Basic Guitar Setup

Most guitars, whether cheap or expensive, would normally require a setup. Of course, the preference of the guitar player is very important in doing the setup. A basic setup comprises of adjusting the nut action, string action and truss rod adjustments.

a. Nut action

When the nut action is too high, you would find pressing the strings at the 1st few frets or barring chords a rather tough chore. Also when the nut action is too high, overall string action of the guitar will be affected.

b. String action

String action is done by shaving the saddle and adjustment of the truss rod. The string action of most brand new guitars are usually set slightly higher as preferences for guitar action varies from player to player.

By bringing down the saddle height, the string angle also comes down, resulting in lesser tension. Of course, depending on the way the guitar is built, every adjustment made is different according to individual guitars.

c. Truss Rod

Most guitars come with a truss rod in their guitar necks. Most classical or nylon string guitars do not have a truss rod in the neck as with certain carbon fiber type guitars.

Truss rods are used mainly by guitars that use steel strings, example folk/acoustic, electric and bass as these guitars generally have a higher tension due to the steel strings. Also truss rods are used to adjust the relief of the necks in accordance to the guitar action.

As with most things, improper maintenance of your guitar will often result in the deterioration of your beloved guitar. We recommend that our customers should change their strings minimally 4 times a year.

Of course, more often than not, the humidity in our region elevates the problem. Hence, most guitarists are starting or have already used dehumidifying bags or packs to help defray the problem.

*Do note that the guitar setup service varies between 1/2 days to 1 week, depending on the load in our workshop.
 

Bridge Uplift (For guitars with bridge)

One of the most common problems for guitars in highly humid countries is the bridge uplift.

A very noticeable symptom for an uplifting bridge is the bulging on your guitar body.

Of course, there are other reasons for a bridge uplift like the glue losing its Tackiness, or the loosening of the brace of the guitar’s body.

This problem can happen to even the most “sturdy built” guitar.

*Service time for this job will vary between 2 to 4 weeks.

Refretting

Most guitars sold in the market are fitted with frets made from metal alloy combination.

Fret wear due to constant playing (which is a good thing) may cause fret buzzing and dead spots at some point of the guitar’s life.

Our fret wires are purchased from Stewart McDonald, as their quality control is better than most Luthier supply, and also because they have most sizes available for guitars.

Prices of refretting jobs will vary for guitars with binding and those without.

Most of the time, only quarterboard or halfboard refretting is required.

*Please note that the service time for refretting service is between 2 weeks to a month, again depending on the load in our workshop.

Aesthetic Jobs due to physical damage

Sometimes, due to unforeseen circumstances, your guitar may have sustained physical damage.

Damages varying from broken necks, chipped wood to crack bodies.

Most of the time, though it may not look exactly the same after the repair, sonically the sound of the guitar is normally not affected.

Depending on the damage to the guitar, aesthetic repairs varies between 60% to 90%.

*Please note that this job varies from 2 weeks to 2 months, depending on the load in our workshop and the difficulty of the aesthetic job.

Pickup Installation (Acoustic)

Whether you prefer installing a pickup system that has an onboard preamp or just one with a volume control, you can bring it to us to have it installed.

Currently, we are installing the LR Baggs RTS II with volume control for most of our customers as it is one or the most natural sounding pickup systems in the market with a reasonable price.

Alternatively, you can bring other pickup systems to us for installation, but prices will vary accordingly to the pickup system and difficulty involving the installation.

*Installation of pickup systems varies between 3 to 5 days depending on the load in our workshop.

Nut and Saddle upgrade

Most factory guitars are fitted with nuts and saddles that are made of plastic or synthetic material.

For our customers, we recommend a bone upgrade for their nut and saddle.

Traditionally this has been the material used by Luthiers around the world for their beloved guitars.

Bone gives a better sustain and brings out more response from the guitar than synthetic materials, making your guitar more dynamic sounding.

Of course, your guitar’s own potential plays the most important role.

*Service time of nut /saddle upgrade varies between 1 to 2 weeks, again depending on the load in our workshop.

Restringing/General Maintenance

Our restringing service is actually our general guitar maintenance service.

The price on this service varies, depending on the condition of your guitar.

The service includes the following :

• Cleaning and oiling of the fingerboard and bridge (Rosewood or open pores fingerboard).
• Cleaning and basic “polishing” of frets.
• Oiling of machine heads (Adjustments will be made to your machine heads if necessary).
• Polishing and/or cleaning the guitar body.
• Applying contact spray if your guitar has electronics.

*Please note that this service is not done “on the spot”. Service time is between 1 to 3 days, depending on our load in the workshop.

Replacement of Parts and Electronics

After years of playing, it is common for parts on the guitar (metal parts) and the electronics (volume and tone pots) to wear down significantly. Most parts are replaceable and sometimes need a little modification if the original is unavailable.

Job varies from replacement of Bass guitar bridges to Floyd Rose systems.

*Job time is between 3 days to 2 weeks.