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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | I've always played accoustic guitars or I should say "played at" accoustic guitars. This morning I picked up my son's electric just to see what I could do with it. Tuned it up and BAM, sounds like crap! G cord souds OK but A is way off and a Bm hurt my ears. If I'm not mistaken, that's called bad intonation right?
There are lots of little screws on the bridge. Some look like they are for action hight and some look like they adjust string length. So my question...should I mess with them or take it to a shop for a professional to do? |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | well first you want to set the action to where you want it.
then make sure you have a new set of strings.
you will need a tuner of some type I prefer the peterson strobotuner but a korg or something with an analog meter will work.
tune the string to pitch with the tuner.
play it on the 12th fret, if it is not in tune then you need to move the bridge saddle for that corresponding string/s until it gets in tune.
good luck
or take it to a shop. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 1225
Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | I've tried to screw around with the intonation on my Strat a few times and it can be VERY time consuming if you don't know what you're doing. You can get a set up on an electric done for about $25.00. Well worth it in my opinion.
You also should remember that you need a much lighter "touch" on most electrics. If you are using the old "Vulcan death grip" like I do, you can make the notes fret sharp, especially on barre chords up the neck. |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Once you have done a bunch of setups it becomes pretty easy to do, but you need the right tools.
The most important besides a small headed screwdriver is (like Al said) a strobe tuner. I am also a big Peterson fan but pricewise they are not for the faint of heart.
It is also possible to slip with the screwdriver and scratch your guitars finish.
Since you were not sure what all the screws did, I would definately recommend taking it in to the local shop and getting it done by a pro. Haven't seen anyone around here in the $25 range that was mentioned but certainly in the $40-50 range.
Most good luthiers / guitar techs will also want to polish the frets, check the neck, etc. This would run about $75 -90 dollars(includes the intonation) for everything the guitar would need to be in top shape.
If you can afford it, get the complete setup and never look back. |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | The most important part is a good tuner, I use an old Korg, GT6 I think it is. You really need a line in and plug in the guitar. Then the new strings and action where you want it and all the rest that was mentioned. Not that hard to do. The touch is different, I use 11s on my electrics and 12s on the acoustics so the feel is pretty close to the same. One of these days I'll learn how to play them both but that's another story.... |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | heck, and I thought only Al and I still used the GT-6. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Thanks to all.! I started with new strings today and found a cracked nut so that needs to be replaced first. I couldn't possibly screw it up any worse thatn it is so I'll give it a try this week. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | Originally posted by Tony Calman:
heck, and I thought only Al and I still used the GT-6.
it's a great tuner. easy to use and a very accurate meter. Most of the tuners you find today are disposable unless you get a peterson virtual strobe or some of the high end seikos.
Trying to do a set up with those idiot lights flashing put me into epileptic fits. Part of the reason I rarely use the tuner on the optimas other then to get the low and high e in tune |
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Electric Set-Up
