Step 1
Measure the Action
1. Tune the guitar. Usually
that’s standard E tuning,
but as we’ve discussed, for
this setup it was a whole-step
below that.
2. Clamp a capo on top of—not behind—the 1st fret
(Photo 1). This creates a
“zero” fret and temporarily
removes the nut from the
action equation, allowing
you to initially focus on
neck relief (the amount of
forward or backward bowing
in the neck itself ) and
bridge and saddle height.
3. Use a string action gauge
(available from stewmac.com) or precision metal
ruler to individually measure
the string height at
the 12th fret (Photo 2)
for all six strings. The distance
you’re measuring lies
between the bottom of the
string and top of the fret.
1. Before measuring
action and
neck relief, clamp
a capo over the 1st
fret. This temporarily
removes the
nut from the action
equation.
2. Using a string
action gauge to
measure the action
at the 12th fret.
On this Strat, the distance
from the 1st string to the 12th
fret was 6/64", and the 6th-string
gap was also 6/64". This
is very high action!
Step 2
Measure Neck Relief
It’s important to determine if the neck has forward (concave) or
backward (convex) bow. Along with saddle height, neck relief
also affects the guitar’s action. Here’s the process:
1. With the capo still
clamped on top of the
1st fret, hold down the
6th string at the last fret.
2. Using your action gauge
or metal ruler, measure the
greatest distance between
the bottom of the 6th
string and the top of the
frets. The largest gap
typically occurs somewhere
between the 7th and 9th
frets—essentially in the
middle of the neck.
3. Measure the relief at the
1st string.
On this Strat, the relief was .022"—a little more than necessary.
Step 3
Measure Action at the 1st Fret
Playability is also affected by how high the strings sit in their
nut slots. The guitar feels stiff when the strings are too high.
Conversely, if they sit too low, you’ll get a buzz when you play
the open strings.
3. Measuring the distance between the bottom of the 1st string and the
top of the 1st fret.1. Remove the capo and
measure the distance
between the bottom of
the 1st string and the top
of the 1st fret (Photo 3).
2. Repeat the process for all
six strings. When the guitar
is set up properly, the
gap should incrementally
increase from the 1st to
the 6th string to accommodate
their progressively
thicker gauges.
At the 1st fret, I measured
a 2/64" gap between the fret
and string, and for the 6th
string, the gap was just over
2/64". Again, this is rather
high, especially on the treble
strings. Overall, this meant I
needed to slightly tighten the
truss rod (i.e., turn it clockwise)
to reduce neck relief, lower the
bridge saddles, and re-cut the
slots in the string nut.
While taking these preliminary
measurements, I noticed
that the custom pickguard
butted up against the tremolo
base plate. This prevented the
tremolo from moving smoothly
when tipping forward to slacken
the strings. When the trem arm
was depressed, the base plate
would get hung up on the pickguard—that’s what was causing
the tuning issues the client was
having with the trem! Before
proceeding, I made a note that
I’d have to trim the pickguard
before completing the setup.
Armed with the information
gathered in the previous steps,
now we’re ready to begin the
process of adjusting the action.