A Step-by-Step Guide to Acoustic Steel String Guitar Setup

By Thomas Becker
Contents
1.Introduction
2.First Things First: Proper Humidification
3.A Word about Tools
4.The Order of Things
5.etting the !eck "elief
6.etting the addle Height
7.etting the !ut lot #epths
8.tability of the etup
Introduction
$any guitar players belie%e that you&re not really serious about guitar playing until you buy custom made instruments
from a luthier' or e%en build your o(n guitar) That may be true' but for me and my kind of music' an off*the*shelf
+uild or $artin or Taylor is ,ust right) There is only one thing about buying off*the*rack acoustic steel string guitars
that really' really sucks' and that&s the setup' or rather' the lack of it)
By guitar setup' I mean (hat many people refer to as the action of the guitar) +enerally speaking' the action refers to
the si-e of the gaps bet(een the strings and the frets) $ost people are a(are of t(o %ariables that they can t(eak to
set the action: the saddle height and the curvature of the neck' the latter commonly being referred to as the neck
relief) Typically' people ad,ust the saddle height so that the gap bet(een the strings and the t(elfth fret is some %alue
that they like' and they set the neck relief so that (hen a string is depressed at the first and the fourteenth fret' there
remains a %ery small gap bet(een the string and the si.th fret' about the thickness of a business card)
ome(hat surprisingly' not too many people pay attention to the fact that rather ob%iously' the strings rest not only
on the saddle' but also at the opposite end in the slots of the string nut' and therefore' the depth of these slots is a a
third %ariable that affects the si-e of the gap bet(een the strings and the frets) As a matter of fact' the effect that the
slot depth at the nut has on the playability of the guitar is dramatic) uppose first that the slots (ere %ery deep' so
that the gap bet(een the strings and the first fret became %ery small) Then an open' unfretted string (ould bu-- on
the first fret) /ou ha%e probably ne%er e.perienced that' certainly not on a ne( guitar) /ou kno( (hy0 Because on a
ne( guitar that comes off the shelf and not from a luthier' you almost al(ays ha%e the opposite: the slots in the string
nuts are not nearly deep enough' resulting in a larger*than*necessary gap bet(een the string and the first fret)
!o( imagine your inde. finger (hen you&re fretting the 1 chord' and suppose the slot for the B string is not %ery
deep' so that the B string is high abo%e the first fret' like this:


It&s not hard to guess (hat the effect of that (ill be: it&s going to be %ery rough on your fingertip' because it takes a lot
of force to bring do(n the string so close to the nut) In addition' the deep and sharp depression of the string (ill
increase the pitch of the string a lot) That (ill result in poor intonation' that is' your chords are going to be (ay off
e%en if your tuning (as perfect)
Ok' there you ha%e it: for a perfect setup of your guitar' you&ll ha%e to ad,ust the neck relief' the saddle
height' and the slots in the string nut) /our goal' of course' is to get the smallest gap bet(een any string and any fret
(ithout getting string bu--)
Performing the setup is not %ery hard and re2uires only the most basic tools and skills) There (ill of course be a lot
of trial and error' and a bunch of saddles and perhaps e%en string nuts (ill end up in the recycling bin) But if you
hang in there' you (ill 2uite likely be re(arded (ith a noticeable difference in the playability and intonation of your
guitar)
Before (e proceed' though' I (ould like to bring to your attention Bryan 3imsey&s (ebsite) Bryan has done more
systematic research on the sub,ect of steel string guitar setup than anybody else that I kno( of' and he has put a lot
of effort into e.plaining his findings) $y o(n final conclusions are a bit different from his) But I didn&t e%en ha%e any
final conclusions until I studied his (ork)
First Things First: Proper Humidification
An acoustic guitar should al(ays be kept in an en%ironment (here the relati%e humidity is bet(een 456 and 756) If
a guitar is e.posed to significantly less or more humidity than that' bad things start happening) A good place to read
up on the effects of humidity on an acoustic guitars is the Taylor tech sheets page)
It does not make sense to (ork on the setup of your guitar if it is too dry' or (ay too (et) The reason is that dryness
causes the top of the guitar to sink' (hile too much humidity causes it to rise) When the top rises or sinks' the bridge
(ill rise or sink (ith it' and that (ill raise or lo(er the action of the guitar) If you perform the setup in a state of
improper humidification and then later on fi. the humidification' your action (ill be (ay off' rendering your setup (ork
pointless)
To check (hether the humidification of your guitar is good enough to perform setup (ork' place a ruler across the
top of the guitar as sho(n in the photograph belo()


