I have had my guitar (Larrivee OM-05) since 2008, and I’ve never taken it anywhere to be set up. I honestly don’t even know what that means, and I’m worried I’ve missed something vital. I change the strings and clean it up myself and it seems to sound and look fine to me. But now I want to get a strap button installed and I’m afraid if I take it anywhere the luthier is going to look at me like someone who went 50,000 miles without changing the oil in their car. Am I in for it, a well-deserved scold?
Also, is there anything I should ask for while it is in the hands of a professional?
I didn’t take my guitar to a luthier until it was nearly fifty yeas old! If the luthier is any good they won’t scold you. They’ll ask about any problems you have - buzzy frets, action too high / low - and they may suggest improvements - fret dressing, new nut and/ or saddle. I hope you get the service you’re looking for. Good luck with it.
The Luthier won’t judge you, unless you really have maliciously abused it. Even then, that is their bread and butter so why alienate you?
Do have them inspect it to see if it has any setup needs. It may benefit from some luthier maintenance like a fret recrowning, a saddle adjustment or some such thing after all them years.
It must be a lovely guitar! I had an OM-2 which I loved, but sold in favor of a smaller, shorter scale guitar with a wider neck.
In my experience, most luthiers/guitar techs are helpful & fairly friendly people. I have run into a couple who were a bit snooty & treated me like I was a bit soft in the head for not knowing or understanding, but when I explained that I was newish to guitar they eased up somewhat.
My best advice is to analyze your guitar and try to determine anything you don’t like about it. If you can get this across to the luthier, they can explain if the issue can be resolved & if so, approximately what it’ll cost you. The cost of a basic “setup” is normally under $100, more extensive repairs will run the cost up accordingly. Lowering action, making truss rod adjustments, replacing strings etc are basic. Recrowning frets or refiling frets to get rid of “fret sprout” , replacing the nut or bridge etc are beyond the scope of a basic setup.
I don’t think you need worry about being scolded - especially if you explain that you’re essentially new to guitar maintenance.
Some luthiers will even take the time to show you what you can do & explain what’s better to leave to the experts!!!
Good luck,
Thank you! I promise I have not abused it–it really is a lovely instrument and I try to treat it with respect. I am glad to know that “setup needs” are a thing I can ask about.
Sometimes I think about a smaller guitar because I am a pretty small framed person. May I ask what you decided to get instead?
I think guitar size preference is like small hands playing guitar. You can play any size you like and feel comfortable with. Plenty of small people and kids play dreads. Don’t change unless you test it out and find you like it. They sound different.
I tried and really felt that the 00 size works well for me. I also play the concert size classicals, maybe a touch bigger but not much (lower bout ~14.5”). I haven’t played a parlor (0) size. I am 5’6” (well, I used to be…).
The OM size was fine for me, I just liked the smaller guitar feel and wanted a 12 fret neck join and short scale (24.75”). It is a Pono 00-VS40. It also has a wider 46mm nut and wider string spacing, which I like because I like the classical guitar so much.
The Larrivee OMs are 25.5” scale and 14 fret join, 44mm nut, 15.375” lower bout.
Classical guitars are usually 12 fret joins as well (although mine is also about 660mm scale, or 25.98”).
What you need is not a replacement, but a companion guitar!
I recently had my guitar for a setup in a store, more a guitar tech than a luthier, they did a setup and fret polishing and lowered the action. They were extremely friendly. I should have done that a long time before (I battled with the action for > 7 months) as it really improved the playing experience. Just do it!
I love your question.
Your post made me laugh because it sounds exactly like me when I took my guitar in for a set up the first time. I’d been banging away for a while and kept hearing about the benefits of a set up. So I bit the bullet and decided to drop it off at the local guitar store, knowing absolutely nothing and being suitably mortified by my ignorance. I was even prepared with a story about a phantom grandson not taking care of his stuff and me having to do it for him! I handed over said guitar and asked the tech to do whatever he thought was necessary for a good set up. No frowns, eyerolls or raised eyebrows ensued. Just a smile and a promise to have it ready on Tuesday.
Another milestone reached in the guitar journey - no more being self conscious in the presence of “experts”!
@Deirdre I had not thought of inventing a phantom grandson but I might need to borrow yours.
You’ve captured my feelings so well here; glad to hear that from the other side it will seem like no big deal. I will look forward to reaching this milestone too.
That’s a great point–that is what I tell my students about statistics, that it’s my job to know more than them so I can help them learn. But somehow it never occurred to me to think of my own learning this way. Thank you!
That’s a nice Guitar, most guitars are in need of a decent setup after several years of use; any decent tech or Luthier will appreciate that. No they won’t go off the rails at you, they’ll mostly be pleased that you’ve not had an uneducated mess with it and done more harm than good!
You will most definitely notice the difference when it’s been done, it should prove to be nicer to play.
The first time i took my guitar to a luthier, is when i screwed the intonation up beyond recognition.
And he was, “Oh, let’s look at it”, and asking me lot’s of questions about the guitar, how i would like to have it set up (since it never go a setup before).
I’m going there still and every time i buy a guitar nowadays, the first stop is the luthier. Buy it, bring it, play it.
