Hey guys...

This week I'm planning on taking the guitar in. I got a great recommendation of somebody from a friend and from everything I've looked up this guy seems rock solid. I've never done this before and honestly, the thought of handing my guitar over to somebody and letting them mess with it is a little scary. Is there anything particular service I should ask them to do? Any red flags? Here's my checklist of what I need him to do:

1. Fret Dressing -- I have a few frets that are rough on the edge of the neck. I'm told this is what needs to be done.

2. Setup -- I've been playing for a year and a half and NEVER had this done. I know I should've. I hear it will dramatically change how the guitar sounds.

3. New Strings -- Never did this either. I know I should've done it as soon as I got it from the store. I just figured I'd learn technique first and worry about this later. But I am really aware that these strings are not providing the best sound. Could anybody recommend which ones I should buy for him to put on?

4. Action - I guess this is part of a general setup? Some strings (mainly low E) rattle and buzz a lot. Almost like it's bouncing off the neck itself. Adjusting the action will help, no? Just something I wouldn't dare approach myself.

5. Clean it up -- I'm sure this is part of the service. I also have some rough screws on the guitar body that I'd like replaced. I may also have him put in strap locks for me because, again, I'm to nervous to do anything myself.

Just wondering what I need to look out for when doing this. Thanks for the help.

The fret dressing is the only thing I would be cautious about. I do not know much about that and would only trust it to someone I had great confidence in.

The rest of the list can easily be done by someone with some experience with guitars. A good setup will work magic on your tone, as will new strings.

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Support your local guitar shop.

Yeah, the fret dressing is my real concern. Seems like a major thing, although most sites I've read act like it's not.

If it is only the sides of the frets that are rough, it is because the neck will shrink a tiny bit with humidity changes. The frets will then stick out of the slots at the sides of the fingerboard and be felt when you slide your hand along the neck. This can be an issue in very dry climates, and never seen at all in very humid places. It does not require a complete fret dressing, which is the method for restoring a proper crown to the top of the frets when they become worn from playing. If, as you implied, you still have the original strings on your guitar, I doubt you have worn frets. Dressing the fret ends is simple for an experienced luthier, and is accomplished with a small, straight mill file. The expertise comes in when you consider the profile of the fret end as it rolls off the fingerboard. Depending on how much fret needs to be removed, the ends of the fret crown may become sharp and will have to be re-rounded. This repair can be just as labor-intsensive as a standard fret dressing. Lots of masking to protect the edges of the fingerboard, the flare where the neck blends into the headstock and the body/pickgaurd. The file can hit any of these areas if done carelessly and leave a mark. If you are unsure of the talents of the person you are taking your guitar to, ask for some customer references, and look at some finished work they have done. All the other stuff you mentioned is periodic maintenance, and should be simple adjustments. I would encourage you to learn to do these yourself, which will put you in control of your instrument.

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"There's an arse for every chair"

5 guitars
7 amps
4 dogs

Fret dressing, or levelling, is not complex, but it is an exacting process, which takes experience. Here's the short version:
Before beginning, you should be told how much material will have to be removed, and how this will change the way your guitar feels after the work. After a thorough inspection, looking for things like raised frets, followed by some adjustments to establish the proper neck profile and lots of masking, you file the frets down along the length of the worn area until you bring the height of the frets down to the level of the deepest wear. I do this with a 14" mill file that is mounted on a wooden palm handle for control. The file has to be perfectly level, which most are not. The skill is in removing material evenly across the radius, or there will be flat spots. Then you have to restore the crown and fret ends with a special file, with the correct crown shape for the frets on your guitar. The skill in this step is going just far enough, but not too far, because you can lose the newly leveled playing surface by removing too much with the crowning file. Then comes the smoothing and polishing, followed by a set-up, and possibly a slight deepening of the nut slots. It requires the proper tools, and a clear understanding of what you are trying to accomplish.

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"There's an arse for every chair"

5 guitars
7 amps
4 dogs

This is great info. Honestly, it scares the hell out of me. I'm so inexperienced with guitars.

Wow man just fresh set of strings will do wonders, year and a half? Wow...

