A black Guild Starfire came in for a setup with the nut height out of line, the intonation off, and the bridge string spacing and height wrong. Nut filled and re-leveled, bridge height and intonation set, string spacing measured and adjusted at the saddles. Fifty minutes.
- Instrument
- Guild Starfire, black
- Tech
- Dave Eastwood
- Customer complaint
- Setup
- Diagnosis
- Nut height out of alignment; intonation off; bridge string spacing off; bridge height incorrect
- Work performed
- Nut filled and re-leveled; bridge height and intonation adjusted; string spacing measured and adjusted at the saddles; pickups photographed
- Parts
- None
- Bench time
- 50 minutes
- Outcome
- Plays much better now
What Came In
A black Guild Starfire, in for a setup.
What We Found
The nut height was out of alignment across the strings. The intonation was off. The string spacing at the bridge was off and the bridge height was wrong.
What We Did
Filled the nut and re-leveled it. Adjusted the bridge height and the intonation. Measured the string spacing and adjusted it at the saddles. Photographed the pickups for the owner. About 50 minutes on the bench.
Result
Plays much better now, in Dave's words.
What does string spacing at the bridge affect?
Where each string sits over the fingerboard and the pole pieces. If the saddles are notched off center, the outside strings drift toward the edge of the neck and the pickups hear each string unevenly. It is measured and set at the saddles, and it is one of the things an uneven-feeling guitar often needs.
Related
- The Repair Vault
- Guitar Setups at Paul's Guitar Hideout
- What a Guitar Setup Includes and Why It Matters
- Gretsch Tim Armstrong: Output Jack About to Fall Inside
- Ibanez PF200: Worn Nut Slots and a Move to 10s
Bring It In
Hollowbody that feels uneven string to string? Nut, saddles and spacing are all setup work. Setups at the Hideout.
Paul's Guitar Hideout is located at The Shirt Factory in Glens Falls, NY. Use the Cooper Street entrance and take the stairs up. If stairs are difficult or you're bringing in something you don't want to carry up, call or text us and we'll arrange access.
The Shirt Factory
71 Lawrence St., Suite 201B, 2nd Floor
Glens Falls, NY 12801
Wednesday–Sunday, 12–5 PM
(518) 217-8695 · info@paulsguitarhideout.com