With so many people buying online trying to save a few bucks itâs becoming the norm to pay for setups. They donât see the value with dealing with a real store or they donât have any music stores close by.
The music store Iâve dealt with for over 40 years has always offered a free setup for the first year you own any guitar youâve purchased from them.
It depends on why something is âunplayableâ. Is it structurally so bad itâs beyond repair and consequently literally unplayable, or does it only need simple adjustments? Even if itâs the latter case, very few first-time players (or even more seasoned players who are just not keen on tinkering with their instruments) will be able to make those adjustments without someone at least showing them how it should be done.
Personally, Iâve been playing guitar for 6 years and have no knowledge about the level of quality control (if âfactory standardsâ are really a QC issue) in instrument manufacturing in past decades. Was it significantly better than nowadays?
I started playing in 1975 an Iâd have to say the QC on guitars has always been pretty high. There has always been poorly made cheap guitars which unfortunately are sold to beginners. But mid to high end guitars have alway been of good quality. Even better now I think.
I think what has changed the most is the level of service you get from both online and brick and mortar stores. Back in the day musical instruments where sold by musicians(usually working musicians) who knew what they where selling. Now it seems most people selling musical instruments are salesman and the used car kind of salesman, more interested in the sale than the person.
I have never owned an electric guitar, so maybe I donât understand the thread. But, in my experience everything made of wood changes over time. The factory where a guitar was made had a particular climate (temperature and relative humidity). Every time the guitar moves to a new home its wood will shrink or expand, twist or warp in response to the changed environment. Where I live in Canada we go from hot humid summers to cold dry winters, so its normal to expect the truss rod to need adjustment when seasons change.
I had a chat with the local electric luthier that set my latest guitar up about this a while ago. As well as setting up guitars he builds some really good electrics and has been involved in the guitar industry for a while.
His theory is that aside from cost, most people that buy guitars arenât amazing players. Theyâre going to try a guitar out, strum it a bit. If the guitar buzzes, they wonât buy it.
So manufacturers set their nuts & action on the high side. They could theoretically set them lower, to make the guitar a smoother player - but then if itâs strummed hard by the prototypical dentist guitar collector, it wonât get bought.
People that want guitars that play better can always get them setup. You can lower a nut but raising means replacing.
I recommend learning to do your own setups. They are simple to do if you are patient and have the proper tools. Youâll save a lot of money in the long run, and youâll have instruments that play the way you like.
I bet this varies depending on where you live. Where I live, thereâs a thriving local music scene. And even the folks working at the local Guitar Center are working musicians. Let alone the small shops. But with that said, I havenât had the same feeling in other places Iâve lived with much quieter music scenes. The music shops will hire folks with lots less experience with music.
Itâs kinda sad how the beginner experience in so many industries doesnât necessarily reflect what they need. Beginners generally need a lot more help than more experienced folks. And yet âthe way itâs doneâ is that beginners typically buy âcheap stuffâ. And itâs uncommon that stores that cater towards beginners like this also provide beginners exceptionally thorough service. At that level, the service would probably be more expensive than the âcheap stuffâ they just bought, and because beginners typically go for the âcheap stuffâ they donât want to pay for that level of exceptional service.
I never had a new guitar come âunplayableâ, just like I can pick up and play any friends guitar. But I also never got a new guitar that I didnât want to do adjustments to. Tbh I donât see the problemâŚ.
Wowâthanks for all the replies. Seems I got that wrongââ-I`ll get my coatâ 
None of my guitars were set up anywhere near ok. If Iâd known better , one should have gone back straight away. I had to take it to a luthier who needed to shim the neck. He said I should have returned it but it was too late by then.
All the others needed setting up, so I just taught myself how to do it. itâs not difficult at all unless thereâs something structurally wrong with the guitar.
Iâve also done full fret levelling on 2 guitars and this made a world of difference.
