Re: What are some good tricks to approximate a guitar setup?
Look, there have to be some cats out there who DO know what to do with their guitars and don't need the services of a competent and experienced guitar tech. In this day and age, it's sink or swim - because who really wants to go to Ninth Circle of Hell Music (GC) for a setup? YouTube only made the problem worse, because 9/10ths of it is just an opinion or a bald-faced lie. Truth and knowledge are in short supply here in the information age.
But in my experience, most players don't understand how to get the best performance out of their instrument, and end up frustrated. Some are just dumb as rocks. I still run into guys who've been playing bars for decades who didn't know WTH a string winder was! Or that you could buy them for a buck at the front counter. The reason I took my shop back home is because I was fed up with time wasters asking me what the best pickup is, or the best strings, or what the best tonewood for the ultimate guitar would be. (Hint - there is NO best, there is only what works for you)
I will grant you that there are players who DON'T need help servicing their stuff, but for those that DO - I and a selection of cats around the country stand ready to make it right for them.