Set Up

[D4ve]

I guess I must be getting bolder since joining this community last year.
I just took my beloved D60 in for a revamp.
New nut and saddle and a tweak here and there.
I loved the sound but the action always bugged me.
I played it for about 3 hours this morning and I just knew it could be made better. It is hard to play around the 7th fret at least with my stubby fingers.
I have fingers like Poki if anyone has seen the pics  :o
So anyway I hope I didn't do a bad thing :unsure:
The tech there sounded like he knew what he was talking about and I have a long relationship with this particular dealer.
It will be real interesting to see what comes back next week.
Meanwhile back at the ranch I have to dig out my Taylor

will give a review when it gets back
Dave

[jwieties]

Its the best thing you could have done Dave!
That D60 will be like a new guitar.  I often do my own setup work up until a point.  There is nothing better then a new pro job.

Man 3 hours of playing this morning.  that must be nice.  I have to get through my days squeezing in 5 minutes here... 20 minutes there.  When you get that guitar back be ready to put in 5-6 hours. :)
-josh

[D4ve]

Josh
Kids are grown and GONE!!!!
We are empty nesters.
Thats how I get the 3 hours. ;)
Regards
Dave

[jwieties]

Josh
Kids are grown and GONE!!!!
We are empty nesters.
Thats how I get the 3 hours. ;)
Regards
Dave

Mine is 9 months.  My only hope is that he takes to the guitar so that we can play together.  If not, it will be a while before I can get any truly consistent time.  Good news is he already loves it.
http://homepage.mac.com/bwieties/justintim...Personal20.html
-josh

[tiffer]

D4ave, it will make all the difference in the world.  I just got my OM-10 back this afternoon from my dealer after having a new setup done.  Like your's the action was a bit high, but she played easy and had great tone.  Decided I wanted the action set very similar to that on my Breedlove.

But, now WOW... no comparison to before.  Even with a light attack she just resonates, sound projection is far better as is the tone.  I had my luthier dress the nut, adjust the neck relief, and lower the action, she's now at 3/32 at 12th fret on low E (pretty sure that's what he said he set her at).  She now plays like butter.  I could not be happier.

I think you will be very pleased when you get her back.
 

[bikodog]

hey dave,

I just got my D-60 this week,  and for a new guitar it's got that sound that says it's matured already a bit.  If it gets better with age, it's gonna be special.

But back to the set up,  I haven't bought a new guitar, Taylor or Lar that couldn't be helped by a good setup.  This D-60 was high for my tastes.  I took a bit off the saddle,  and will probably take a teeny bit more next string change, and it plays much better.  But there are some rough fret ends,  and I'll leave that for my luthier to fix.  I'll give it 6 months or so to get use to living here and take it in.

I've got a 96 or so D-03 that I had fret dressed, bone saddled, and it plays fantastic,  really low, no buzz even when driven hard.  Thats what I'm lookin for.  You'll love a good set up,  and if it's not right to you,  take it back, they can fix it.

[wyodeb]

I wish we had someone locally who could set up guitars. I'm either going to have to learn how, or send them away. My husband's Guild will be making its way to Unclrob as soon as we can spare it. The strings bind terribly at the nut, breaking at every string change. I would like to get a bone saddle and nut installed on it. The Yairi also needs work. A refret is in order at the very least.

Deb

[wyodeb]

I noticed Stew-Mac has several reference books that would help with set-up, bridge/nut installation, etc. Does anyone have one they would especially recommend?

Deb

[unclrob]

Deb read them all.I know its daunting but if you take it slow you can do it.Also you can call me anytime,as always I'm glad to help.

[Dude2Dude]

Hi Deb,

I have carved a bunch of saddles from bone blanks, and experiemented with neck relief ad nauseum. And you know what? I'm really glad I did. I now know a lot more about what kind of feel I'm looking for. Although saddle and nut height is obviously a key to having a good set-up, dialing in the kind of relief you like (I play all over the fingerboard, finger- and flatpick, have a lot of right hand control and like a very flat neck, about .003" - .004" relief) is also critical.

But back to you. There's usually no way a set-up person can glean what you REALLY want without you being there during the process. Set-ups are such a personal thing; only you know what feels good to you. So why not give it a shot? (Have a good luthier make sure your nut slots are cut correctly, though. Too much room here for screwing things up royally!)

Note: I screwed up a few saddles when I was learning to do 'em. The curvature of the saddle top is critical to not buzzing out your 3rd and 4th strings. Take your time, go slow. And I haven't tried making or filing the nut or nut slots yet. But as soon as I get the right files, I'm going to make myself a new bone nut, too.

[TBM]

I tried the basic DIY setup on my D-60 to lower the action a bit.  The end result was while the action was good & low, I lost a lot of tone by sanding down the saddle.  Reduced the break angle of the strings at the bridge and, thereby, the tension on the top.  It's amazing how a couple hundreths of an inch can make the difference between okay tone and great tone!

Learned my lesson -- Ordered a couple replacement saddles from Brian and they came in last week.  Promptly replaced the original saddle and the gorgeous tone of the D-60 came right back!  Phew!!!   :lol:  

[Peter Cree]

Also check out frets.com.  Frank Ford explains all about guitars and set-ups and necks etc.  Easy reading for the beginner to the pro.  Great reference site.