One of the most important and satisfying things about playing the guitar is having one that plays well. The only way to achieve this is to perform a regular setup. This involves checking the neck relief, frets, action, pickup height, intonation, and making sure that any mechanical parts on the guitar work smoothly.

This guide will provide you with a step by step on how to setup your guitar properly.

Please note that action and pickup height should be adjusted to your taste. This guide will apply to most stringed instruments.

Step 1: Replace your strings.

This is the first thing that should be done to prevent a bad setup. If your strings are old and worn, you will probably not be able to intonate properly, and will find that your guitar goes out of tune easily. Make sure you stretch each string several times (give it a slight pull) and retune. Once the strings are stretched your guitar should stay in tune. If your guitar is still going out of tune, please check the “Staying in tune” section of this website.

Step 2: Tremolo angle.

If your guitar doesn’t have a tremolo, and has a fixed bridge instead, you can skip this step. However, if it does have a tremolo, read on…

If your guitar came with instructions on how to adjust your particular type of tremolo, please refer to those before moving onto step 3.

Most tremolos should be adjusted to sit parallel with the body of the guitar, with the exception of some non-floating tremolos like the vintage Strat trem (which has 6 screws instead of pivot posts).

To adjust the tremolo angle on most guitars we would first tune it to pitch, and check the angle of the bridge plate. If the bridge is tilting towards the neck we would tighten the cavity springs in the back of the guitar (clockwise with a screwdriver), and then retune, and recheck the angle. Keep doing this until the bridge plate is perfectly parallel to the body. Of course if the bridge was tilting away from the neck, we would loosen the screws (anti-clockwise).

On vintage Strat style trems or non-floating trems, it is acceptable to adjust the bridge angle so that it isn’t parallel with the body. This allows you to also be able to pull up on the tremolo. This should be adjusted to your taste.

This method can also be used on non-recessed Floyd Rose tremolos.

Step 3: Truss rod.

Right, the first thing I am going to say about this step is that if you are unsure of what you are doing, please stop here, and either get a friend who knows what they’re doing to help, or take it to a shop to have it set up properly. The reason behind this is that adjusting a truss rod is perfectly safe IF you follow these instructions exactly how they are written. If you do not, you could possibly damage your neck permanently. I am not responsible if this happens. Anyway… let’s get started.

The purpose of a truss rod is to enable you to make minor adjustments to the straightness of your guitars neck. This will mainly need adjusting when either using a different string gauge or if the guitar is subject to temperature changes. Don’t worry, we all have to do it now and then. Adjustment of the truss rod can make a guitar play miles better than it did before.

Now I will briefly explain what happens when we turn the truss rod clockwise or anti-clockwise. Turning the truss rod clockwise will tighten the neck, and therefore bring the strings closer to the frets. Turning it anti-clockwise will loosen it, creating what we call “relief”. Not many guitars that I know of have a perfectly straight neck, so you will get the best results by having a bit of relief. Don’t bother tightening the truss rod any more when it is perfectly straight, as this will cause “back bow”, which is completely useless and renders your guitar unplayable.

Now, to adjust the truss rod you will most likely need an allen wrench (yours may or may not be the same). What we need to do is check the amount of relief. To do this, place your finger on the first fret low E string, and your other finger from your picking hand on the last fret low E string. Now look to see how much distance there is between the top of the 8th fret and the bottom of the low E string. You should be looking at about half a millimetre (no need to measure it, just eyeball it). If you have more than half a millimetre, tighten the neck (clockwise) and recheck. Only turn the truss rod a little bit at a time (about a quarter of a turn) to avoid damage to the neck. It is unlikely that you will need loosen the truss rod, but if you do, remember to only make minor adjustments.

That wasn’t so hard now was it?

Step 4: Adjusting the action.

Here comes the straightforward part. You will need either an allen key, or screwdriver (depending on your bridge type), and an idea of what sort of action you like. Most tutorials like this assume you want the lowest possible action. Some people however (including me), prefer a high action, for better tone, sustain, and grip, so it really depends what your idea of a great playing instrument is.

Tune-O-matic style bridges, and many floating tremolos such as the Floyd Rose, are easily adjustable as they only have a post either side of the bridge to higher or lower the action. Strat style bridges and tremolos however (amongst others), have to be adjusted a saddle at a time. Although the latter takes longer, it allows us to fine tune the action, particularly if the fingerboard is quite curved (small radius). Whichever type of bridge you have, the principle is the same.

What I usually do is lower the action fully on every string (if applicable), so that it is nice and even, and then bring the low E string up to roughly where I want it, counting the turns as I go. Then I repeat that amount of turns for each string. I then have a nice flat action, of which I can then fine tune to suit my fingerboard radius, and the feel I want.

Please note that you will have to retune after you have adjusted your action.

If you would rather do it to the millimetre (although I strongly recommend going with what feels best), you can just measure it with a metal ruler. Common measurements for guitar are usually between 1.2mm and 2mm at the 12th fret.

Step 5: Adjusting pickup height.

Adjusting pickup height depends on a few things. What type of magnets your pickup has, and more so what kind of sound you like. It is important to not set the pickups too close to the strings (with the exception of some active pickups), as this can interfere with string pull, and can affect intonation, tuning, harmonics, sound, and sustain. As a general rule, I usually have the bridge and neck pickups about 2mm away from the strings (whilst pressing down the top and bottom E strings at the last fret). From here I can then fine-tune the height of the neck pickup for equal volume to the bridge pickup, and adjust further if needed.

Step 6: Intonation.

For any guitar to stay in tune all the way up the neck it needs to be intonated. This basically means adjusting the length of each string in relation to the scale length of the instrument (the distance between each fret and the distance between the nut and the bridge saddles). To achieve this all we need to do is make some minor adjustments to the saddles.

First of all make sure that you are in tune, and play an open harmonic at the 12th fret. This should read the same as playing an open string on your tuner. Now fret the same string at the 12th fret and take a look at your tuner. If the intonation for that string is correct, it should read exactly the same as the 12th fret open harmonic. If not, the saddle needs to be adjusted slightly.

If the fretted note is sharp (higher than the open harmonic), you will need to lengthen the string. We can do this by moving the saddle backwards. If the fretted note is flat (lower than the open harmonic), you will need to shorten the string by moving the saddle forwards. The way in which you will do this depends on the type of bridge you have, but the same principle applies. Repeat the above steps for each string, retuning each string as you go. Only make small adjustments at a time, as even a small adjustment can make a big difference.

There you have it! If you have followed the above steps correctly you should now have a very playable guitar. If you are still having trouble with fret buzz, your guitar might have uneven frets. In this case I recommend taking it to a proper luthier.

Thanks for reading.

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