Recommend a guitar set-up book?

powerhand

Now that I've finished my C18Q1 challenge, I now find myself trying to set-up a new guitar from scratch for the first time.  Can anyone recommend a book or website that takes an amateur through a basic set-up?  I'm thinking of things like neck relief, intonation etc.

FelineGuitars

prowla

I'd be more inclined to check out youtube guides.

Kebabkid

As Prowla has said (YT) and Feline's recommendation looks handy and would be worth checking out if Jonathan recommends it.

Charlie Chandler had one out, too, but I'm not sure if it's basic

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guitarists-Guide-Set-Up-Maintenance/dp/0634096192

steamabacus

Dan Erlwine's Guitar Player Repair Guide contains everything you'd ever want to know (and loads you probably don't need to know). It's compiled from Dan's Guitar Player column so it's not the easiest layout to find stuff but it really is the 'bible' for all sorts of guitar repair and setup..

More recently, Dan Erlewine released a book titled 'How to make your Electric Guitar Play Great' which might be a better bet for basic setup tasks.

Or get both!

mistercharlie

steamabacus said:

More recently, Dan Erlewine released a book titled 'How to make your Electric Guitar Play Great' which might be a better bet for basic setup tasks.

I have this one, and it’s great. 

Funkfingers

steamabacus said:

Dan Erlewine ... get both!

+1 

DE covers what to do, how to do it and the reasons why.

For example, when setting up a Stratocaster with the traditional fulcrum vibrato, DE specifies a sequence in which to make adjustments. Readers are not forbidden to deviate from the recommended sequence but they are forewarned that to do so tends to create more work. For a professional tech or builder, time is money.

prowla said:

I'd be more inclined to check out youtube guides.

Erlewine does video presentations too.

paulnb57

prowla said:

I'd be more inclined to check out youtube guides.

Me too, free and visual....

powerhand

Thanks for the recommendations.  I managed to pick up a copy of Dan Erlewine's book for a fiver from the 'bay, so I'll use that along with YouTube to get on with learning how to do a basic set-up.