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Maintenance And Setup Articles

Guitar Maintenance 7 – Strings

March 28, 2010 by Alan Ratcliffe

Strings are often overlooked when diagnosing problems with a guitar, but modern strings are actually quite high tech and precision made. Simply put, they are the tonal source – where the sound starts on your guitar, and – as with hi-fi or PA – the sound source is the most important factor in sound quality.

Guitar Maintenance 6 – Setting pickup heights

March 28, 2010 by Alan Ratcliffe

Setting pickup heights is one of the easiest and simple “mods” you can do to your guitar, allowing you to experiment and change the tone and output power without any expense.

Guitar maintenance 4: Setting nut action

March 26, 2010 by Alan Ratcliffe

Nut actionOnce you have set your guitar’s truss rod and set the bridge action, it is time to look at the nut action.

Guitar Maintenance 1: Cleaning and polishing your guitar

March 26, 2010 by Alan Ratcliffe

Cleaning and polishing a guitar is the first thing every player should learn. It’s the most basic maintenance task which, if done properly, will help retain or even restore an instrument’s looks and value.

Guitar Maintenance 5 – Setting Intonation

March 28, 2010 by Alan Ratcliffe

Setting the intonation on a guitar makes sure that the notes higher up the fretboard, towards the body are in tune.

Guitar Maintenance 3: Setting bridge action

March 26, 2010 by Alan Ratcliffe

What is action?

Action is the height of the strings above the frets and is the most important setting affecting the playability of a guitar. The higher a string is above the frets, the further it has to be pushed down to fret a note, which requires more force, making the guitar more difficult to play.

Guitar Maintenance 2: Truss rod adjustment

March 25, 2010 by Alan Ratcliffe

Adjusting a truss rodTruss rod adjustment is a subject many view with fear because there is a very real danger of ruining your prized instrument. Warped necks, stripped truss rod nuts or broken truss rods are a few of the results of a too-heavy hand while adjusting. However, with a little knowledge and a bit of care, there is no reason why you should do any damage.