Is a good guitar setup worth it?

[sizzlingbadger]

Modern manufacturers have had 70 years to improve on the Telecaster and Les Paul, they can build an inherently better design, you can't really improve design with just a setup.

[robthemac]

Modern manufacturers have had 70 years to improve on the Telecaster and Les Paul, they can build an inherently better design, you can't really improve design with just a setup.

No, but there's a difference between a setup and design changes. Even a perfect factory setup will only be perfect for that day, in those weather conditions, with that string gauge, with that builder' preferences.

[StrummersOfThunder]

Righto.
Short answer is yes, of course a good set up is worth it. Just like riding a bike thats been serviced recently etc etc
Its pretty easy to do a good set up. Minimal tools/know how needed.
But heres the thing... a good set up for me will likely not be a good set up for you. Action height is a fairly personal taste thing. Light touch vs aggressive bender etc
Tuning/intonation. Things can be tuned/intonated perfectly to tuner but arent necessarily going to sound best the the ear. Piano tuners purposely tune the higher registers different to lower.
I used to fuss around a lot with intonation, funky bridges, this saddle and that. Measure string hight, etc etc No more. Just by ear and then set up to personal feel. Id never pay a tech or luthier $80 to do a set up. Not because they arent worth it but because itd be like asking someone else to go try on shoes for you.
my 2c

[Danger Mouse]

A fair point, but also not difficult to work with the person doing the set up to at least understand and incorporate the basics of your preferences.

When I bought my BC Rich Gunslinger in the UK, it had a basic shop set up and the QC on the old Korean BC Rich guitars was pretty good, but the guitar shop casually name dropped they could get Gary Moore's live/touring guitar tech to do a full set up on it if I wanted (wasn't cheap). I assume I like my set-ups similar to how Gary did, but that guitar came back utterly amazing to play.

[Reg18]

My title isn’t quite accurate to what I’m
Trying to say, I do think a good setup is worth while, however I’m
Still on the fence weather a stock guitar that doesn’t perfectly intonate up the neck can be made closer too by a good setup. That’s assuming the bridge saddles have already been adjusted, (because I can do that) so can a well cut nut, fret level, truss Rod adjustment etc by an experienced person, is it possibly to get it intonated better?
I’m reminded I’d like to try a Peterson tuner with sweetend tunings, that might be worth a go.

[Lyle]

That’s assuming the bridge saddles have already been adjusted, (because I can do that) so can a well cut nut, fret level, truss Rod adjustment etc by an experienced person, is it possibly to get it intonated better?

I wouldn't think so. Unless you have a horrifically bad setup most of those other steps wouldn't have much effect on intonation.

What sort of saddles does your tele have? The original style tele saddles will usually have to compromise intonation as you're trying to adjust 2 strings at once vs. a strat or les paul when you can intonate strings individually. If that's the case you could try swapping to compensated saddles which would help you get a little more accurate.

The problem with traditional guitar design is that they are a relative temperament instrument, you will never get every string and fret perfectly in tune. Sweetened tunings can help as they get some intervals more in tune, and if those are the ones you commonly play you will sound more in tune. A famous example would be Eddie Van Halen tuning his b string slightly flat so the b & g are tuned perfectly to a 3rd for riffs in songs like Running with the Devil.

[vintage52]

itd be like asking someone else to go try on shoes for you.

Brilliant

[jeremyb]

I’m reminded I’d like to try a Peterson tuner with sweetend tunings, that might be worth a go.

I should bring my pedalboard over some time and you can try mine

[borge]

My title isn’t quite accurate to what I’m
Trying to say, I do think a good setup is worth while, however I’m
Still on the fence weather a stock guitar that doesn’t perfectly intonate up the neck can be made closer too by a good setup. That’s assuming the bridge saddles have already been adjusted, (because I can do that) so can a well cut nut, fret level, truss Rod adjustment etc by an experienced person, is it possibly to get it intonated better?

Yes. All of those things can and usually do improve the intonation.

e.g. the nut on most guitars is too high, which means the strings are too high at the low frets and go sharp when pressed all the way down to the low frets. A well cut nut will make open chords more in tune. Lower strings at the nut means lower action along the rest of the neck. proper neck relief means more consistent action along the neck, as do level frets. All of which reduce the required fretting pressure (and so reduce how sharp the string goes when fretted). Worn frets reduce the vibrating string length (the edge of a worn and flattened crown is not on the fret centre line) etc etc.

The bridge saddles will almost always need readjusting after a set up as the issues they're trying to compensate for have reduced. How big these improvements are depends on the guitar and your ears.

[Bg]

as above, bad frets can cause intonation issues. Also bad strings - happens more often than you think.

[sizzlingbadger]

Modern manufacturers have had 70 years to improve on the Telecaster and Les Paul, they can build an inherently better design, you can't really improve design with just a setup.

No, but there's a difference between a setup and design changes. Even a perfect factory setup will only be perfect for that day, in those weather conditions, with that string gauge, with that builder' preferences.

I agree, and I thought that was what was saying.

[Reg18]

Just had a talk to Rusty at Musicworks (CHCH) who does there setups, he said he would get the G string intonated as close as possible by ear (not tuner) first and adjust the B and high E to that G giving essentially an illusion the guitar is intonated between those strings (as I’m playing a lot of inversion chords on those high strings) which gave me hope that maybe it’s worth a go at least to see what a professional can achieve.

[ChAoZ]

Tried a capo on the 5th fret, and checking the intonation at the 17th???

[Reg18]

Tried a capo on the 5th fret, and checking the intonation at the 17th???

Nope, never done that one, but I will definitely check it now.

[sizzlingbadger]

The 12th fret is only referenced in most tuning instructions because it can easily be compared by ear with the open string. These days with a chromatic tuner you can easily check the intonation further up (or all over) the neck, I often find I can tweak it and make it more accurate that way.