"Setting Up" a new Epi

[SomeIdiotDreamer]

I've had my Midnight black Ultra II for a few weeks now, and now that the tinny A-cord has surfaced, I think that means I should look into setting it up properly.

 

I can hand it to a professional if it comes to that, but I really want to learn the ins and outs of my guitar by working on it as much as I can myself. What should I do?

[RevCharlieD]

Google "Setting up a guitar"

 

There were several thousand hits...

 

YouTube has a pretty good explanation:

 

I would suggest that you look to a professional and ask them to let you watch or explain the various steps as they do it. You can do it at home, but a pro can do it more quickly and spot potential problems that should be addressed.

[charlie brown]

I've had my Midnight black Ultra II for a few weeks now' date=' and now that the tinny A-cord has surfaced, I think that means I should look into setting it up properly.

 

I can hand it to a professional if it comes to that, but I really want to learn the ins and outs of my guitar by working on it as much as I can myself. What should I do?[/quote']

 

Maybe, but how are you fingering that "A" chord. If you mean it's not "clean," with all the notes of the

chord ringing true...it might be finger dampening of the strings. Pretty easy to do, depending on how

you fret it. Roger McGuinn shows a way to finger the open "A" using just 2 fingers, instead of 3 (as

many of us learned to do). He devised it, for doing that chord on a very narrow neck Rickenbacker 12-string,

but it works equally well, on six-string guitars, too. You fret the 4th & 3rd stings with your first finger, and

the 2nd string with your index finger (all at the 2nd fret, of course). Seems weird/awkward at first,

but when you get used to it, it's much cleaner, and faster, too. Less "crowded" that way, as well...

so the chord sounds cleaner. So, you might try that?

 

(Even IF you need a "set up," it's still a good thing to learn/know.)

 

Cheers,

 

CB

[Guest alanhindle]

I also find the two finger A chord method much more suitable on the shorter scale Gibson/Epi necks. I just can't seem to cram all 3 fingers in between the two frets without getting dampening on the D string. Indeed, it is better to fret with each finger as close as possible to the selected fret. This may involve a bit more stretching but minimizes the dampening of certain strings that CB mentioned.

 

Also, as you practice playing the chord, arpeggio through it to check that all the notes are ringing properly.

[Dave]

The A chord is a tight one. I bar it with my first finger and dampen the F# on the first string with my right little finger. That leaves 3 fingers free on the left hand to do hammers and pulloff accent notes on the 4th, 5th, and 6th for an Angus style sound.

[Goldie]

The A chord is a tight one. I bar it with my first finger and dampen the F# on the first string with my right little finger. That leaves 3 fingers free on the left hand to do hammers and pulloff accent notes on the 4th' date=' 5th, and 6th for an Angus style sound. [/quote']

 

Exactly(almost). You only need one finger to make an open A chord, and even use the same finger to dampen the F#.

[charlie brown]

IF you don't want the high (open) E string...that's true. If, however, you like to do "Byrds" like chordings, where you add notes out of the open chord, by lifting off the B string, to open...then fngering that same string at the 3rd fret for a D note, all while keeping the other two strings fretted, for the A chord. That's a bit difficult (dare I say impossible), with one finger. ;>)

 

CB

[Doth]

The A chord is a tight one. I bar it with my first finger and dampen the F# on the first string with my right little finger. That leaves 3 fingers free on the left hand to do hammers and pulloff accent notes on the 4th' date=' 5th, and 6th for an Angus style sound. [/quote']

 

Hello Dave,

 

I think you lost me. If you are barring with your index finger of your left hand, how are you muting the F# with your right pinky?

[tonedeaf1281734100]

You probably should either get a good book, or carefully read through a good online reference, or have a professional show you the first time.

 

Set up involves multiple steps that need to be undertaken in a given order and the individual steps are a little different for different bridge styles on different guitars.

 

On any guitar, the first step is to make sure your nut action is correct. The term "action" generally refers to the height of the strings above the frets. If the nut action is way off, you won't be able to properly set up the guitar. The nut action is the height of your strings above the first fret, measured from the bottom of the strings to the top of the fret wire. Your guitar is new, so it's reasonable to assume the nut action is right. It is probably about 1/64" for the high e string and closer to 2/64" at the low E string. The fat strings have greater excursion when they vibrate so they are often set a little higher. As your guitar ages, it may eventually get to the point where the strings have worn down the string slots on the nut, and the nut action may get so low that the open strings buzz on the first fret when struck.

 

The second thing is to check your neck relief. Guitar necks generally are not perfectly straight but have a very slight forward bow. You can appreciate this by fretting a string at the first fret and at the highest fret simultaneously. Now look at the height of that string above the 7th or 8th fret and you will see a slight gap. This gap may vary from just about 0.000" up to about 0.015". Different guage strings or changes in temperature and humidity that effect the wood of the neck can effect this slightly. The relief can be fine-tuned by adjusting the truss rod buried in the neck. The nut on the end of the truss rod is found under the plastic bell-shaped cover up on the headstock of your guitar. To get at it, you have to remove the three screws holding it in place. Your guitar may have come with a wrench to adjust the truss rod. Tightening the nut increases tension on the rod and tends to bow the neck backwards slightly reducing the relief. Loosening the nut increases relief. Don't mess with the truss rod unless you are sure you know what you are doing. Overtightening it can strip the threads on the truss rod and wreck the guitar.

