Information about Services

Setup

The Setup is the fine tuning of your guitar. Any guitar can play poorly or exceptionally depending on the setup.

A setup includes these elements:

Cleaning and oiling the guitar
Checking hardware for tightness
Checking electronics for good functioning
Restringing and tuning
Adjusting the straightness of the neck (via the truss rod)
Adjusting the string height at the saddle
Adjusting the string height at the nut
Adjusting the pickup height
Adjusting intonation in electric guitars
The optimal set up is one made for you, your guitar, your style of playing, and the string gauge you prefer.

A setup is suggested:

Twice a year with seasonal weather changes
When you change the gauge of strings on your guitar
When your guitar does not seem to be playing as well as it had been.

Install Nut and/or Saddle

Replacing a worn, broken or plastic nut and/or saddle with a custom made bone saddle can improve your guitar's sound. Many lower cost guitars are made with plastic nuts and saddles (acoustic saddles). Plastic does not produce optimal sound quality.

Nuts and saddles can become worn and even break over time. New bone nut and/or saddle involves:

Measuring and cutting the bone to size
Shaping for optimal playability and sound
Slotting nut for strings
Adjusting the height as desired by the player and playing style.

Fret Leveling, Crowning and Polishing

You may find that your guitar has one or more frets that are higher or lower than the others. This can be caused by weather changes and expanding and contraction of the neck. It can also happen due to wear from playing or the aging of your guitar. Leveling involves :

Marking all frets and sanding them to the same level
Filing the top of each fret to reach a smooth rounded shape
Sanding and polishing each fret.

Smoothing Rough Fret Edges

Guitars may develop rough fret ends over time or with weather changes and changes to the wood of the neck. Some guitars may come to you new with rough fret ends. Having those rough ends filed and polished so that they are smooth as you run your hands along the edge of the fretboard can benefit your playing experience and prevent finger and hand scrapes and cuts. Elements of this process are:

Filing edges to meet the edge of the fingerboard at an inward angle
Filing the sides of each edge to a smoother contour
Sanding and polishing each fret