Frequently Asked Questions.

Hi, on this page, I will answer frequently asked questions, please feel free to email me with your questions, and I will answer them directly. One Note of caution, if you are uncomfortable with making any of the suggestions, then take it to your local guitar tech. If, however, should you make the adjustments yourself allow the guitar to settle down and re-visit the setup for a few days to make sure all your actions are still correct.

Question: I have bought a brand new guitar, and I can’t seem to play it comfortably, why is this?

Answer: The settings from the manufacturer are raising the action to ensure there is no fret buzz when you first try playing it, so the action will be too high and uncomfortable to play. not only that; it is widespread for most manufacturers to fail to set the bridge radius to match the neck radius…there may also be irregular fretwork. This will affect the playability and the intonation of your Guitar, plus, you do not know how long it has been stored or what countries it has been in. So, you really do need a full setup…take it to your local guitar tech and ask for a full setup. This also applies to buying a secondhand guitar as the previous owner may have set his guitar to suit his/her particular playing style, which may not suit your style of playing, higher action, thinner/thicker strings, etc… Plus, you may not know how long the strings have been on the instrument.

Question: My Guitar sounds like a Sitar, what is causing this?

Answer: The normal answer is twofold: Either, the nut slots are not filed to the correct height or the slots are too tight and pinching the strings (which also causes tuning instability). Or the saddle slots are not filed correctly. Occasionally it could be both the nut slots and the saddle slots…In any case, please take it to your local shop or guitar tech.

Question: Why am I having tuning problems?

Answer: 1) If you have old or rusty strings, you need them removed and replaced immediately. any full guitar setup will always put new strings on. The simple reason is that the strings lose all flexibility with age, start to unwind, and cause rust to transfer to the saddles. Also, over time the strings will form flat spots over the frets. I recommend changing your strings if you play more than 20 hours per week at least every 3 months, otherwise every 4 months. Also, check your tuner nuts at the headstock, 10mm nuts do seem to loosen, so re-tighten, but don’t overdo it as they may split.

2) The primary reason is the nut slots, now, let’s talk about the importance of the nut, although it is a small part of the Guitar/Bass/Ukelele it is a crucial component, It governs many different things:

1) It governs the action height at the first fret, you know, is it going to be hard to play or easy to play?

2) It impacts intonation at the first fret, if the nut slots are too high, then the first position can play sharp.

3) It governs tuning stability: if the slots are too tight, the strings will bind and you will have very erratic tuning, if the slots are too loose then the string will buzz.

So, you must identify the nut slots, to see if they are too narrow for your string gauge, or; if these slots have not been cut correctly. So when tuning to pitch the strings are sticking in the slots.

Question: My intonation is out after the 12th fret on my electric guitar can you help?

Answer: It sounds like the intonation has not been set up correctly, the most important thing is to ensure, that your open strings are tuned to pitch, if they are not then your intonation will be out from the beginning, so, you must ensure that these are tuned exactly to pitch. Also, has the string action height been set correctly, and is the bridge radius the same as the neck radius? These will all affect the intonation and playability. Now, on the basis that everything mentioned above has been done, you can set the intonation as follows: Fret at the 12th using your normal playing pressure and make sure you are not slightly bending the fretted string. If the note is flat; then you need to move the saddle forward reducing the scale length and turn the saddle screws anti-clockwise, if the note is sharp, you need to move the saddle back to increase the scale length you do this by turning the saddle screw clockwise, you must see the saddle moving, so it may take a couple of turns. NOTE, Loosen the string first before you do this and, flatten the note; retune to pitch. Once you are happy with the intonation at the 12th, it’s worthwhile doing the same at the 17th fret - especially if you play higher up. Special note: On Gibson/Epiphone, they do tend to play a little sharp so you will need to accept some slight variation with intonation, it is really a personal choice, however, my preference would be to have the intonation a little flat - just because it is easier to bend to pitch than to bend down, but I always try to get it as close to perfect as possible. If you have a PRS and the strings wrap around the bridge then you can adjust the intonation, by adjusting the screws, but you have to access them from the front and this can be a little awkward. If you have a bridge without individually adjustable saddles, then you have to adjust the bridge by moving it backward or forward… Better left to your local guitar tech guy/girl. likewise, if you have a Floyd Rose tremolo, they do give you a way to adjust them, but it is tricky.

TOP TIP: when looking at the saddles, the way they should look generally is the low E saddle is further back, the A moves forward, the D is forward of the A, and the G saddle drops back again because it is thicker than the core wire of the D, then the B moves forward and the high E moves forward of the B. So, you have 3 at an angle and 3 at an angle, so if you have saddles that are out of that orientation, it’s a good indicator that the guitar might need to be intonated.

Question: the saddle on my squier strat lifts when I bend a string so the notes are out of tune can I put a block in the saddle?

Answer: Yes you can, however, the main reason is that the tremolo setup is wrong! quite simply, and you can adjust the tremolo setup yourself, let’s take a look at how you can do it: You can either have it flat to the body or have it floating, and there is a range in between, so, if you don’t want to use it, then remove the back cover and tighten the claw until it pulls the tremolo flat to the body, then re-tune to pitch, now bend your strings as in the normal playing position, and see if the tremolo starts to lift if it does, then you need to loosen the 6 screws at the front of the plate by 1 turn, at this point, you should see some clearance between the plate and the bottom of the screw head, this is normal. now re-tune to pitch, and bend your strings as normal, once the tremolo does not move, you are good to go, this may take a bit of repetition as you may have to adjust the claw screws again. Just remember that the string tension is pulling against the spring tension. Now, if you still want to use the tremolo, just for “dives” then again do the adjustments mentioned earlier keeping the tremolo flat to the body, this will incur loosening the claw screws…If you are not happy doing it yourself then as always take it to your local guitar tech.

Phone: 07365 109796

Email: elsdonguitartech@gmail.com

5 Elsdon Road, Burton Manor, Stafford. ST17 9PY