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Evolving setups:
I usually never cross-post between here & the LPF but this recent development in my playing has me pretty excited.
So I string up my CS-336 w/a set of "light" (lol) gauge flatwounds for a gig last week. I didn't change a thing on the guitar. The guitar sat in the stand all night because I was afraid to play it. The action was so high it made me sweat! And forget about bending strings.
So the local guitar player & music store owner comes up & says, "What gives?" & I tell him the story. He picks up the guitar & can see the bow in the neck even before sighting it down the edge. He's like, "Lower the action, pull in the truss rod..."
So I do it & now I can't put it down. This guitar plays like a dream, like what I imagined a jazz guitar would feel like when I was just a kid.
Now I'm eyeballing my Fender guitars. I've already lowered the bridge on my Telecaster, & I've almost always preferred a high action on my Fenders. I thought they sounded better that way, & they probably did for the stuff I was playing at the time. Now I want something else.
How has your approach to playing changed the way you set up your guitar?
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Re: Evolving setups:
I've normally set mine up & adjust according to Fender "minimum" specs then adjust pick up height to suit, (and start again to adjust neck bow if required) but recently I decided I could hear some faint fret buzz on the low E A & D on a recording, so raised them by nearly 1/64th. It hasn't made a noticeable difference to the way the guitar plays but I can hear the difference. Despite this I'm still pretty much a "low action" fan & I wouldn't want to raise the action any further. Info on setting up Gibsons is harder to find, so I tend to use the Fender specs as a starting point.
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Re: Evolving setups:
I have never believed the tone myth that guitars sound better with their action set high... Mine are always set up with a virtually flat fingerboard (with just a hair's breadth of relief if needed) and action as low as it will go without buzzing. I dont play "hard," so that can be pretty darn low.
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Re: Evolving setups:
I set my action on my fenders higher than my Gibson's because I play them more aggressively. Snapping strings on a fender is part of the sound. It's also necessary if you pull up on the bar.
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Re: Evolving setups:
My guitars are all set up about the same with a moderate amount of relief and the action at a medium height. I don't worry about this nearly as much as I used to. They all play well and that's what matters.
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Re: Evolving setups:
I've always set up my guitars with as little relief as possible with the action as low as I could get it without buzzing. I'm lazy about it and have never played very hard so I want the fingering to be as easy as possible. I've never understood the concept of struggling with your guitar. I can get the tone to change based on how I attack the strings. I used to compete with my college roommate back in the 70's to see who could get it the lowest with no buzz.
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Re: Evolving setups:
I try to keep my necks straight. I do use a fairly high action on Fenders but it can be a bit lower on Gibsons (12 inch radius helps of course). I like the lighter tension of round core strings.
I have, at times, used flat wounds over the years on my 175 and gold top Les Paul (P 90) but I just get frustrated with the tonal difference going from notes on wound strings to plain strings. :bluesbros Going from too dark on the flatwound strings to the brighter plain strings when soloing.
Even on a jazz gig, for me flatwounds is too much. So I use round wound and for jazz I reduce the treble on the 175 tone knob. I suppose I might reconsider if I was doing a Tal Farlow tribute though. Now that guy had flatwound TONE!!!
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Re: Evolving setups:
I keep my necks straight as possible; the action is set so that there are no "real" buzzes when I play (as opposed to the normal musical fret rattle of a Fender).Having said that,some of my guitars have a "visual" appearance of higher action,but play fine--I think it is a case of fret size and neck radius.I don't play really hard; still trying to learn slide,so the action must be at least a little forgving for my novice approach.