 

Assuming the nut relief and the neck relief are in the proper range, you now need to adjust the string action. This is the height of the bottom of the strings above a reference fret, usually the 12th or the 17th fret. Again, the bass strings are often set a little higher than the treble strings. To check the action it is best to fret the string at the first fret or place a capo at the first fret. That takes the nut action out of the equation. Now check the height of the bottom of the string above the 12th (or 17th fret). Most Epis are set up to have a string action at the 12th fret of 3/64" for the high e string and 5/64" for the low E string. Most beginners favor a low action as it makes the strings a little easier to fret. Players who strike the strings very hard, do a lot of string bending, or play with a slide will often set the strings higher.

 

Your guitar has what is called a "tune-o-matic" type bridge that does not allow adjustment of the individual string actions (actually, you could adjust the string action individually by filing the slots in the string saddles individually but this would be permanent). You can adjust the action at each end of the bridge by turning the thumbwheels on the posts that support your bridge. You will probably note that the bass end of the bridge is set a bit higher than the treble end. To raise the bridge, you need to slack the strings to reduce the tension. Some guitars have a different type of bridge design that allows the height of each string to be adjusted individually. With that type of bridge, you have to be sure to get the string radius at the bridge right. In other words, the height of the strings has to match the slight curvature of the fretboard. On your bridge, the string radius is built into the bridge and could only be adjusted by filing the slots in the bridge saddles that the strings pass over.

 

The next thing to adjust is the intonation of the guitar. Your guitar may be in tune when you strike the strings open, but the strings may go progressively out of tune as you fret the strings higher on the neck. The intonation is set by adjusting the functional string length. You will note that each bridge saddle has an adjustment screw on the neck side of the bridge. This allows the saddle to be moved foreward (toward the neck) or backward (toward the heel of the guitar) a bit. Again, when you adjust the bridge saddle screw you should slack the string tension first.

 

To check intonation play the string open (or play the 12th fret harmonic). To play a harmonic, barely touch the string right above the 12th fret, strike it and take your finger away immediately. You will hear a chime-like tone of the same pitch as that string fretted at the 12th fret. Now actually fret the same string at the 12th fret. Be careful not to push down harder on the string than necessary. Pressing too hard on the string or bending it slightly will make it go sharp. The idea is to compare the tone of the fretted note to the tone of the open string or the 12th fret harmonic. If the tone of the fretted note is sharp relative to the harmonic, the string needs to be longer, so you need to move the saddle back toward the heel of the guitar. If the fretted note is flat relative to the harmonic, you need to shorten the string by moving the saddle forward towards the neck ("fretted-flat-forward"). You need to do this for each string. As the strings get thicker, the effective string length needs to get longer so that for the first three unwound (plain) strings the saddles generally need to get progressively closer to the heel of the guitar. The wound bass strings vibrate differently, however, so that usually the saddle for the wound 4th string will be set well forward of the saddle for the plain 3rd string. Then for the remaining 2 wound strings the saddles get closer to the heel of the guitar again.

 

Finally, you might want to adjust the height of your pickups. The pickups can be moved closer or farther away from the strings by adjusting the screws on either side of the pickup mounting ring. Tightening the screw moves that side of the pickup closer to the strings. One coil of each of the humbucker pickups may also have screw slots in the six individual magnet pole pieces that you can access through the holes in the pickup cover. This lets you adust the height of each individual pole piece of that coil. This can help to match the pole piece height to the string radius. The closer the pickup gets to the strings the higher its output, but if it gets too close the magnetism of the pole piece can interfere with string vibration, or the string can actually buzz against the pole piece. You might also hear "ghost tones" when you fret the strings high up on the neck. The excursion for string vibration gets less the closer you get to the bridge, so the pole pieces for the bridge pickup are often set a little closer than those for the bridge. A good starting point is to set the neck pickup about 3/32" below the strings and the bridge pickup about 1/16" below the strings. To set this, fret the string at the highest fret, and measure from the string bottom to the top of the pickup pole piece. Again, the bass strings are sometimes set a little further above the pickups than the treble strings.

 

As you can see, if you want to check the action and relief you need a very good ruler and probably a "feeler guage" which measures thicknesses in hundredths of an inch. You can get a feeler guage at an auto parts store.

[Goldie]

IF you don't want the high (open) E string...that's true. If' date=' however, you like to do "Byrds" like chordings, where you add notes out of the open chord, by lifting off the B string, to open...then fngering that same string at the 3rd fret for a D note, all while keeping the other two strings fretted, for the A chord. That's a bit difficult (dare I say impossible), with one finger. ;>)

 

CB[/quote']

 

Well then, you're in to altered chords, and not just an A dominant. That makes things a little different.

[charlie brown]

 

Well then' date=' you're in to altered chords, and not just an A dominant. That makes things a little different.[/quote']

 

True...but if you play the open A chord, with 2 or even 3 fingers, it's much easier to do those "altered"

chords, or embellished versions, if you choose to learn them. I use the 1 finger approach, at times, too...

but I was just suggesting an alternate approach, that might be a bit "cleaner," IF that was what was

going on...that's all.

 

Besides, what the originator of this post.."SID," is experiencing, may have nothing to do with how she's chording?

I can't see her playing, to tell...and can't hear what she's talking about, so...I mentioned it as just a "possibility,"

in the first place. LOL!

 

Cheers,

CB

[Dave]

 

Hello Dave' date='

 

I think you lost me. If you are barring with your index finger of your left hand, how are you muting the F# with your right pinky?[/quote']

 

My right pinky usually rests on the pick guard or sometimes just floats in that area. When I bar an A chord, it tucks under the high E to mute it.

[Guitar Chico]

 

My right pinky usually rests on the pick guard or sometimes just floats in that area. When I bar an A chord' date=' it tucks under the high E to mute it.[/quote']

 

Are we talking about the A major? If so just put your first finger on the D, G, and B strings on the second fret. If I've got the right idea here, its way simpler than you think.

 

GC