/ou (ant to see a healthy gap bet(een the ruler and the edge of the guitar&s top on both sides) I am not a(are of
any 8recommended %alue8 for the si-e of that gap) From e.perience' I&d say 9:97&& on each side is about right)
If the ruler re%eals the top to be flat' or e%en sunken' the guitar is too dry) ;se a guitar humidifier to rectify the
problem) If the guitar has been %ery dry for a long time' you should check the body of the guitar for cracks that may
ha%e de%eloped)
O%er*humidification is less common and not 2uite as dangerous to your guitar as dryness) But if the top of your
guitar appears %ery bulgy' you should look for other symptoms of o%er*humidification as e.plained in 8ymptoms of a
Wet +uitar8 on the Taylor tech sheets page)
Once your guitar is properly humidified' you are ready to start the setup (ork)
A ord about Tools
As I said in the introduction' guitar setup (ork does not re2uire any fancy tools) I&ll tell you (hat you need as (e go
along) /ou may ha%e to order some simple stuff like a set of nut slot files from a lutherie supply store such
as te(art*$ac#onald) That (ill take some time) The important part is to be patient and not go at it (ith
inappropriate tools) We&%e all done things like trying to tighten or loosen a scre( (ith a kitchen knife or a coin)
"emember ho( you regretted that0 #on&t do stuff like that again' especially not (hen your guitar is in%oled)
There is one tool that perhaps bears some discussion' and that is the set of automotive feeler gauges that you&ll
need) Any standard set (ith a range of something like )55<&& to )5=>&& (ill do) If your set is metric' the thickness of the
blades (ill be gi%en in millimeters) To con%ert from my numbers ?(hich are in inches@ to millimeters' you&ll ha%e to
multiply by <>)4)


/ou (ill be using the feeler gauges to measure the gap bet(een strings and the frets belo( them in %arious places
and under %arious circumstances) Oftentimes' you (ill be looking for a gap that measures something like )5A5&&) To
get that' you (ill ha%e to find se%eral feeler blades (hose thicknesses add up to )5A5&& and stack them on top of each
other) For e.ample' a )5<>&&' a )5=5&&' and a )5=>&& together (ill make a )5A5&& blade) Therefore' it is essential to find a
set of gauges that can be unscre(ed like the one in the photograph abo%e' making it possible to use the blades
indi%idually) If you can&t find one locally' you can order it online' e)g) from Auto Body Toolmart)
When measuring a gap bet(een a fret and a string' you (ant to use (hat mechanics call the go:no*go method) Find
a blade ?or stack of blades' as the case may be@ that slides easily and comfortably into the gap) Then increase the
thickness of the blade in small increments until you find the first one that does not fit into the gap anymore) The true
(idth of the gap lies bet(een the last blade that fit and the first one that does not fit anymore)
!eedless to say' (hen measuring a gap underneath a guitar string' the no*go in go:no*go is not really a no*go)
Thicker blades (ill go into the gap 2uite easily' but in doing so' they (ill push up the string) o really' your first no*go
blade is the first one that does not go into the gap (ithout pushing up the string) It takes 2uite a bit of concentration
to (atch the string for e%en the slightest mo%ement as you slide the blade?s@ underneath it) Also' it takes a steady
hand to get the blade?s@ underneath the string at ,ust the perfect angle (ithout (iggling' turning' or angling) /ou&ll get
the hang of it)
When used correctly' the automoti%e feeler gauges (ill gi%e you sufficient precision for measuring string*to*fret
distances) Ho(e%er' people ha%e also reported e.cellent results (ith more ad%anced tool sets such as machinist
plug gauges (ith a micrometer)
The !rder of Things
"emember' to achie%e that perfect guitar setup' you (ill ha%e to make three ad,ustments: the neck relief ?cur%ature
of the neck@' the saddle height' and the nut slot depths) If you do these things in the (rong order' then (hat you
ha%e already done (ill be messed up by the ne.t thing you do' and you&ll end up in some bi-arre loop that (ill
probably lead you into total frustration) Ho(e%er' if you make your three ad,ustments in this order:
1. !eck "elief
2. addle Height
3. !ut lot #epths
and you do tep < in manner that is slightly different from (hat many people (ill tell you ?you (ill take the
measurements for the saddle height (ith a capo on the first fret@' then each of the three steps (ill lea%e the results of
the pre%ious step?s@ completely unchanged) Hence' you&ll get to your perfect setup in ,ust three steps' (ith no
backtracking necessary)