Iâve been rolling this around in my mind for almost a week. I bought a high end guitar off a refurbisher shop on Reverb, and it has an open string buzz on the low E. While everything is in spec, measured to factory specs with feeler gauges, it still has a buzz on the open low E. Putting a small paper shim in the nut slot fixes this buzz. So now I have to go have a professional setup and probably a nut replacement.
Should it have had a professional setup prior to selling? I donât know. I can see how thatâs not reasonable for a shop that has hundreds of guitars for sale. But should it ship with bad, yet in-spec, nut job? Probably not, ethically. Fret buzz on low action, yeah I can say itâs reasonable that player adjust that to their liking. But obvious open string buzz? Hmmmm.
Yeah itâs annoying to have to have it fixed on my own time and money. And super duper inconvenient. But I donât know who should really take full responsibility, especially on a used instrument.
A guitar only needs a setup if itâs not in the condition / setup you need.
Early when I started playing I kept hearing how you must always get a guitar setup by a luthier when you first get it. Yet the guitar I had played very well, the action was nice and low, there werenât any string buzzes (other than my beginner induced ones), etc. So I didnât follow the seemingly common advice and get it setup.
If it ainât broke, donât fix it.
Probably 5 years after getting that guitar I decided to get a setup done on it. It was marginally better after that. The luthier commented that it really was in pretty good shape to start with.
Iâve also played guitars that really really needed a set up. One of my other guitars over the years got a higher and higher action to where it started to border on being unplayable. And yep, getting the setup done on it (in this case it also needed a neck reset), made all the difference.
If you are unsure, get an experienced friend to look at your guitar and advise.
Short answer to your question: Yes we do.
Transport (if ordering online) does not offer the most reliable climate conditions. Thus the instrument can be affected. Strings the right size for you? Is the action to your liking? What with the neck?
Youâll have to visit a luthier to get it to your liking.
Buying local: the guitar will probably have a vanilla setup. Are the strings the right size for you? Is the action to your liking? What with the neck? A local tech will do all that for you, upon buying the guitar.
This is a good deal, although it shouldnât need more then one setup and another small adjustment, really.
I imagine the cost of a full set up must be $50-$100 dollars in the US? That is a big added overhead on a $500 or less guitar.
@artax_2 , the used guitars I have bought online, wether $300 or $1200, have all, without exception, had a major setup problem (in my opinion) even when they came from presumably accomplished players who played them and espoused their playability. They all were playable, and once setup, excellent. But I shake my head and wonder how anyone would have put up with them as they were delivered.
My current Pono came from an accomplished player who replaced the bone nut with a fake bone nut that was cut all wrong, not just depth, but the spacing was highly irregular. Fortunately, he included the original, which worked fine with a minor adjustment.
After some research I have realized thereâs a wide range of views about whatâs an acceptable buzz and who is responsible for what. I admit my more expensive guitars have had professional setups, whether they needed it or not. Im sure my new one will be no exception. Just gotta plan it out, cuz luthiers where I live have limited hours and they donât line up with my free hours.
Sounds like your paper shim has fixed the problem Stacy. Why do you need to get a professional setup?
Well, you are technically correct. I seriously considered leaving it as is and just keeping a tiny shim in there. Wouldnât hurt anybody. And I could even put in a .046 gauge string (a coated Elixir, no less) and could very possibly take up any extra room in the nut slot. I think because one nut slot was questionable, it makes me lose faith in the quality of the cut of all of them. So, I think for peace of mind I want to have it looked at by a pro. And I actually think I want the tremelo decked and the action raised a hair. So, thereâs a couple of extra pushes towards going with the set up.
Coda, I agree completely. To each their own to their own liking.
If things are as they were the last time I read much about this, the main issue with factory guitars is the nut slots. They tend to be cut with allowance for filing down. If cut too low, you canât build them back up.
Little tweaks and adjustments can be a diy job with basic tools.
Filing nut slots takes the right tools and some know how.
Why is this an issue for players?
If the nut slots are too high it is far too easy for fretted notes / chords in the first few frets to be pressed sharp.
And it will be nigh on impossible for a beginner to play an F barre chord.