Signs That Indicate Your Guitar Needs a Setup

A professional guitar setup once or twice a year is necessary for keeping your guitar in optimum condition. The guitar is made of wood, and exposure to the changing weather throughout the year can affect the instrument's playability. A guitar tech will replace the damaged parts and make necessary corrections to your guitar to make it sound better so that all your notes are pitch-perfect. Sometimes we don't even notice the declining playability of our guitar, due to which its sound quality keeps deteriorating. Therefore, it's always best to take your guitar for set up once in a while. 

 

Signs That Your Guitar Needs a Setup

 

The changing weather can have a severe impact on your guitar. To prevent any severe damage, you should closely observe the tuning of your guitar and look for any of the below-given symptoms. 

 

Intonation Problem

 

Your guitar surely needs a setup if it sounds out of tune further up the fretboard. Conversely, if your guitar sounds good except the higher up the fretboard, you must treat it as an alarm and take your guitar for setup. The intonation problem can affect the playability of your guitar and can affect your performance as a result. Once your guitar is set up, it will have a pitch-perfect accuracy along the entire length of the string. 

 

Fret Rattle 

 

This is one of the common problems faced by guitarists, which is also known as fret buzz. This occurs when the string vibrates or buzzes against multiple frets. As a result, a very unpleasant buzzing sound transmits that instantly kills the tone and upholds notes. In the worst case, the notes may not sound at all. Generally, on a well-furnished guitar, when you press down on a string, it will touch only the fret wire before the fret that you are pressing on. The main reason why the Fret buzz occurs is because of string height is too low. However, we can either raise the saddle height, adjust the truss rod, or use a combination to fix the issue. Further, we can add shims to the nut to increase the action. 

 

Difficult to Press Down on the Strings 

 

The problem is precisely the opposite of the fret buzz problem. Here, the main issue is strings are too high, which makes it more challenging to fret notes. String height is a personal choice; however, if your fingers are hurting after a short practice class, you should consider lowering the action to lessen the pain. Either reducing the saddle height, fixing any neck warping via the truss rod, or a combination of both to fix this issue. Further, the action could be lowered by filing down the slots in the nut. 

 

The Bottom Line

 

If you notice any of the abovementioned signs in your guitar, then you should immediately rush for guitar setup. A guitar is a hefty investment, so you should always trust experienced and knowledgeable guitar technicians for guitar setup. Solo Music Gear Ltd. is the trusted place for high-quality guitar tech services in a cost-effective manner. Visit the official website of Solomusicgear.com to explore their e-store and know more about their products and services.