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You buy a used axe from a different part of the country. You get that axe and it has set up issues from hell. I can't decide if it's just a poor setup or if it's weather related changes on the neck.

part of me thinks that it's set up so badly that the original owner just wants to get rid of it.

but climate changes are heck on necks though.

how about you?

I see very poorly set up guitars all the time and the owners think they need new guitars. My old business partner has a Yamaha Strat copy that he swore was waisted and he wanted a new guitar. I set it up and later slapped some Duncans in it and he was shocked at the difference. He still plays that guitar 5 years later and still loves it.

I could make a fortune buying poorly set up guitars and turning them over. Most guys I see around barely get a set of stings on.

Hey Rob, nice rack.

I had both issues with my Gamp;L. It was supposed to be set up for 11's by the shop I bought it from. The set up was poorly done but after I corrected it upon receiving the guitar, I realized the fretboard needed a dressing. Now it plays like a dream, but a pain in the butt initially.

hopefully you got as good a price as i did...

People are just plain dumb sometimes. They buy a guitar thinking it never needs an adjustment or setup. A lot of guitar players don't even know what a setup is.

And if you think that's bad, I once witnessed someone come into a guitar store pissed and wanting to return a guitar cause a string broke! He thought the strings were permanent!

Scott, from my perspective as a luthier, I would say for the most part it would be a CRAPPY setup! Though weather does play a bit of a role. I think the crappy setup by far out weighs it.

I think how much the weather affects it depends on the individual guitar more than anything else. I've taken my Schecter to hell and back (well, almost) with zero issues. Then it seems like any time my Ibanez acoustic leaves the house, the neck gets bowed. Go figure.

I can't believe how many people play on a terribly set up guitar every day. All my friends have their Squiers that they're always conplaining about, but it isn't Squier's fault that these people have every other saddle set half an inch above the fretboard, major bow in the neck, and pickups practically touching the strings.


Originally Posted by Scott_Fhopefully you got as good a price as i did...

I got a good price on the Gamp;L ($1250). Of course, I had to slap on another $125 for the fretwork but all in all it's good.

I forgot about something, electrics there isnt worlds of difference usually but, an acoustic is a whole different thang! There can be a big difference with those. There can be a big difference with acoustics in what kind of heating system a persons house has. It usually a good idea to play any guitar before you buy it but, an acoustic guitar dont even think about it buying one unless you can play it first!

When I lived in the northeast (on Lake Erie), my guitar needed a setup every change of seasons. When I moved to CA, it was more stable all year round. I'd check things out a few times a year but only minor adjustments were needed, if any. Since living in TX, I think I've had to do a major setup twice on my guitars, once when I moved here and another one just last month, 1 just needed a tweak here and there. Once I get them dialed in, they're good for a long while. Plus I usually have only 1 out of the case, maybe 2 for a few days. My Martin stays in the case when it's not played.

Scott, give it a little bit of time to settle in and adjust to the climate. Think of how quickly you adjust to a new climate. I know it took some time for me to adjust from nice northern CA weather to the Texas heat. The guitar is going through the same thing. Just keep setting it up as best as it can be and eventually it will settle in.

This past Spring I bought a few clones from Japan for resale.

When I got them here I field-stripped them and went at them with a ferocity that I would go after my oldest and most favorite guitar. I spent serious time cleaning them up and keeping them that way for setup. I took a cue from the guys that do detailing and wore latex gloves after I cleaned them up!

I spent alot of time JUST getting setup right. I worked on these guitars to get them to play the way I would EXPECT a new guitar from a custom shop to play like.

The first guitar that went out I got an email from a guy that just gushed about how great the guitar was. He's VERY particular about how his instruments play and he told me he had an appointment with his tech all ready to go the next day and he had to cancel because the guitar played just as well as he could want it to.

My verdict....is that folks sell guitars and just don't bother to put it the work alot of times.

The seller was pretty cool to work with, seemed pretty knowlegeable about Hamers. Hard to believe he played it in this condition. I'll definitely give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

But, it's defintely not the first time I've had to deal with it.

Since Phoenix and Vegas are probably the only major US cities drier than Denver, I expect any guitar shipped here to need some tweakage. That said, I'm not sure that a setup could go from decent to sucky in the course of shipping. I'd tend to believe that it was marginal at best when it was shipped.