One More Thing: A Word about Alternate Tunings
If you e%er play your guitar in alternate tunings' like open #' or #A#+A#' then you kno( that in most alternate
tunings' some or all of the strings are tuned do(n by a half note or (hole note) This has t(o side effects:
9) ince there is less tension on the strings' the neck does not get pulled for(ard as much as is the case in
regular tuning) As a result' the action ?distance bet(een the strings and the frets@ (ill come do(n a bit all the
(ay along the neck)
<) Those strings that ha%e been tuned do(n (ill tend to s(ing out a little (ider (hen you play them' again
because there is less tension) That means they&ll be more prone to bu--ing)
Therefore' if you do your setup in regular tuning and then go do(n to an alternate tuning' you may find that you&re
getting the dreaded bu--) o if you e%er use alternate tunings at all' you may (ant to do your setup (ork (ith the
guitar in the 8loosest8 of your alternate tunings) Or' if you&d rather do the setup in regular tuning' you should aim for
an action that is a little higher' like >6 higher' than (hat you (ould need if it (eren&t for the alternate tunings)
Setting the "ec# $elief
To set the neck relief' first place a capo on the first fret) !e.t' (ith one finger' press the si.th string ?lo(er B@ do(n
onto the fourteenth fret) The lo(er B string should no( touch the first and fourteenth frets) Because of the enormous
tension of the string' the string gi%es you a perfectly straight line bet(een the cusps of the first and fourteenth fret)
The neck relief ?for(ard cur%ature of the neck@ that you&re after can no( be measured (ith a feeler gauge as a gap
bet(een the string and the cusp of the si.th fret) What most guitar manufacturers and luthiers recommend as a rule
of thumb is a )595&& gap bet(een the string and the si.th fret) I ha%e yet to see a guitar and a playing style for (hich a
)595&& neck relief did not (ork %ery (ell) I (ould recommend that you ,ust go for that %alue and be done (ith it)
It is true that in rare cases' you can get a(ay (ith a little less than )595&& of neck relief' and this (ill result in slightly
better playability o%erall) Ho(e%er' unless you really (ant to become an e.pert at all this' I doubt that it is (orth your
time e.ploring different neck reliefs) If you really (ant to go there' you&ll find some ad%ice at the end of this page) For
no(' there is ,ust one important thing to bear in mind: once you ha%e chosen a neck relief and ha%e completed the
entire setup' you do not (ant to go back and decrease the neck relief) The reason is that decreasing the neck relief
(ill lo(er the action at the first fret) To get the first fret action back to the correct %alue' you (ould ha%e to raise the
nut slots' and that is the one thing that&s %ery hard to do)
If the neck relief is different from (hat you (ant' you change it by ad,usting the truss rod according to your
manufacturer&s or luthier&s instructions)
On many guitars' the nut that ad,usts the neck relief is at the top end of the truss rod' inside the headstock) All you
ha%e to do is remo%e the little co%er plate and ad,ust the nut) The picture belo( sho(s a Taylor C95 (ith a
combination tool that usually comes (ith the guitar) Also' one of Taylor&s many tech sheets e.plains e%erything about
ad,usting the truss rod on their guitars)


On the $artin guitars that I ha%e (orked on' the nut (as al(ays at the lo(er end of the truss rod' inside the guitar&s
body) /ou need a suitable allen (rench to get to it)


