I have been toying with this idea for a while because it can save me some money and less face it , who knows what we want better than we do?I have had a killer guitar tech looking after my guitars and has done a great job,but he moved away.So I took it to this other tech who is supposed to be pretty good.I take guitar number 3 to him and told him I liked the action and if he could just check the neck relief ,intonation ,pots etc.I get it back and it rattles so bad at the 2nd fret its almost unplayable.My choice is to take it back and get him to try again or just do it myself.I am pretty sure I can do it myself .i The Fender set up guide is pretty straight forward .I have made minor adjustments myself and know how to check intonation and neck relief .One thing I am not sure about is adjusting the saddles so as to keep neck radius.The Fender website says to adjust the string on the bass side one measurement and the treble side another .Any words of wisdom before I depart on this adventure ?I should have tried this before ,but with the guy I was taking my guitars to , it wasnt a big deal.Thanks in advance.

I tried a level and crown on one guitar... never again... unless you have the correct training and tools... And those tools are not cheap...

But as far as doing pickups, pots, switches etc... I can work on electronics no problem... The only difficult thing would be to work on a semi-hollow..

And of course truss rod, action, intonnation should be a piece of cake for all of us..

I don't know anything about saddles or tremolos... I am used to having stop or trapeze tailpieces...

I'd say for now to take it back to the tech to put right,if he's any good at all he should be able to remedy it.Adjusting saddles and intonation is relatively easy but you have to be very careful adjusting the truss rod.It is very easy to do irrepairable damage to a guitar if you over tighten the truss rod.It takes a lot of time to do it properly and is best left to an expert unless you are completely confident that you know what you're doing.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

If you can successfully adjust relief in your neck, then setting the saddles to match the radius of the fretboard would be easy for you. If you set your action the same hieght from one string to the next, you pretty much are following the curve of the radius already. Like the Fender setup guide says 6/64" on the bass side and 5/64" on the treble side or whatever it is. Just start with the bass side at 6/64", A string slightly less than 6/64, D string slightly less than that and so on until you get to the high E and you're at 5/64". Voila! You're close to matching the neck radius.

There are radius guage tools you can use also to help dial it in. If you want to get into the details of setting up a guitar I highly suggest getting this book. And it comes with radius gauges!!! http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Books,_plan ... Great.html


Good luck!

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

Hi budglo: you need this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Player-Rep ... 401&sr=8-1

When you know everything in that through and through - it doesn't mean you know everything, it just means you're ready to move on.

Far as saddles, action and relief are concerned... How long have you got?

Good luck - C

Sometimes there is nothing better than the satisfaction you get when you do something yourself. Especially when you learn new things in the process. That's how I got into the whole car scene. I just was not satisfied with what others were doing and knew I could do better. It took some time and effort, and there were setbacks at times too, but now I don't have to rely on someone I'm not sure of to get what I'm after.

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Don't worry, Be happy.

Excellent book.
Here is the page on his books from Dan Erlewine's web site.
http://www.danerlewine.com/guitar_repair_books.html

And there are tips here on the Fender site, and for Strat owners there is this book-

http://books.google.ca/books?id=EiySv-2E8tUC&dq=balmer+strat+handbook&source=bl&ots=GdDi1dDQEm&sig=xWRbvkG4r8lEP7z8dTSTnxOYnl0&hl=en&ei=bDa-S5CpDJLenAen6LD4CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA

I decided to do most of my own work after a tech put a bigger bow in the neck to give me higher action, after he had lowered the bridge, when I asked him not to.

I put the bridge back where it was and adjusted the neck again, and it plays better than it did after he was done with it, and better than before I took it to him.

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

Thanks guys.Ceri,I have leafed thru that book from time to time and it seems like some great info.I have heardof the Dan Erniwine book as well.I am fairly technical due to my job in which I work with tolerances of thousands of an inch.I have 2 other guitars so its not like I cant put it down for a day or so and get back to it.I play blues mostly and play fairly heavy handed ,so I prefer my action a little on the high side.The guitar I got back rattles so bad at the second fret ,it sounds thin and fizzy thru the amp.Other than that he did a good job.I am gonna try to redo it after I read one of the books.I think the action is too low .Seems alot of people want low action these days ,but with my technique ,I need it a little high.

Premising there's nothing wrong with your frets, if your second fret is buzzing, chances are you have a reverse (arch) warp in the neck.

As far as being your own tech goes, like many have posted, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to achieve basic setups, wirings, etc. by yourself. I do however caution very strongly that although many books have been written on many aspects of guitar servicing, there are many things that not only can't one learn from books but as I've seen over and over and over again, it is the abridged information on many a topic found in 'do-all' guitar servicing books which oftentimes create and compound other problems by 'do it yourselfers'. One example out of many is fret work. Surely, reading about it and then buying every ancillary tool on the planet related to it is of no practical benefit. Such things have to be taught to the apprentice and (s)he in turn, must practice many techniques on many levels within the discipline many times WITH guidance until any semblance of skilled autonomy can be achieved.

Last but not least, many tasks do but many do not go as predictably 'text book' simple as are explained in these 'do-all' books.

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You dig?

I have zero patience or interest in the technical side of the guitar. I've yet to find a satisfactory tech, though.

They never do what you ask of them.

They aren't techs then. Rather, they are pure, unadulterated hack posers which again, give the truly competent techs a bad image.

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You dig?

Thanks for your advice.I really have no interest in doing refrets ,crownings , etc.I just want to be able to do basic setups,etc.If its something out of the ordinary, I would gladly pass it on to the more knowledgeable.One thing I have learned in my 51 years is knowing ones limitations can be one of our greatest assets.

Thanks for your advice.I really have no interest in doing refrets ,crownings , etc.I just want to be able to do basic setups,etc.If its something out of the ordinary, I would gladly pass it on to the more knowledgeable.One thing I have learned in my 51 years is knowing ones limitations can be one of our greatest assets.

Great decision, Budglo. I think every player should have good basic setup skills to be able to adjust their guitar to their liking. Granted, repair work can get into some high dollar tools and more advanced procedures require more time invested in learning to do them, however it's a great hobby and brings great satisfaction in knowing you did the job, did it well, and saved money in the process. Of course, a tool supplier like Stew Mac is always going to reap your savings in costs for more tools, but it's another collection! Where is the downside?

Absolutely invest in the Erlewine "Bible" of guitar repair like Ceri suggested, and read it cover to cover. I have a dog-eared copy in my shop that i still refer to on occasion. Getting to know your instruments on this level can not possibly make you a worse player, and you will discover new ways to squeeze performance and tone out of your gear.

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60th Anniversary AD Strat, Deluxe Nashville Tele, Player's P Bass. Mesa/Boogie Mk IV combo, Marshall JCM800, 1960A cab, Genz Benz El Diablo 60, Genz 2x12" cab, too many neat little practice amps and kit projects!

I have been my own tech for years now. Only ting that bothers me is I don't pay myself enough to work on my guitars.......

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Chet Feathers

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