New guitar - when is a set up required and how common is the need?

[Nifty]

I recently got a new LP.    The one I chose, I chose because of the 10 or so I tried, felt like it played the best.   Or felt the best.  No buzzing or hums.  Action seems fine.     The last time I owned guitars was before the internet days.    So, I've read and watched videos online, which might be my own undoing,  but I keep seeing claims that guitars are not truly set up "new".    So, I'm puzzled to know what is not set up for the guitar I have.   How does one know?   I've had guitars a long time ago that required small adjustments here or there, but I never got anything out and started taking precise measurements.     I recently started watching a 40 minute YT video of a set up and shut it off 10 minutes into it.    I'm really not worried, just more curious than anything else.
 

Three questions:

The guitar I have, could it be just lucky that it plays well?  Could it play better?
What am I missing?  Or what will I gain by getting my guitar set up?
If I've never set up a guitar, how much of a cluster is it to do?  I don't have any tools or gauges.   I'd probably follow along one of the dozes of videos I've run across. 


 

[Sgt. Pepper]

Everyone has different tastes in how they want their guitar to feel when playing it. Most Martin Acoustic guitars come with sky high action that can be lowered and the bridge is where it is and the saddle is either compensated or not. There is not a whole lot to setting up and acoustic or electric either. It just takes time and know how.

Now on to electrics. You can raise and lower the bridge on a Gibson very easily with the round thumb screws. Intonation can be adjusted by moving the saddle back and forth in the slot. The nut can be files down to lower action, but about 90% of your action is controlled by the bridge. The nut only affects the 6 open notes. Once you fret a note on the first fret and higher your nut is no longer in play. You need to have some relief in your neck so you get no fret buzz as you go up and down the neck, by loosening or tightening the truss rod. Which may have to be done in the summer and winter. How high or low do you like your action? The lower the easier it is to play and fret notes. The higher the less chance you will have any buzzing or fretting out of a note. There needs to be an in-between where its as low as you like it, but doesn't buzz, but not so high that it kills your fingertips.

Your guitar should only need one set up unless you go up or down gauges of strings and then maybe just a tweek or two.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[Pinch]

If it's not broke, don't fix it. Watch a gazillion videos before doing anything if you're new to it. 

I'd kick back and enjoy the guitar if it plays great. No, actually, I tell a lie. I'd attempt to fix problems that aren't there, thereby creating unnecessary new problems, but don't do that. 

Pickup height is a good first set-up thing. Just make sure to measure the distance string to pole piece when fretting the last fret on both sides on each pickup and write it down, so you can go back to where you started. If it's a new Standard or Classic, I found the sweet spot with the neck pickup significantly lowered and the bridge pickup lowered just a bit. Screws on each side raises or lowers pickup height. Clockwise to raise, counter to lower. 

[mihcmac]

Gibson Les Pauls tend to be very stable, if it played well in the store where you found it, it has most likely acclimated to that environment and set up. So it should be good to go, unless your home is extremely different from the store with humidity and temperature. If it plays good now, just play it.

[Larsongs]

Depends on what level of Guitar you bought & where you bought it.. Some higher end Guitars come with great Set ups. Some Sellers do Set ups & some don’t... It all depends...

I agree, if it feels right, just play.........

[brad1]

Unlike what somebody above said, you don't have to measure anything. 

Some people get out the gauges and measure everything. And some people, like me, measure nothing, with a ruler or gauge. 

I use my ears mostly, and my eyes. I have been playing for a number of years and own multiple guitars. I used to measure stuff. But soon found no need.  Every guitar, pickup, nut, etc. is different. I have found that using my God-given senses works very well. 

There are numerous videos on youtube that you can watch that will show you how to do a basic setup.  Look at a few.  Than venture out on your own. Most of your knowledge will come from trial and error, and "doing it yourself".  

Oh, and BTW, welcome back to the wonderful world of guitar playing!

[Larsongs]

12 hours ago, brad1 said:

Unlike what somebody above said, you don't have to measure anything. 

Some people get out the gauges and measure everything. And some people, like me, measure nothing, with a ruler or gauge. 

I use my ears mostly, and my eyes. I have been playing for a number of years and own multiple guitars. I used to measure stuff. But soon found no need.  Every guitar, pickup, nut, etc. is different. I have found that using my God-given senses works very well. 

There are numerous videos on youtube that you can watch that will show you how to do a basic setup.  Look at a few.  Than venture out on your own. Most of your knowledge will come from trial and error, and "doing it yourself".  

Oh, and BTW, welcome back to the wonderful world of guitar playing!

Joe Walsh has some good You Tube on how he sets up his Guitars...... Part 1

 

[Marky Forrest]

Welcome to the Forum and congrats on your new LP! I'm with some others... if it sounds good and plays well, just enjoy playing it. Have fun!

[Whitefang]

I'll welcome you to the forums too, and thank you for this thread.

I haven't owned an electric guitar for many moons, an the only one I had was an old cheap-o Kalamazoo obtained in '67.  But I'm currently toying with the idea of filling my "bucket list" and getting another electric and all the advice others gave here is helpful to me as well.

Whitefang

[zigzag]

I would always take a new guitar to a luthier/tech I trust to do the initial setup on a new guitar, then do my own adjustments as I felt were necessary. My very first adjustment is to neck relief if necessary... everything follows from there. Ideally, I think the fretboard should be perfectly flat, but more often I adjust to add very slight relief. After that, I will raise or lower the bridge or saddles to adjust the action. The nut must be slotted correctly and the frets must be even, but I won't touch those myself. I assume the luthier has done that already if necessary. Then I'll adjust intonation.

Also, I never measure anything. I do everything by feel, sight, and sound. 

Edited May 12, 2021 by zigzag

[DanvillRob]

I use my luthier to select the best strings for my playing.

I have every acoustic I own set up professionally.

My guy has never let me down.

[badbluesplayer]

Gibson electrics are never set up quite correctly from the factory,  Gibson electric nuts are always higher than spec.  So you're usually fighting with sharp notes fretted near the nut.  And the neck relief always seems to need to be tightened down a little as the guitar settles in.

I had an SG that was otherwise perfect but had the nut cut at about 6/64" all the way across, which is absolutely unplayable.  It should be about 1/64 to maybe 3/64 at the absolute max.  Once i recut it, the thing was awesome.  There's no way to screw that up with the PLEK machine unless you punch the wrong numbers into the machine.

So, in my experience, you always need a setup on a GIbson.

[Whitefang]

Well, as a Gibson LP IS on my "bucket list"  badbluesplayer,  I thank you for the information and advice.  

Whitefang

[01GT eibach]

On 5/3/2021 at 1:02 PM, ghost_of_fl said:

This is your answer.  If it feels good, sounds good, no buzz and action is where you like it - it's already set up just right.  

👆  This is absolutely correct, except I need to add one thing ... the intonation.  Intonation to me is the most important thing, and it is not hard for an inexperienced player to adjust/check either.  Instead of me going into the details, just go to youtube and learn how to check/adjust it.  Also, if your intonation is already solid, that even more points to a strong likelihood it was set up by someone who knew what they are doing.  When it comes to intonation, it is just like John Lennon once said:  "It's eeeeeasyyyy  ..."