| Guitar purchase "off the rack" can be a mine field, | | | | walk into the show room. In this way you can benefit |
| consider "custom" versus "pre-fab" electric guitars. | | | | from his first hand knowledge and experience and not |
| I love guitars, and there's nothing like a new electric | | | | have to go it alone. After all he sees the ones that |
| guitar with a proper set up! I like the tone, the way it | | | | breakdown more often than you or the salesman do. |
| feels in my hands, and the way that I can make a | | | | Below, I have outlined the essential adjustments to be |
| guitar sound "right" for any kind of music that I play. | | | | performed prior to purchasing and playing a guitar |
| Whether it's jazz, blues, country, hard rock, R&B leads, | | | | under optimal circumstances. |
| guitar chords, or just working on guitar tabs, all it takes | | | | 1. 4-axis Alignment of the guitar neck. The guitar neck |
| is a flip of a switch, some prep, a couple twists of the | | | | is checked and adjusted to insure that it is true and |
| knobs, neck alignment and I'm right where I need to be. | | | | straight to insure proper alignment on all axis. This step |
| I've bought a lot of guitars over the years, and | | | | insures proper action and allows for more accurate |
| discovered that taking that beautiful new Strat or Tele | | | | and easier guitar tuning, playing and set-up in the |
| guitar out of the box was always just the first step in | | | | following steps. |
| finding the guitar that fit in my hands the way that I | | | | 2. Inspect and Lube the guitar tuning gears |
| imagined that it would when it first caught my eye. | | | | Each tuning gear is adjusted so that there is no play in |
| After a close inspection I found that my new guitar | | | | the mechanism. They are then lubricated to insure |
| wouldn't be quite gig ready until I did all of the little | | | | smooth and even movement to make your guitar tune |
| subtle tweaks, repairs and modifications that would | | | | accurately. |
| make it play just the way I wanted it to when I got it | | | | 3. Potting the guitar pickups. Dip the pickups in hot wax |
| out onto the gig. I'd dress the frets, get the intonation | | | | to reduce squeal and unwanted guitar feedback. |
| just right, tweak the pick-ups, customize the | | | | 4. Prep the guitar body. Upon installing the guitar |
| configuration a bit, and before you know it, I'd be | | | | electronic components, great care is taken to insure |
| playing a guitar that felt like it was made to be in my | | | | that all wires are properly routed, spaced, and |
| hands. Playing music is always fun, but when I'm on the | | | | grounded to insure years of trouble free service with |
| gig with a guitar that feels just right ... it's just pure guitar | | | | your guitar. |
| joy. | | | | 5. Level and polish the frets. This insures that all of the |
| After a while I thought; "Wouldn't it be great to be able | | | | guitar frets are level, eliminating any possibility of fret |
| to buy a guitar that felt gig ready right out of the box?" | | | | buzz due to unevenness. |
| As wonderful as that idea may seem, in reality it's | | | | 6. Radius the guitar strings. Most guitar necks have a |
| almost impossible to pick up a guitar in a music store | | | | contour over the top of the neck called the "radius". |
| "off the rack" and have it play right. It just doesn't | | | | Adjust the strings to make sure the height of each |
| happen. There are many things that need to be done | | | | string follows the contour of the guitar neck. |
| to "prep" the guitar before it's ready to play. At | | | | 7. Adjusting the overall guitar string height and the |
| Haywire Custom Guitars ( we recommend and | | | | action. Once the string contour and radius of the guitar |
| perform all of the following in prep for a guitar | | | | strings is set, it's time to adjust the overall height or |
| purchase before it leaves the bench at the workshop. | | | | "action" or distance of the strings from the top of the |
| For our purposes here I will focus only on electric | | | | frets to the bottom of the guitar strings. |
| instruments for now. First, let me pose a question to | | | | 8. Set the guitar intonation. This step should be done |
| the beginning through the advanced guitarist. What Is | | | | twice. The intonation is normally set two times with a |
| Guitar Intonation and why is it important? Do you | | | | 24 hour period in between to allow the new guitar |
| know? | | | | adjustments to properly re-seat. |
| Intonation is the accuracy in which an electric guitar or | | | | If these steps are performed before playing your new |
| bass can produce a fretted note and the most | | | | guitar then, you won't be disappointed. Your focus can |
| important issue with any instrument. Setting the | | | | then be on the music and not the problems of the |
| intonation on a guitar is the act of adjusting the length | | | | instrument. If it is "set up" properly a player will not |
| of the strings (by moving the bridge saddles) to | | | | have to "get used to" it. Everything on it will feel natural |
| compensate for the thickness of the string and the | | | | and fall right into place and the music can flow. |
| stretching of a string due to pushing it down to the fret | | | | In summary, Guitar purchase "off the rack" can be a |
| board to produce a note. To adjust the intonation of | | | | real disappointment. A thoughtful purchase should |
| your guitar or bass guitar, you move the bridge | | | | include consideration in buying a "custom" or |
| saddles toward or away from the fret board until the | | | | "Gig-Ready" electric guitar versus a "pre-fab" |
| 12th fret note and its harmonic are equal in pitch to the | | | | instrument built on a production line. Custom guitars are |
| same open-string note, which are exactly one octave | | | | individually built for a specific customer and will have all |
| apart. Accurate intonation is critical to pitch quality. Pitch | | | | of the above necessary operations performed. All the |
| quality is essential to "in tune" playing. Poor pitch | | | | guitarist needs to do is-Play! Sincerely, Rick Mariner |
| quality="out of tune" notes which in turn = poor musical | | | | Rick Mariner - Owner and founder of Haywire Value |
| presentation. Wouldn't you or the salesman want to | | | | Priced Custom Guitars ( and a member of The |
| present your musical talents in the best way possible? | | | | Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans (A.S.I.A.) as |
| Of course, you do. | | | | well as a guitar player. Rick holds a bachelors degree |
| Now, it is not necessary for a guitar player to know | | | | from University of Maryland and a Masters degree |
| this at all. It is essential however that the guitar | | | | from George Washington University. |
| possess this quality and maintain as close to perfect | | | | Rick developed an 8 - Point "Gig- Ready" guitar |
| intonation as possible. Buying on looks alone can be | | | | process that allows for Haywire Custom Guitars that |
| very disappointing. If however, you like an instrument | | | | are "GIG-READY". |
| for the looks but realize that you will need to have it | | | | With many years of development and guitar set-up |
| worked on to get it playable then that is a savvy | | | | experience, we pride ourselves in helping to build you |
| notion. It's best to speak to a luthier or guitar builder | | | | the "Just Right" Haywire guitar at prices well below |
| previous to any purchase. It's akin to asking a | | | | market and "set up" to playing perfection. |
| mechanic which car he would recommend-before you | | | | |