There's also the matter of personal taste. I have a buddy who prefers his action higher than I find acceptable because he likes to be able to play slide on any of his guitars.

Well, the setup is darn near perfect now for my tastes. Ran the guitar back through my Two Rock and it's just magic to play. The neck is beyond smooth. Hamer makes a very nice guitar. Not a flaw on the darn thing. Once it got to playing well, the pups have grown on me.

It's funny when you talk to them, and they seem like they're real guitar players. Then, they send you a guitar that nobody could have possibly sounded good on. Automatically, I know they're a collector, not player. I can understand if it's a beginner guitar, but if a guy owned a $1500 guitar setup poorly, it's surprising!

It's especially funny when the Ebay picture portrays a bridge that's outta whack, and you can tell by seeing how the saddles are all jacked looking.

It doesn't bother me a bit, because I take any new guitar I have and start filing the nut, and adjusting everything. I think Seymour said he takes his guitars apart, routs the neck pocket deeper, then sets it up. I played the signature Duncan Esquire, and noticed that the neck sits lower and the strings are lower over the body.


Originally Posted by Scott_FWell, the setup is darn near perfect now for my tastes. Ran the guitar back through my Two Rock and it's just magic to play. The neck is beyond smooth. Hamer makes a very nice guitar. Not a flaw on the darn thing. Once it got to playing well, the pups have grown on me.

Scott, glad you're likin that new Hamer with its new set up. The neck is what impressed me the most about that Hamer that I played. Looking forward to hearing more as you live with it for a while. Enjoy it.

I have an imported electric guitar that has a sensitive neck. Its a quot;house guitarquot; doesn't like to travel even locally. It took good hardware to get it to have stable tuning (planet waves tuners, tone pros bridge). I keep it on a stand without a neck support where it stays stable.

Well, I took it in for a set up last week. I come from an acoustic guitar background, so I'm a little heavy handed and perfer a higher, snappy (but not unplayable) setup compared to a low slinky set up and tried to explain that to the tech. The guitar came back too low and rattling, and I was told, that it only matters how the guitar sounds plugged in, not how it feels/sounds before being plugged in and that I was missing the point of an electric guitar. Don't think he got it me at all. After a few tries the guitar is closer to what I want but not quite.

Rusty


Originally Posted by GearjoneserIt's funny when you talk to them, and they seem like they're real guitar players. Then, they send you a guitar that nobody could have possibly sounded good on. Automatically, I know they're a collector, not player. I can understand if it's a beginner guitar, but if a guy owned a $1500 guitar setup poorly, it's surprising!

Depends on what you mean by quot;real guitar playersquot;. There are folks out there who might own a nice guitar and not see the value of giving $40 to a tech to do a proper setup, especially if they've had bad experiences with techs in the past.
I can see how a player's development could be limited by playing on an ill-adjusted albeit expensive guitar, but in my mind that makes them an aspiring player with an underachieveing instrument. After all, if the person was really a collector, they wouldn't even care how it played or sounded.

I sure don't want to come across as dissing the guy that generously gave me a very fair price on a beautiful guitar. If I have come across that way, I don't mean to. Nice guy, I'd be happy to do business with him again anytime as I KNOW he takes excellent care of his gear. It's just wacky that the neck was that far off.

Granted, like some one posted above, I like my action nice and low. I don't care if there is a tiny bit of fret buzz as long as it doesn't come through on the amp. I'm just talking about a tiny bit on a fat E string, no other strings. I just try to flatten the neck out and find a happy medium on that one string buzzing.

My theory is that the more relief in the neck (more bend), the harder it is to keep the first two frets from going sharp when you press them down. As I first played this Hamer, I couldn't play an open E cowboy chord without it sounding pretty badly. Had I not realized how to fix it, I'd have put it on ebay immediately.

I really think it had a lot to do with the travel. It sat at my local post office for an extra week while I was traveling. Difficult to gauge. You gotta remember, TX is pretty hot and humid this time of year.

My Music Man is an awesome guitar but it really badly needs a professional set-up (action, neck relief, nut needs tweaking, intonation needs to be set) and need the trem arm receptacle replaced. I'm wondering if I should call the ebay dealer who sold it to me and ask for a partial refund for what it'll cost me to get this thing fixed up right.