Once you&%e ad,usted the neck relief to your preference' you should perform the measurement at the si.th fret as
described abo%e for the first ?upper B@ string as (ell) The measurements should come out roughly the same' say' to
(ithin a tolerance of 95*<5 percent) If there is a dramatic difference' then your guitar&s neck is seriously (arped' and
there is probably not much point in spending any more time on setup)
As I mentioned before' it is often possible to get a(ay (ith a tad less than )595&& of neck relief' but it&s 2uestionable if
it is (orth the trouble to find out) ;nless you&re a real stickler for perfection' skip the rest of this page and continue on
to the ne.t step)
If you really ha%e to' here&s ho( you go about finding the least possible neck relief:
et the neck relief to a %ery lo( %alue' like )55>&&) If you&re an uncurable optimist' you may e%en start (ith no neck
relief at all) Then go to the ne.t step of the setup' (here you set the saddle height) As you try to find the minimal
saddle height' you (ill probably find that string bu-- occurs in the lo(er frets ?second or third fret@ (ay before it
occurs higher up) That means you&%e got too little neck relief) Increase the neck relief a bit' then (ork on your saddle
height again) "epeat until you don&t find that bu-- in the lo(er frets is significantly (orse than bu-- in the higher
frets) By the time that happens' your neck relief (ill probably be right around )595&&' (hich (as the recommended
%alue to begin (ith)
!o( do the third and last step of the setup' (here you set the nut slot depths) If you actually ended up (ith less than
)595&& of neck relief after the abo%e iterations' you may still not be good) The lo( neck relief may cause behind*the*
fret bu--) Behind*the*fret bu-- occurs (hen you fret a string at fret . ?(ith your finger or (ith a capo@' and then the
8dead part8 of the string bet(een the string nut and fret . bu--es on one or more of the frets belo( fret .) One of the
things that neck relief does is to pre%ent this bu--ing by creating a tiny gap bet(een the 8dead part8 of the string and
the frets beneath it)
o if you ha%e less than )595&& of neck relief and notice behind*the*fret bu--' it&s back to the truss rod: increase your
neck relief a tad' and go through the remaining steps of the setup ?saddle height and nut slot depths@ again) It is of
course also possible to counteract behind*the*fret bu-- by lea%ing the first fret action a bit higher' that is' by ha%ing
less nut slot depth) But the conse2uences of a higher first fret action are so unpleasant that I %ery much doubt you
(ant to go for that option) The bottom line is that the )595&& neck relief is hard to beat)
Setting the Saddle Height
When it comes to ad,usting the saddle height' there are t(o schools concerning the (ay the measurements should
be taken) The t(elfth*fret school (ill tell you to ,ust measure the gaps bet(een the strings and the t(elfth fret) The
thirteenth*fret school (ill tell you to put a capo on the first fret and then measure the gaps bet(een the strings and
the thirteenth fret) It should be clear that both (ays (ill gi%e you meaningful' reproducible results) The only thing to
be kept in mind is that one and the same saddle height (ill gi%e you slightly lo(er readings at the thirteenth fret (ith
a capo on the first fret than at the t(elfth fret (ith no capo) Hence' you ha%e to stick (ith one (ay of doing it)
$oreo%er' once you&%e chosen your affiliation' you cannot use the numbers of someone (ho belongs to the other
school)
If all you do is ad,ust your saddle height' and you don&t care much about the other aspects of your setup' then any of
the t(o schools is as good as the other) Ho(e%er' if you (ant to follo( my complete procedure and end up (ith the
right neck relief' saddle height' and nut slot depths' then you very much want to go with the thirteenth fret school)
The reason is that the t(elfth fret measurement (ill change (hen you do your nut slots) The thirteenth fret
measurement' on the other hand' is independent of (hat goes on at the string nut because of the capo on the first
fret) That (ay' none of the steps in my three*step procedure (ill affect the result of any earlier step' and hence' no
backtracking is necessary)
o (hat are the right measurements then0 That depends entirely on your playing style' the strings you use' and' to
some e.tent' the indi%idual guitar) What you (ant to achie%e' of course' is to ha%e your saddle ,ust barely high
enough so that you don&t get any bu-- e.cept in those rare cases (here you actually (ant it for effect) I really
shouldn&t gi%e you any numbers at all and let you find out for yourself instead) For (hat it&s (orth' here&s a set of
thirteenth fret clearances that many people find ,ust about right:
B A # + B B
)955&& )5A>&& )5A5&& )5C>&& )5C5&& )5D>&&
Please note that these are %alues that (ill guarantee bu--*free playing for almost any guitar and playing styleE if your
playing style is on the soft side' you may be able to subtract )595&& or more from the %alues in the table abo%e)
On many guitars' you can get a(ay (ith less clearance for the high B string) Therefore' you&ll often see clearances
like this:
B A # + B B
)955&& )5A>&& )5A5&& )5C>&& )5C5&& )5D5&&
For my playing style' I find that I need a little more clearance on the B string) Therefore' my settings typically look like
this:
B A # + B B
)955&& )5A>&& )5A5&& )5C>&& )5C>&& )5D>&&
Very important: When you measure the gap bet(een a string and the thirteenth fret' make sure that your guitar rests
on the back of its body' (hile the entire neck' including the headstock' does not touch the supporting surface) If the
guitar rests not only on the body' but also on the headstock' that (ill be enough to bend the neck slightly for(ard and
render your measurement irreproducible and hence useless)

