Pre Delivery Setup

All Instruments Checked and Setup by Us BEFORE Despatch

Guitars and other string instruments bought from most other retailers and especially the big “box shifters” and also eBay / Amazon often do not come setup and ready to play. If you're lucky they will generally receive a cursory check over from the manufacturer before they are packed and despatched. After living in a container and warehouse often for many months they arrive at the retailer or distributor most of whom will send the guitars out to you as they have arrived to them complete with inherent problems and often with a high playing action and an incorrectly adjusted truss rod.

We do things differently! At Jimmy Egypt and Sons we examine and properly fully setup each instrument BEFORE it is dispatched to you to ensure your enjoyment and satisfaction with your purchase. If you have special requirements with regard to setup, string selection or tuning, we are happy to take this into consideration and set the instrument up to your requirements before we send it to you. Often we can do this at no extra cost to you. Just leave a note in the relevant shopping basket text field or contact us as soon as you order the instrument. This is a service that we generally charge £60 for in our workshop. Indeed we have customers come to us for this service having purchased the instrument online from another source. Save yourself some money and grief and buy the instrument from us. You’ll be glad you did.

Guitar Setup

Some string buzz on a guitar is normal! Depending on a combination of factors such as how hard you hit the string, string gauge, string brand, string height, and more a slight buzz is to be expected. This is most common when playing an electric guitar acoustically or on low tension strings such as the bass strings where the string envelope or excursion of the string will “kiss” the upper frets at the node of it’s travel.

We carry out a premium setup with all necessary adjustments so that the instrument arrives at you in a first class playable condition. We are proud to boast a highly reputed in-house workshop facility and set-up service with years of experience in playing, repairing, setting up and designing instruments.

The workshop service that we provide with every instrument purchased from us includes checks and adjustments by our specialist workshop technicians in the following areas:-

Cosmetic detail
Neck relief
Fret profiles
Playing action at the nut
Playing action at the 12th fret
Bridge position
Intonation
Correct hardware adjustment
Correct electrical operation
Tuning and playability

A Note About Truss Rods

What is a Truss Rod and How Does it Work?

A truss rod is an interior metal bar running the entire length of a guitar’s neck. When tuned to pitch the strings exert a force of some 60lbs tension pulling the neck into a bow or a curve. A truss rod is designed to counteract the tension that the guitar strings exert on the neck when tuned to pitch. Proper use of the truss rod enables you to “balance” the tension of the neck in relation to the strings and to adjust the amount of bow to suit different string gauges, different playing styles, and perhaps slightly worn frets.

A neck with a slight curve IS NOT WARPED. A slight curve is not only normal but is REQUIRED for correct operation of the instrument. When the truss rod is too tight, the neck may be too straight and this can increase string buzz. In extreme circumstances the neck may even have a backbow. Conversely when the truss rod is too loose the action of the guitar will be high and the neck will have an excessive bow or too much “relief”.

A common misconception is that the truss rod exists to adjust the action of the guitar.

This is incorrect. The truss rod exists to control and adjust neck “relief” or neck bow. Adjustment of the truss rod will have an AFFECT on the action and this can be quite pronounced depending on various factors. Adjustment of a guitar’s action is achieved by adjusting a number of things including adjusting the height of the bridge saddle(s) and nut slots. Truss rod adjustment will be a factor in determining the action of the instrument but is only one of several factors.

Not all instruments have an adjustable truss rod fitted to counteract the tension created by the strings although most modern instruments these days have a one way or 2-way adjustable truss rod.

Different types of truss rod

Single action or one way truss rod – will tighten the rod only and relies on the tension the strings exert to pull the neck into “relief”.
Double action or 2-way rod – enables the relief of the guitar neck to be adjusted in both directions.
Non Adjustable Rods – Older or traditional instruments often have a reinforcement such as a steel hollow rod
Also modern materials such as carbon fibre can be utilised in manufacture and entire necks can be made of materials such as alloy or aluminium.

Occasionally with thicker necks and when using light gauge or low tuned strings the tension of the strings themselves will fail to pull the neck and enable the “relief” required for proper playability…this is when a 2-way adjustable rod is advantageous.Typically, a properly adjusted truss rod will leave a neck with a slight bow or curve otherwise known as “relief”. You can use your strings as a “straight edge” to gauge the amount of bow by pushing them down to both the 1st and 14th frets simultaneously. You should observe a sight gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the frets in the middle of the string you are holding down…perhaps around the 6th fret. A gap slightly thinner than a business card is about right although this might be slightly more or less depending on certain factors such as:

String gauge and tuning you are using
The action or height of strings above the frets
How even or level the fretting is or if there is any fret wear
Your playing style

You can read about what we do in more detail here – Setup Work