Setting up your guitar (This section is also published under Guitar Lessons) Introduction My first guitar was forty years old, sounded like a banjo under water, and looked like a truck ran over it. Maybe your guitar is similar. Most probably, that does not matter. Learning to play guitar does not require a fancy instrument. Basically, any guitar will do. However, there are a few crucial conditions: 1. The neck of the guitar should be straight 2. The frets need to be in shape 3. The action should be low 4. The strings should be fresh and thin. So, what does this all mean?   The neck must be straight Depending on the type of strings and their 'gauge' (thickness), the strings on a guitar pull with a force equal to some 80 to 150 pounds. The neck of your guitar should be strong enough to withstand this force. For this reason, nearly all steel string guitars have a steel reinforcement bar inside the neck. In most modern guitars this so called truss rod can be used to adjust the curvature of the guitar's neck. In order to check if your neck is straight, simply put the guitar in front of you with the body on the ground, and look down along the neck. You should see something like this: check by looking down along the neck If the neck of your guitar is seriously bent, you will see it immediately. If your guitar has an adjustable truss rod, go visit your local music store and ask them to straighten it for you. If your guitar does not have an adjustable truss rod, as is usually the case with nylon string guitars, there is not a lot you can do. It means that your guitar will be somewhat harder to play. This does not always mean that you cannot play it at all, it just requires more force in your left hand. There is a more accurate way to check for a straight neck. Press the thick, upper string of the guitar (the low E) down, at the position of the first fret (using your left hand). Simultaneously, press the same string where the neck joins the body, usually at the 12th or 14th fret, using your right hand. checking the neck by pressing down the low E-string The string, which is under tension, will be perfectly straight between the two frets. So it acts as straight edge, and you can use it to check the curvature of the neck, which is usually bending slightly forward. Halfway the neck, the string should be as close as possible to the frets, half a millimeter at most. If the distance between the string and the frets is more than that, the neck should be adjusted backwards. If the string touches the frets, the neck is already bent too far back and needs to 'released'. The frets need to be in shape On steel string guitars, over the years, the frets will wear out. Depending on the guitarist and his playing style some frets will wear out sooner than others. You can see this by little dents, caused by the pressure and friction of the strings. Most of the time, this is not a big deal. However, as the dent gets deeper, it may cause the string to create 'fret buzz' against a fret somewhere higher up the neck. Dents in the frets also make the guitar harder to play, even if the neck is perfectly straight. Replacing the frets on a guitar is a relatively simple job, but not always cheap. Typically, you only refret a good guitar. If you think your guitar needs refretting, ask your local music store. If a fret job cost as much as the value of your guitar, you'd better get another guitar.   The action should be low The action of a guitar is the distance between the strings and the frets. Low action (strings close to the frets) allows faster and easier playing. But if you play loud, the vibrating strings may touch the frets, causing fret buzz. I know many guitar recordings where fret buzz can be heard, and most of the time I don't mind. It may even add something to the music. Many people, however, consider fret buzz a definite no-no. Higher reduces or even eliminates fret buzz. It also produces more volume, and sometimes a better tone, but high action requires more force in your left hand. Higher action will also slow down the speed of your left hand. The proper action of your guitar is a personal thing. Fingerpicking guitar typically allows fairly low action. Unfortunately, most guitars have their action set way too high. So odds are high that you want to lower the action of your guitar. The action of your guitar comes in two parts: the nut action and the saddle action. The nut action is determined by the depth of the slots in the nut (the little 'comb' at the head of your guitar that guides the strings to the tuners). Check the nut action as follows: Press the low E-string (the thick, upper string, closest to you) at the position of the first fret. Check the distance between the string and the second fret. Checking the nut action (1) Release the string, and check the distance between the string and the first fret. Checking the nut action (2) In the ideal case, the two distances indicated earlier are exactly the same. If the distance between the open string and the first fret (second picture) is considerably more, your nut is too high. Your guitar will be hard to play at positions close to the head. In this case, you have to get a narrow file, pull the strings out of the slots (you may have to lower the tension first) and carefully file out the slots a little. Best is to have this done by an experienced luthier. It should be done with much care, as there is a risk you ruin the tone of the open strings if the angle of the nut slots is cut wrong. Also, if you file too deep, open strings will buzz and you probably have to get a new nut for a second try. The saddle action is determined the height of the saddle, the narrow strip (made of bone, steel or white plastic) in the slot on the bridge of the guitar (the bridge is the wooden plate glued on the top). Bridge (wood) and saddle (bone) If the saddle is too high, the guitar will be hard to play overall. The saddle action can be determined by the distance between the strings and the 12th fret. On my guitars, this distance is typically the thickness of a dime (some 2 mm). Most guitars have their saddle too high, so you may want to lower yours. The best thing is to take the original saddle out, and not touch it. This will be your backup in case you mess up. Get yourself a new bridge saddle (the're available all over the internet and in most music stores) and first shape it similarly to your original saddle (make sure not to touch one of the flat sides, which will be the bottom). Put the saddle back in your guitar and check if it fits. Then remove it again, and sand it off at the top, with a file and sandpaper, carefully shaping it to your liking. Put it back regularly, check often, and proceed slowly. Play your guitar hard every time you try. When the strings just begin to buzz when you play hard, you're done. The strings will not buzz if you play normally. I recommend that every serious guitarist be able to adjust the action of his guitars up to perfection for his personal playing style. This is a matter of purchasing the proper tools (fret files, nut files etc.), and getting experience. Use an old guitar to practice. Buy some spare nuts and saddles in case you mess up. If you have a good or expensive guitar, leave this sort of work to a professional, until you have mastered the craft! The strings should be new and thin If you ran into an old guitar, there may still be strings on it. Get rid of them, and buy a new set. When you are a beginner, make sure to buy an 'extra light' set. These strings will sound thin and clear and possibly lack volume and 'body', but they will also be much easier to play, because of their low tension. That is important when you're a beginner. In the case of nylon strings, it usually does not really matter what gauge of strings you buy. Nylon strings have low tension anyway and are much thicker, so they are friendlier to your fingertips. Never put steel strings on a nylon string ('Spanish') guitar! It will most probably ruin the instrument because of the high string tension. BACK