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— did that sound like something?

Yeah as you can see, I'm just starting to get my grasp on this stuff. I'm glad I managed to get some some skills so far and I'm hoping to keep learning more on every angle.

Maybe this is a question for another forum...but any string recommendations. I'm told 9 guage is the way to go for a strat?

Following this work you're having done, I would suggest you go onto craigslist and buy yourself a $75 Squier strat and watch youtube vids and print out the fender/support/faq/setup for a starting point. It's not hard to learn and a Squier will give you all the same basics that you'd need for virtually any solid body guitar. With that low cost, you won't be concerned about screwing something up. Oh, and the added benefit....you'll end up with one of the best playing Squiers around. I have one....it is THE best playing Squier in the world.

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2002 mim Telecaster
Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster
Mexican HSS Stratocaster
6 non-fender guitars
2 kids (not for sale)
1 wife (uh....no comment)

Yeah, well this extends to any type of service where you are depending on someone else to do work you either don't have the space, tools or expertise to do. I do all the work on my car that I can. I've done brakes, engine work, rebuilt my suspension; some challenging stuff for a non-pro. But I don't have a tire removing thingamabob, so Saturday I took an aluminum wheel/tire in to a Firestone place to fix a flat. As I dropped it off, I thought "you don't need to tell them not to scratch your wheel. They're pros and you're too anal about all this because of a few sloppy techs in the past".
Needless to say, they scratched my wheel. So my point is, speak up! Tell the guy/gal doing the work that you are nervous about having anything done. Tell them you don't understand the process, and ask questions. But don't expect to watch it being done, and make sure you know every scratch, nick or ding if you are concerned about such things. Some people go over their stuff with a microscope after having work done, and find things they didn't see before. Then it's the tech's fault, even if it isn't, because they didn't know it was there. A guitar is a lot easier to "know" in this way than a car, but you get my point. Don't feel reticent about voicing your concerns and lack of experience. A good tech will have had plenty of customers just like you, and should be understanding. If they don't make you feel at ease and confident, go somewhere else.

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"There's an arse for every chair"

5 guitars
7 amps
4 dogs

That's how I started learning. Be glad you live in the era we are in, because you have the entire world's knowledge at your fingertips. Just don't practice on other peoples' guitars!



String gauge is subjective, and you should just play around with different gauges and see what you like. Fret height will effect the bendability ( known as string purchase) of heavier strings, so if you have little low vintage frets, the strings can pop out from under your finger when you bend strings heavier than 10's.
String composition is a different beast, and again, try them out and follow your ears. Pure nickel is my choice today, but it used to be nickel wound. I'm using 10's now, but I've played 13-58 with a wound G, 13-58 with a plain G, 12-52, and 11-52. I've changed my mind a few times about all these things over the decades, but it is a fact, a scientifically measurable fact, that heavier strings will produce a larger signal to your amp than lighter strings. It comes down to feel and tone, so go with what you like.

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"There's an arse for every chair"

5 guitars
7 amps
4 dogs

When I first started, I didn't know you were supposed to change them at all. I thought they stayed on there forever.

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"There's an arse for every chair"

5 guitars
7 amps
4 dogs

Thanks for the advice. Great info here.

if nothing else, watch a couple youtube vids on string changing. It's really easy and a fresh set of strings makes a huge difference. I put new strings on about every 2-3 weeks depending how much I am playing the guitar. I play about 1-2 hours a day every day and do some gigging on weekends (maily church bands). I do have several guitars and don't necessarily play the same one every day or even play the same one for a full 2 hour set. They all sound different and one may work better for some particular song or song set than another.

Basic setup is pretty easy too once you've seen someone doing it. Truss rod tweak, intonation, bridge adjustments, etc are all pretty straightforward and the good thing is if you turned a screw you can always turn it the other way to get back to where you started.

Let us know how it went. The stuff you're having done is something any competent tech should be able to do without any difficlty. Your guitar is going to play a whole lot better when you get it back.
Jeff

Jeff

Yeah,there's no telling how many new guitarists I've had to show how to restring their guitar,and somebody had to show me in the late '60s....you gotta start somewhere.