;nless you are determined to make your o(n saddle from scratch and get the optimal clearance for each string' you
can probably get a(ay (ith ,ust measuring the clearance for the si.th string ?lo(er B@ and let the others take care of
themsel%es) Here&s (hat you do: order a bunch of ready made saddles for your particular guitar model from the
manufacturer of your guitar or from a luthier supply store such as te(art*$ac#onald) tart (ith one that&s too high
and (ork your (ay do(n by sanding it off at the bottom) What you (ant to achie%e is to lo(er the saddle uniformly
(ithout changing the relati%e height of the strings) That (ay' you&ll end up (ith your personal preferred absolute
height and (ith the manufacturer&s relati%e height of the strings)
If you ha%e a precision tool such as te(art*$ac#onald&s anding tation at your disposal' then it&s a cinch to sand
off the bottom of the saddle in a uniform manner) If you ha%e to rely on manual sanding' then this is a little tricky) /ou
(ill almost certainly inad%ertently angle the saddle as you sand off material at the bottom) An easy (ay to check and
correct as you go along is as follo(s: $ake sure that you start out (ith t(o saddles of the e.act same height and
shape) As you go along lo(ering one of them' keep putting it on a le%el surface right ne.t to the other' unmodified
one) Place the lo(er one on an appropriate blade from your set of feeler gauges to make them the same height) A
%ery precise (ay of checking for e2ual height is to take a third saddle and center it hori-ontally o%er the t(o saddles
(hose height you compare:


By sliding the hori-ontal saddle from one end of the t(o %ertical saddles to the other' you can no( check (hether the
heights of the t(o saddles are the same all across' or if you ha%e angled the one you&re (orking on) If that&s the
case' you can no( counteract (ith your sandpaper until the angling has gone a(ay)


As you take material off the saddle&s bottom' you also need to make sure that the saddle does not lean for(ard or
back(ard) This can be checked by placing the saddle on an e%en surface and then using a right angle ruler to check
if it rises from the surface at a right angle:

A for(ard leaning saddle

A saddle that does not lean

Here&s (hat I do (hen I need to make a saddle lo(er: I clamp a piece of sandpaper to a le%el surface and then run
the saddle back and forth on it' turning it fre2uently to make up for any directional pre,udice that my hand may ha%e
(hen e.erting do(n(ard pressure) To pre%ent leaning' I place a 9:C inch saddle blank on the sand paper and press
the side of saddle against it' thus keeping it %ertical relati%e to the sand paper)


