The good folks at The Upper Bout on South Neil St. have just released this sweet video of a guitar setup, showing the amount of labor that goes into maintaining an axe.
Stream the video below, and for more information, check out the press release here:
Notes from the Repair Bench
Each week, we take a look at guitar maintenance, repair, and upgrades. This week, we get an inside look at guitar setups!
Electric Guitar Setup
A setup is an important part of guitar maintenance. Over time, a guitar’s frets can corrode, a neck can flex and move due to humidity, electronics can become scratchy, and hardware can fall out of alignment. These changes all lead to a guitar that is hard to play, that won’t stay in tune, and that may fail you when you need it the most! A setup is the best way to prevent your guitar from falling into disrepair.
Not all setups are equal. Some repair techs have different procedures when it comes to setting up guitars. Here’s what goes into a setup at The Upper Bout:
- Remove old strings
- Clean frets and fingerboard
- Polish frets
- Oil and hydrate fingerboard
- Electronics check and cleaning
- Deep clean of the instrument
- Tighten and align hardware
- Restring
- Play test
- Adjust action
- Play test
- Adjust intonation
- Final play test and inspection
That’s a lot of work! Fortunately, we have the fastest turn-around time in Champaign-Urbana, so you won’t be without a guitar for long!