How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

[Agileguy_101]

I just gave two of my electrics a full set up and intonation, and they feel better than ever. I don't do it that often, it's been at least a year since I messed with the set up. How often do you do it? I know that everyone lives in different climates which is why I didn't do a poll - there's not enough context to give proper results.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

There are no hard and fast rules for my stuff mostly because I am always tweaking some things...my action for example gets changed a fair bit.

Also some guitars need more attention as some guitars are more sensitive to temp and humidity changes than others.

That said my guitars in general are pretty solid and tend to stay put and don't tend to need a lot of tweaking unless my taste just changes.

It also helps that I keep my guitar room at right around 70 degrees and about 55% humidity.

 

[LReese]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

Only if they need it - Truss rod adjustments maybe twice per year depending on the guitar.

 

[Kac]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

if its working well it can be a couple years between a full set up. One particular Strat is just working right, everything seems to be right where it needs to be and hasn't had a major set up at all for years. Others I'll just keep working with and tweaking...

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

Rarely, always somewhat cold where I live. Once in a while we'll go up to 80, only about 5 times a year do we hit 90. Most days never pass 70. It is about to go down and down until it hits the 50s for highs and lower 40s/upper 30s for lows. It is also somewhat cold and humid nights, and relatively dry days.

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

I try to do once and done.... But if I change string gauges or hear buzzing then I do it again.

 

[karpathion]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

2-3 times a year.

 

[Aceman]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

Never. Once they get in the zone, rarely takes more than a minor tweak/adjust

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

I find that once they've been set up nicely they tend not to drift from it too much. String gauge changes require a new setup usually though.

 

[LReese]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

No one's had saddles drift lower over time? I'd call that a tweak, though.

 

[blueman335]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

I find that once they've been set up nicely they tend not to drift from it too much. String gauge changes require a new setup usually though.

+1. With the seasons changing in temp and humidity, the truss rod and/or intonation may need a tweak once in a while. But needing a complete set-up on a regular basis seems extreme.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

I usually set them up to my taste when I first get one, and they pretty much stay like that.

 

[Bludave]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

I usually check everything when I change strings. I check intonation, truss rod, buff the frets with steel wool, etc. I don't usually have any need to adjust the action. My guitars play great the way I keep them setup.

 

[Bludave]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

On that topic..... How many of you are Humidifying your music room? This morning it was 31 degrees here.... I haven't set up my humidifier in my rehearsal space yet, but the Hygrometer read 48% this morning but I will set it up tonight. All of my acoustics have been properly humidified for about 2 weeks now. I store all my guitars in their cases so they are well protected but it is definately something that those of us in the colder climates have to deal with...

 

[Securb]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

On that topic..... How many of you are Humidifying your music room?

Funny, I have a dehumidifier, New England is a wet and humid region. The soil around my house is clay and granite under the topsoil it forces the moisture into the house. If I didn't have a dehumidifier my guitars would swell and my speaker cones would turn to mush. I guess it all depends on what part of the country/world you live in.

 

[threechordcharlie]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

I usually check everything when I change strings. I check intonation, truss rod, buff the frets with steel wool, etc. I don't usually have any need to adjust the action. My guitars play great the way I keep them setup.

This

 

[Bludave]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

Funny, I have a dehumidifier, New England is a wet and humid region. The soil around my house is clay and granite under the topsoil it forces the moisture into the house. If I didn't have a dehumidifier my guitars would swell and my speaker cones would turn to mush. I guess it all depends on what part of the country/world you live in.

Well I am in New York, not that far really & the electrics are pretty stable, but my acoustics I always worry about. I store all my acoustics in the case & keep a Humidifier in the case. I also keep a hygrometer in the case to monitor the extremes. Once you introduce artificial heat it draws a lot of the natural humidirty out of the room, so being safe I would recommend to get a Hygrometer and keep an eye on how low it drops. I try to keep the room between 40 & 50% hunidity but that can get hard in the full swing of the winter.

 

[CTN]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

3-4 times a year.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

I take my Strat down to nothing and rebuild it once a year or so.

I'm always swapping the neck or the pickups or the trem or something, so I essentially make a new partscaster out of it every year.

In 2013, it was all original except a set of Wilde pickups and a KGC brass trem block.

But I have to set it up when I do stuff like replace the neck or the trem, obviously.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: How Often do You Fully Set Up Your Guitars?

I usually give them a check down every time I change strings, unless I'm in a hurry. Doesn't take long, and our weather is a little of everything, we can go through some pretty wild humidity swings. Some guitars are more affected than others, Gibsons seem to be the most affected, while my cheapo Squier hasn't needed adjusted since I set it up several months ago.