Guitar Set Ups (what you need to know)

A guitar should be professionally set up before use and at least every six months after that. However, some say you can get your guitar set up multiple times a year as needed, depending on other factors. These factors include:

• Weather: Seasonal climate changes can cause wood guitars to require adjustments. For example, you might want to get your guitar set up before summer and before winter.

• Humidity: Humidity can also affect your guitar.

• Playing and storage: How often you play your guitar and how you store it can also be factors.

• String changes: Changing your guitar's string gauge or size can sometimes change its geometry and require adjustments. 

  
  A setup should be performed when your guitar doesn't have the same “feel,” or play the way you'd like it to. You can get your guitar setup multiple times a year as needed, but for most players, we recommend once every six months, or with the change of seasons.

• Whenever people ask this question, “How often should I have my guitar set up?”, I respond like this: once to twice a year, but it depends on what the weather is like (cold or hot weather changes as well as humidity are factors that you need to keep in mind).

• Are you a gigging musician or a recreational player? Changing your guitar's string gauge & size can sometimes necessitate a set up too.

  Guitar Maintenance: Tips and Advice

  In order to keep your guitar in perfect shape, visits to a professional technician are a must. Any new guitar should be professionally set up before use and checked out at least every six months. Since most guitars are manufactured out of wood, seasonal climate changes may require routine adjustments.

Signs that your guitar needs a setup include:

• Off intonation

• High action

• Buzzing when you fret a note

• Strings that stop vibrating and buzz when you bend them

• Sharp frets

• A warped neck