Advice: Electric Guitars

An Electric Guitar should be checked, adjusted and set up prior to purchase. This should be done by the retailer and is one of the benefits of buying from a shop offering this service rather than privately. Basic points are the straightness of the neck, correct action (height of strings from the frets), the intonation (length adjustment between nut and saddle), even frets, and the overall playability of the instrument.

We recommend that Guitars should be inspected and re-adjusted if necessary. This is extremely important due to any faults that may develop during this time. Customers should be especially careful when storing or leaving the guitar near heat sources such as radiators or when stored inside a car in hot weather. Extreme temperatures can warp or bow the neck. When warped or bowed, the neck might not straighten by using the standard adjustment of the truss rod and could need major expensive repairs. We always recommend to customers, if their guitar neck does need adjusting then it should be carried out by our Guitar Technician at our shop. The reason for proper adjustment is due to it being extremely hard to tell which way the neck is moving and how much tension is needed, improper adjustment can lead to irreparable damage to the neck. An electric guitar if treated with good care should provide a very good investment.

There are many different types and styles of Electric Guitars, with some more suited to rock style playing and others for more general usage. Advice on what to buy and which would best suit your style of playing is crucial, bad advice or a bad purchase could hinder or even end someone’s playing enjoyment before it begins. The customer should spend as much as they can comfortably afford and set themselves a budget when purchasing an instrument. This will give the customer the best chance to learn and progress in playing the Guitar.