If you&re going to make saddles ?or string nuts@ from scratch' you (ant at least a small %ise such as te(art*
$ac#onald&s !ut and addle Fise) The Porsche of nut and saddle tools' of course' (ould be their anding tation)
Setting the "ut Slot %epths
The third and final step of setting up your guitar is to cut the slots in the string nut to a depth (here you get the
optimal first fret clearance for each string) "ather ob%iously' you (ant that clearance to be as lo( as possible'
because the higher it is' the more your fingers (ill hurt (hen fretting the strings at the first fe( frets) $oreo%er' the
intonation of your guitar (ill suffer ?that is' your chords (ill be off e%en (ith perfect tuning@ (hen the strings are t(o
high abo%e the first fret)
o if (e (ant the strings to be as lo( as possible on the nut' then (hat is the lo(er bound0 One constraint is of
course that the open' unfretted strings should ne%er bu-- on the first fret) Ho(e%er' there is another thing to be kept
in mind: raising the strings at the nut (ill also pre%ent the behind*the*fret bu-- that I mentioned earlier) Therefore'
your ideal first fret clearance is usually a tad more than (hat you (ould absolutely need to pre%ent the open string
from bu--ing) That is true especially if you prefer less neck relief) $y preferred %alues for the first fret action are )
5<<&& for the si.th string ?that&s the deep B' the (ound string@ and )59C for the first string ?that&s the high B' the thin
un(ound string@' (ith the rest of them pretty much e%enly spaced in bet(een)
When you buy a ne( guitar' you can almost be guaranteed that the nut slots are not deep enough) I ha%e seen
e.pensi%e guitars that came (ith as much as )5=>&& of first fret clearance' truly a finger killer) To cut the nut slots
deeper' get yourself a good set of nut slot files' e)g) fromte(art*$ac#onald) For each nut slot' select a file that is as
(ide or a tad (ider than the diameter of the respecti%e string) ?$aking the slot too narro( (ill cause the string to
bind in the slot' (ith %ery unpleasant conse2uences)@ To (ork on a particular slot' take off the respecti%e string' but
make sure that all the other strings are on and tuned up' so that the neck is pretty much in the same position as it is
normally (hen you play) Then cut the nut slot deeper (ith your file' angling it do(n(ard a bit to(ards the headstock)


Blo( the dust out of the slot' put the string back on' and take another measurement)
!eedless to say' you (ant to do all this in many' many tiny iterations so that you don&t cut the slots too deep) When I
said earlier that performing a guitar setup is not hard' I didn&t mean replacing the string nut) That can be done' but it
poses challenges and should not be attempted unless you kno( e.actly (hat you&re doing) ome people say that
you can also fill in a nut slot that&s too deep (ith a mi.ture of glue and filing dust' but 2uite frankly' that combination
of messiness and subtleness is too much for me to e%en (ant to attempt) Gust be careful and don&t cut the nut slots
too deep) In particular' make absolutely sure that you have performed and double-checked the first two steps of the
setup neck relief and saddle height) If you do the nut slots first and then later ha%e to decrease the neck relief or
lo(er the saddle' your strings (ill be too lo( at the first fret' that is' your nut slots (ill be too deep and there you are
in the deep doo*doo that you (orked so hard to a%oid)
Stability of the Setup
;nless you li%e in a laboratory en%ironment' keeping the le%el of humidification of your guitar constant is %irtually
impossible) As a conse2uence' the top of your guitar (ill rise and sinkHas e.plained in ection 8First Things First:
Proper Humidifiation8He%en if you stay pretty much (ithin the recommended 456 to 756 humidity range)
Therefore' the action of your guitar (ill not al(ays stay e.actly (here you originally set it) On many guitars' the neck
relief (ill not be %ery stable either) I ha%e not been able to correlate these fluctuations of the neck relief (ith humidity'
temperature' or any other outside influence) All I kno( is that it doesn&t al(ays stay in one place)
There is not %ery much you can do about this lack of stability of the setup) The bottom line is that you&ll ha%e to be
able to play your guitar (ith the setup %arying (ithin certain limits) That&s part of a guitar player&s life)
If' on the other hand' you&re a real stickler for an e.act setup' like I am' you may be interested to hear ho( I deal (ith
the problem: I check the setup e%ery single time before playing) If it is outside of my comfort -one' (hich it is %ery
fre2uently' I first ad,ust the neck relief' if necessary) Then I drop in one of a (hole array of saddles of different
heights that I carry around (ith me in my guitar case) That (ay' I ha%e the neck relief and the thirteenth*fret action
right' and the first fret action (ill come out right by itself' because the one thing that does not fluctuate is the nut slot
depth) The (hole thing is a big pain in the neck ?no pun intended@' but it&s (orth it for me)
There you ha%e it' my take on acoustic steel string guitar setup) +ood luck' and en,oy