Premier guitar, Amp repair, Guitar Finishing center in North County San Diego

Guitar Setup And How Often It Should Be Done

Whenever I am asked the question “How often should I have my guitar set up?”, my answer is often the same: once to twice a year, but it depends on what the weather is like and other factors. How often you play your guitar and how it is stored are things to consider. Changing your guitar’s string gauge & size can sometimes change the geometry in your guitar as well, which will necessitate adjustments.

You can also expect to see a change in your guitar when the weather gets cold or hot.

Humidity is also a factor that you need to keep in mind. If you have ever done gigs outside in the cold weather you might notice your strings feel closer to the frets. The neck of the guitar has decided to straighten out and possibly gone in to a back bow. This can cause string rattle and notes to fret out as well as a change in intonation causing your chords to sound a bit off. The opposite can happen when we are in warm or hot weather, your strings may feel farther away from the frets, this also causes issues with how your guitar sounds and feels.

Humidity fluctuations will cause expansion and contraction in the wood also resulting in changes in your instrument to occur. If your having issues with string buzz, fretting out or you have a guitar with action that is to low or even to high then it’s probably time to have your guitar setup by a professional. You will be glad that you did.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the shop or visit our contact page.

 We also have a lot of experience working on banjos, mandolins and ukuleles.

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