Newbie question electric guitars !

steod

Hi all I have been messing about with a borrowed acoustic for the last few months but am planning on buying an electric soon and getting some lessons. My question though relates to "set ups" regarding electrics, I have heard about the benifit a good set up will make to the playability of a guitar.

I'm looking at getting a yamaha pacifica or epiphone les paul

http://www.thomann.de/ie/epiphone_lp_standard_plus_vsb.htm

http://www.thomann.de/ie/yamaha_pacifica_112vcx_bl.htm

Just wondering who or where in Dublin (city centre) would do set ups and would they be bothered with guitars in this price range. Are set ups mainly reserved for more expensive brands like Gibson or Fender ? All I know is I like low action .

Oh also getting a roland microcube as starter amp heard good things and seen them recommended on here. Any help appreciated

rcaz

A set up is not reserved to any particular type(s) of guitar, and a good setup will very often turn a crap guitar into a very playable guitar, and a good guitar into a great guitar. A set up is also VERY easy to learn to DIY, and if you give it an hour or two, you'll be able to do it all yourself, and do a very customised job compared to one that a guy in a shop might do you. I'd advise you, no matter what guitar you get, put some time into learning the ins and outs of your guitar, save yourself some money, and make the adjustments yourself

Banjo

While learning how to set up and adjust your guitar is important, would a beginner not be better off getting a professional (or at least experienced amateur) to do their first set up? If you can't play the instrument then you're not going to know if you've done a good job or a bad job, and you certainly won't know what kind of action suits your play style. You haven't got one yet! At least with a proper set up you get a baseline for how your guitar should feel as-new, and then you can whip out your feeler gauges and hex keys.

Why not split the difference? If you know someone who plays guitar and can do a basic setup, get them to do it and explain what they're doing as they do it - you learn how to do it yourself, you learn what all the components in your guitar are for and you can feed back as they make adjustments so you get a guitar that feels right for you?

steod

Yeah ideally I would like to able to set up the guitar myself eventually but for the first time would probably seek help. I might ask some more experienced people i know for some tips and see if they can lend a hand with me taking notes and such.

Incidently stumbled across this site selling tools for diy set ups, $86 dollars for couple of rulers and gauges pricey enough ....

http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/product/3910

Banjo

You'll get a fair few tools that'll do the job from Halfords and B&Q etc for a handful of change but the Stewie Mac stuff is precision engineered and designed specifically for instruments - that action gauge, for example (the short stubby ruler) has a series of precision markings along one edge for checking the string height off the frets, it's very easy to read and quick to use. You don't *need* one, but it's a lot quicker and easier to use than the alternative.
Anyhoo, have a gander at the guide on Project Guitar - if nothing else, you'll know what to expect for your money when you get a setup done.
http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/pro1.htm