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Guitar Set Up Help


Rusty Deathnail

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Guest Exposure @ Lemon Tree

I reckon someone at Captain Tom's could help - not sure about how much they'd charge though - probably not too much - do you practise there? If you're a regular, they might do you a favour...

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Guest Exposure @ Lemon Tree
No, don't really ever go to Tom's now. Worth a shout though. I'll give them a call and see what they say.

Pretty sure the sound engineer Paul really knows what he's doing in that respect. Just no idea what they'd charge for him to fix it for you though :up:

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Guest idol_wild
Hey all,

I've got an Epiphone Studio Dot series guitar and I need some help with it. The Intonation is off and the G string sits too deep in the nut.

Can anyone help me with the set up for this guitar without charging an arm and a leg to make it play pretty again?

You always have problems with your g-string and nuts.

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You should be able to fix the intonation yourself. Just takes 5 minutes with a screwdriver/allan key and a tuner:

Aye, I did try this already and still not happy with the results. Maybe I need a 2nd round of it to try and perfect it. It's mainly the G string and how deep it sits in the nut. It sounds pinched when you play it open, and the intonation goes way off past the 12th.

I was told that I probably need to raise where the string sits by putting some super glue in the gap where the string sits. More professional solutions would be proabably be quite costly.

I'm pretty skint and just want my guitar to stay in tune!

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Guest Exposure @ Lemon Tree
That's good thinking batman! I'll take it to Tom's and see what they say. I'll have a look at a new nut too (guffaw guffaw).

The guitar shops may be another option, but I suspect they'd be more expensive. Saying that though, I bought my bass from Bruce Miller and they fixed that for free for me - it was just the bit that holds the strap on though - nothing technical!

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You should be able to fix the intonation yourself. Just takes 5 minutes with a screwdriver/allan key and a tuner:

How to Set Your Guitar's Intonation - wikiHow

Decent enough article but personally I use the 12th fret harmonic instead of the fretted 12th. They fail to mention that you have to slacken off the string before adjusting the bridge or the tension will sometimes stop the saddle from moving. Unfortunately I've had to do that for every bass/guitar I've set up (especially wire-wound strings, you sometimes don't have to with unwound strings) turning it into a bit of a tune->check->detune->adjust marathon.

To the OP: Try setting the intonation again using the method Chris linked to and my suggestions (and the best tuner you can beg/borrow/steal). If the intonation is still out you might have truss rod issues* (or shit neck issues) so maybe splashing some cash to get everything sorted at the same time is the best option. If you're going to buy a new nut anyway why not try the super-glue method first, nothing to lose if you're throwing it away.

*I wouldn't recommend tackling the truss rod yourself

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I was 35 both times for a set up at RnB this year. and I even provided my own strings. 35 is a bit much for someone to just toss about with a screwdriver. Each time there was a specific problem too. The first being that the G always comes out of tune after the slightest of bends, and the second was the action was far too high.

Paid 70 for both to be sorted, and as it stands, both guitars are in my bedroom, one which sounds like its been thrown down some stairs after I bend the G, and the other cuts through my fingers when I try to press down the strings.

There's good money to be made in not doing a job properly.

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Aye, that's my reservation. I let a friend take a look at my guitar (who knows his stuff and has worked with guitars for a number of years) a few months back and I thought the issue had been resolved but now fear he may have worsened the problem.

Luckily, a colleague of mine who has done guitar set ups for numerous years is willing to take a look for free. I haven't exhausted all my options just yet! Thanks for all the advice!

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The string could be catching on the nut, holding it out of tune. The graphite helps it move in the groove better so it can return to it's correct pitch after a bend.

Think that's the theory anyway.

That is correct. If I remember my school chemistry it's because graphite is made up of lot's of sheets of graphite, which are quite strong in themselves, but they slip past other graphite sheets easily. A sort of solid lubricant.

It's a technique I've heard a lot of but I don't think I've ever met anyone who does it. Mind you, what people use to lubricate their nuts rarely comes up in conversation.*

*I had to say it, it's the law.

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