gibbo's but find em unplayable. I never got past the whole prs into a mesa that everyone used in the 90's. Did i get sick of that sound quick. I'd walk into a venue check the guitarists gear then walk out again.

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No no and no

All the more reason to learn to do your own.

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