Best Place To Get Your Guitar Set Up

[blackjack]

What's the best place you know of to get your guitar set up? By this I'm including having the action set as low as possible, such as 1/32nd of an inch off the fretboard with no frets buzzing, and with the ability to bend the high E string almost all the way over to the A string without the sound choking out. I also mean having a Floyd Rose or Floyd Rose style tremelo set up properly so that you can use it very musically without it acting "tempremental" or in any way keeping you from being able to use it to accurately raise or lower pitch and to do that without squeaking.

Guitar Center actually discourages its guitar techs from doing this good of a set up. I have a friend who worked for them and he was told to stop setting their customers' guitars with this level of quality because in the words of Guitar Center "You do this 'magic set-up' and then they don't need to come back. We want them to have to keep coming back often to get their guitars set-up. We make more money that way. Besides, by doing such a thorough job you're taking too long per guitar and you're not setting up as many guitars per day if you just did the type of job the other techs here do."

They also told him that because he was able to set up guitars better than their other techs he was making the other Guitar Center stores look bad in comparison. He was actually getting customers from thousands of miles away taking their guitars to him instead of their local Guitar Center stores.

Does anyone know of a store or chain of guitar stores that actually encourages their guitar techs to do the best possible quality job they can when doing guitar set-ups?

[loudguitar]

Keep in mind that the idea of 1/32" action as a general "optimal" action height does not work for all guitars. The fret work has to be exceptional to maintain such a close margin.

Also if a fingerboard has a smaller radius, then you can never have the action as low as you want it for the 1st string when the string is not bent, and then also not fret out when making a wide bend. The curvature of the fingerboard causes this, not a bad set-up. A guitar with a compound radius neck that is flatter in the higher register, or a larger radius overall, solves this problem.

I set up all guitars to play as well as possible with the lowest action possible (if the customer wants very low action), but I would never use a feeler guage as my benchmark. A tech who relies only on measurements and does not take into account the specifics of the instrument in hand will never be known as a guy who does amazing set-ups.

Squeaking in the FR style trems can usually be cured with some strategically applied silicone spray.

[aviator05]

Just don't go to a chain guitar store (Sam ash, guitar center ect) find a luthier in the area who doesn't work for a chain store and works on guitars from home or a small workshop. This is how I got my guitars set up, and they play better than any other "chain" setup. But be sure the guy knows what he's talking about, ask him some questions ect. It's business not friendship, I had to be a little stubborn to get mine how I want. Just google luthiers in your city.

[Maxxxwell]

I agree, don't go to a chain type store, find someone who works independently.

1/32" action would be waaay too low for me. I like a higher action for the tone and increased "striking distance". \m/