MediaWebSource.com - Presents: Guitar Resource
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MediaWebSource.com - Presents: Guitar Resource
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Pickup Wiring Diagrams & Manufacturers Guitar Maintenance & Setup Tips Pickup Height & Pole Piece Adjustments Band & Music Industry Resources Band T-Shirts Make Your Own and Sell MP3 Player Info & Music Downloads
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Guitar Maintenance and Guitar Set Up Guitar Neck Adjustment or Truss Rod Adjustment- Pick up your guitar and hold the body of the guitar up to a light. Take a look from the body up the neck. Usually if you hold it up to a light source you will notice if your guitar neck is bowed or not. Most guitars have a neck adjuster at the top of the guitar (the headstock of the guitar). Depending on the type of guitar you can adjust the truss rod that is in the center of your neck. Usually a hex wrench is needed for this task. Try adjusting the truss rod to improve bow of the neck. A little bow upward is ok. If you do not see a truss rod adjustment at the headstock it is most likely at the other end or butt of the neck. On some styles of guitars it is possible to adjust without taking the neck off of the guitar. But in most cases you will have to unbolt the neck from its neck pocket to adjust. If you would like to save your current strings, sometimes you can put a capo on the neck to save the strings. In some cases you will just need to take off the strings and adjust the neck. This is a trial and error process, but once your neck is adjusted properly, you will no doubt get a better sound and feel out of your guitar. Try small quarter turns of the nut to see what kind of response your getting. Remember that loosening the truss rod results in higher string action, and tightening it will give lower string action. The adjustment depends upon your style of play and how you like your string height on your guitar. Pickup Height Adjustment - Raising the pickup
height closer to the strings should result in a little better tone for you guitar.
Visa versa lowering the pickup should give a lighter tone to your instrument. All
you usually need is a little screwdriver to perform this modification. This is a
trial and error process so keep your amp handy to test the sound at different
positions. To do this adjust the screws on either side of your pickups.
Tightening the screws should lower the pickup while loosening should raise the
pickup. Be sure not to raise the pickups to close to the strings or you may cause
the pickup to sound out of phase. And be sure to adjust the screws evenly on each
side so that your getting the same response from all the strings. To get a balance
of sound you may have to angle the pickups a little away from the lower heavier stings.
Again, this is a trial and error process but may give your guitar a tone your
looking for. For more detailed info on Pickup Height
Adjustment Click Here Oiling a Non-Lacquered Guitar Neck - Some guitarists prefer oil on there Non-Lacquered guitar necks. Oiled necks tend to have a nice feel for guitarists. For example, the Eddie Van Halen Wolfgang Guitars would come standard with a non lacquered oiled guitar neck. First step is to unbolt your guitar neck from the body. Next, find an oil you would prefer to oil your guitar necks with. Some oil types include lemon oil, tung oil, or tinted oils. Once you find and oil your satisfied with do a small test on an area of the neck that is not exposed, maybe the butt end of the neck. Check to see if this will be the look and feel that you want on your guitar neck before you oil the whole neck. Basically take your cloth or chamois and apply light coats of oil to your guitar neck. If you get some oil on the frets just take a dry cloth and wipe off the frets. Of course, read the instructions on any oil you use first. Give the oil some time to dry and you have a nicely oiled neck. If your guitar neck is rather dry it may soak up the first coat quickly, so if this is the case you may have to apply another coat of oil once the first coat dries.
Bridge Adjustment (Electric Guitar)- The string action can be raise or lowered by adjusting the bridge. If you don't feel comfortable adjusting the bridge yourself try your local guitar dealer. They usually employ technicians to help with guitar modification. Basically the raise or lower your bridge adjust the screws on both sides of the bridge. This is another trial and error process so adjust the bridge a little at a time and test. If you adjust the bridge to low your guitar may fret out. This means that the strings are adjusted to low and give false tones when certain notes are depressed on the fretboard. Also if you go to high your action may make it more difficult to play chords on your guitar. So a little adjustment can go a long way. Adjustable Pole Pieces - Some pickups come equipped with adjustable pole pieces. They are usually either screw type or hex nut type pole pieces. Some guitarists feel that adjusting the pole pieces so that they are a little closer to the strings give a fatter of better tone. Others say you should not adjust them. So it's up to you whether you want to try this task. Check out your pole pieces on your pickup and see if they are adjustable, and use either a small screwdriver or hex wrench to adjust. Adjust and test your instrument with small adjustments. Don't adjust to close to the strings or you'll get false tones. For more detailed info on Adjustable Pole Pieces click here.
Tuner Adjustments - Sometimes your tuners may feel loose and unstable. An adjustment may help out. The next time you restring your guitar take a small screwdriver and tighten up the screws on your tuners so they are snug. Sometimes with constant string tension they can loosen over time. Be fairly gentle with these adjustments because some tuners can damage easily. This should help your tuners keep the tension on the strings much better. Oiling the Nut on Your Tremelo Guitar - The nut is the plastic or bone piece located near the headstock that holds your strings in place. If you have a guitar with a tremelo or whammy bar that goes out of tune when you use the trem, try oiling the nut. Pull the string up a little and put a few drops of oil in each string slot of the nut. This should help the strings slide better through the nut when the tremelo is used. Remember as always when using oil a little goes a long way. Restringing or Stringing Your Guitar - How To String a Guitar - This process can vary with different guitars and tremelos. If you have a Fender Strat or similar type guitar this process can be fairly easy. If you have a Floyd Rose Trem on your guitar, it gets a little more complicated.
Strap Locks - Strap Locks are a great feature
to add to your guitar. They basically lock in the strap of your guitar so it doesn't
fall while your playing it. I can't tell you how many times I almost dropped
my guitar before buying strap locks. If your buying more expensive guitars
this is a must have option. I've found that Shaller's work great but others brands
will do the trick. Basically just unscrew the old strap buttons off you guitar and
screw in the new strap lock buttons that you buy. You'll also have to add the
locking pieces of the strap lock to you strap itself. Screw those pieces together,
and you should be able to snap in or strap lock your guitar. ***These are some ideas to help with guitar setup. Always unplug your guitar from your amplifier before making any adjustment to guitar electronics. If you are a novice it may be a good idea to get a guitar setup done by a professional. Most music stores have in house technicians that can help with this process.
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