Shopping for my first (electric) guitar. Most everything I read about guitar purchases in general, and first guitars especially, is the importance of having a proper “setup” on the guitar.
If I were to purchase a guitar from Sweetwater, does their “inspection” count as a setup, or would I still benefit from taking it in somewhere after I get it.
Uber-newbie question, I know. I thrive on overthinking things, and appreciate any insights and tips.
Thanks in advance!
I can’t give advice but I think overthinking isn’t positive 
My two Sweetwater purchases came to me in good shape, but I still needed to make setup type adjustments. Part of this is after acclimation to my climate.
If you are getting a higher cost guitar, it will come from the manufacturer with more attention to the setup.
Hi Tim I do not know who Sweetwater are so can’t answer that one but any reasonable guitar seller should be able to sell you a guitar that should be playable, after that we tend to tweak them to our own liking and that bit comes with experience so don’t over think about it but be careful take a friend ask the sales person to play it cheers Hec
Setup is when the neck relief, action and other adjustable parameters of the guitar are set to the player’s preferences to make playing more comfortable. It might involve changing the strings as well. It’s typically done by luthiers but a lot of people opt to do it for themselves.
To me, inspection would imply that the seller ensures that the instrument is not damaged, no parts are missing, warranty is in place, etc.
From what I understand, Sweetwater is a massive operation with fast shipping. They manage that by doing the inspection when the guitars arrive from the manufactures, not before they ship. This means a guitar might have been sitting in their warehouse for many months after the inspection and things move over time. Also I imagine that they check the set up is within certain tolerances rather than being completely optimal. Finally, one of the most important elements to a set up is YOU. What string gauge do you like, do you like your action very low or a little higher so you can dig in more etc. As a beginner you might not know what you want yet, but a competent tech should be able to advise you and get the guitar playing as easily as possible for you.
If you buy your guitar locally the store will probably do the set up for free. The best thing to do is buy it take it home for a month or so, play it then take it in for a set up. Guitars need time to acclimate to their new environment.
Most electric guitars are playable right out of the box. Acoustics are another story.
If you have the option, I would go to a store and “play” a bunch of guitars in your price range and walk out with one. Just holding the guitar and picking some strings will do, if you have not started playing yet. You will like the look and feel of something.
I would favor also the used gear, you will get a better instrument for the price and can often some unique gear that like not everyone is going to have the same cookie cutter instrument. but that is more personal preference.
Hi again Timothy, I’ve purchased several items (but only one guitar) from Sweetwater. I’d suggest talking with your “Sales Engineer” about your needs, and what their services are. (If you don’t have one yet, sending an email with an inquiry will solve that!)
As many have suggested, going to a local store and playing as many instruments as possible is a great thing to do - you’ll begin to learn what you like and don’t like in a guitar. At this stage, I’d say comfort is key. Also make sure you really like how the instrument looks, that it makes you smile. But don’t overthink things! I remember the sales people asking me questions I wasn’t equipped to answer as a beginner, and it was incredibly frustrating. Same with the amp.
Which reminds me, a question I found most helpful was: what kind of music do you listen to, and want to learn? You might look at guitars similar to those your favorite players use.
If you can’t find what you want locally, at least you’ll have some guidelines for an online purchase. If you can purchase locally, that’s the best of course. If not, Sweetwater are top notch.
I will only add that not every new guitar NEEDS a setup out of the box. I’ve only ever had 1 of mine tweaked by a guitar tech and that’s because it was a bit too buzzy, needed very minor adjustments. The internet can be very good at getting you to spend money!
I’ve only bought one guitar from sweetwater, also. it came in pretty good order. I have not replaced the strings on it for the first time yet, but I will probably at least look it over when I do.
IME, a lot of places when they talk about a “setup” don’t necessarily include any fret work whatsoever. so if you want to even have it checked to see that the frets are all level, you might have to specify that (and pay more) or even go somewhere else if they don’t offer that. sweetwater does offter the fancy “PLEK” setup (computer scanned and whatnot). is the PLEK service worth it? dunno, you’ll have to ask someone who paid for it (there are a handful of places that offer it).
For someone who has never played guitar before and won’t get passed the first 5 fret for a year it would be a waste of money. Specially for a first guitar which more often than not is the cheapest one on the shelf.
Haha, no, it’s not. But I do acknowledge that it’s who I am. I definitely over think and sometimes succumb to “paralysis by analysis” - but it’s difficult to avoid because doing the “research” and learn as much as I can about new things is half the fun for me.
I appreciate folks bearing with me!
Thank you Stitch! You saved me from asking that very question because as anyone who has browsed Sweetwater knows, they pitch that service pretty heavily. I’ll save my money even though I’m not planning on getting the cheapest thing on the rack, as someone else mentioned above.
Ok, so it sounds like the “inspection” isn’t much and I’ll take it in somewhere after I receive it. I appreciate all of the great information, thanks again!
Indeed. I’ve seen many posts (not necessarily on justin’s forums) saying a setup is an absolute must on any guitar purchase. One of my guitars just played really well from the moment I got it, (on acoustic having a low action really helped me), and I owned it for a number of years before I got a setup done on it. After the setup, it may have been marginally better.
Other guitars, as I’ve played them, as the humidity and such changed, as my needs changed (decided to play slide blues with one guitar for a while), then a setup has been well worth the money.
My advice for a beginner… Find an experienced friend to look at the action / neck to get their opinion before shelling out any hard earned money.
The very first guitar I bought was a cheap 2nd hand guitar, it had a horrific (really high) action and it couldn’t be fixed. Such a guitar will definitely hinder your learning experience. Hence my suggestion to find an experienced friend to advise.
Hi Tim,
Sweetwater’s Inspection is not a proper ‘setup’… if you watch their video about what the guitar goes through as part of the inspection, you can see that their mainly concerned that they are delivering a guitar that doesn’t have any problems… this does include things that could cause you issues trying to learn. I believe they offer a setup as a paid addition to the guitar price (not sure what it costs) & also additionally offer the PLEK service (pricey @ $300 I think), but as Stitch mentions above, you might wish to have the guitar for a couple of months & let it acclimate before paying for a setup.
As far a electric guitar recommendations - check out the PRS SE line. My PRS came absolutely perfect for around $650. Also, I’m really happy with D’Angelico - they are finished so, so well! If I had to sell my guitars, the D’Angelicos would be the last ones to go - I LOVE them!
Good luck!!!
Tod from New Mexico
The advantage of buying an electric guitar is that almost all of the settings can be done on your own - assuming, of course, that the guitar has no structural defects. You are at the beginning of your guitar adventure, so it is worth investing in the minimum necessary knowledge right away and doing the basic setup yourself. YouTube is full of videos containing useful practical tips, and the experience gained in this way will definitely be useful to you in the future.
I’m not much of a tinkerer by nature, but I love the idea of becoming self-sufficient with my instrument. I know I’ve read about changing the gauge of strings may necessitate a truss rod adjustment, etc. and it would be nice to learn how to do that kind of work myself.
Thank you for the encouragement!
I’ve bought acoustic and electric guitars from Sweetwater, and haven’t had any issues so far. The one time my electric guitar arrived with problems (the tone knob had come off and fallen side the semi hollow), they sent me a replacement guitar right away.
Their inspection is a useful add-on to a factory shipped guitar but isn’t a professional setup. Per my sales engineer, their setups are recommended if you have a specific preference for string height and action etc. but if you are fine with the “for most people” setup from the factory, you might not need one right away, and electric guitars can be adjusted DIY. Justin has a module devoted to this.