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Complete Guitar Setup Guide
Every adjustment, in order, with pass/fail checks at every step.
Open Setup GuideA professional setup costs $50-80. Doing it yourself costs nothing once you know the order of operations. This interactive checklist walks through every adjustment with measurements and pass/fail checks.
Truss rod adjustment
Measure neck relief with a capo at fret 1 and finger pressing fret 14. Gap at fret 7 should be 0.008-0.012". Tighten truss rod (clockwise) to reduce relief; loosen (counter-clockwise) to add relief. Quarter turn at a time.
Action height
Measure at fret 12 from bottom of string to top of fret. Low action: 1.5mm high E, 2.0mm low E. Medium: 2.0mm / 2.5mm. High: 2.5mm / 3.0mm. Adjust at the bridge saddles.
Intonation
Tune the open string. Play harmonic at fret 12, then fretted note at fret 12 — they must match pitch. If fretted is sharp: move saddle away from nut (lengthen). If flat: move toward nut (shorten).
Pickup height
Press last fret, measure from top of pickup to bottom of string: 3mm bridge / 4mm neck for humbuckers, 2mm / 3mm for single coils. Too close = magnetic pull kills sustain.
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