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This message has been edited. Last edited by: synthplayer,

I would do a search for ‘luthier’ in your geographic area

Search you tube or buy a guide to guitar setups book. With a bit of practice you could do all of these things yourself. It's really not hard. If that's something you really don't want to do, go to a guitar store. They usually have someone there that can do simple set ups.

A good local guitar store/shop will be able to do those things. Or, Guitar Center if you have one close to you. I would prefer a good local guitar shop though.

You really need to put your toe into the local guitar/music scene. Go to a jam session. Join an online group of guitar player from the Bay area on FB or something. Contact a high-end guitar shop—other than Guitar Center, that is a Fender and Gibson Custom Shop dealer, they’ll tell you who they recommend. There’s going to be a couple places that the serious guitar players use and I really don’t think you’ll have to work that hard to find out. You won’t find the answer here, you’ll find it around home.

These guys are highly thought of: https://www.gryphonstrings.com/pages/workshop-repairs

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luthier

wut nhtagmember said...

Your in a good geographical location to find someone what knows strings and things!

Queue Sheriff Andy..... "Call the man!"

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Originally posted by synthplayer:
Back in the day, my brother got tired of paying someone else to set the intonation for him. So, he purchased a Strobotuner and taught himself how to do it. All these years later, are there more affordable tools to use to set the intonation?

You don't need that. I use a Korg Pitchblack. It'll work fine for you. I'm sure there's other options in the sub $100 price range these days.

Look for a mom and pop guitar shop. Or, see if there is a local musician or band page on Facebook.

Check out Stew Mac for videos and tools. Adjusting the truss rod is very simple. Adjusting the bridge is likewise simple. You can even just eyeball them, but using the right tools helps a lot.

The two tricky parts are frets and the nut. Leveling frets requires good tools, and takes a little practice. Nut slots also require good tools, and it is really easy to file one stroke too much and end up with fret buzz.

Back when I lived in CA, I used Fatdog at Subway guitars in Berkeley for some repairs and they were OK, then I started to use Gary Brawer in SF and he was good. But this was maybe 25-30 years ago. I took my Marshall amp to a guy who operated out of his house in Castro Valley, but he was an old guy 20 years ago, don't know if he even exists.

Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto.

You can download the Boss Tuner app for free and use it for everything. Intonation is just making sure the 12th fretted note is identical to the 12th fret harmonic, which means the 12th fret is exactly equidistant from the nut and bridge saddle. Now, if your neck is tweaked or frets worn or popping up, that's a different issue. But intonation by itself is very simple.

Like others here have said, tuner apps can be had for free, and there are tons of them under $50. The funny thing about intonation, is that unless it's way out most people will never know. It's just not that obvious. There was a time when I played for several years with guitars that were completely out of intonation, and I had no idea.

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Originally posted by synthplayer:
I recently acquired a guitar

I know you know better, where are the pics?

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Queue Sheriff Andy..... "Call the man!"

^^^ I agree. At least for the first set-up and eval.

Good luck!

And yes, pics please.

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Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
Adjusting the truss rod is very simple.

Given this caveat: Provided it's actually in proper working order and either not seized or totally adjusted out, yes.

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Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
The two tricky parts are frets and the nut. Leveling frets requires good tools, and takes a little practice. Nut slots also require good tools, and it is really easy to file one stroke too much and end up with fret buzz.

This, I'm going to differ on a little bit. "Little practice," no. I would say that even if you're really handy and have a fair bit of practice doing basic setups that in my experience, this takes actual instruction from someone who knows what they're doing and it takes a fair bit of supervised practice to get it correct. I used to make good money doing fret jobs on everything ranging from beater imports to brand new custom shop American guitars that shouldn't have required them, so I'm not speaking as a hobbyist here, but a former professional. These aren't activities I would suggest a beginner or novice engage in. As you say, it's really easy to make a mistake, and expensive for a professional to correct.

These are points that are mostly quibbling, but I'm going to make them anyways.

We used to sell Jay Tursers. For a Chinese import, they're actually pretty damn decent beginner guitars.

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Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

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Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
The two tricky parts are frets and the nut. Leveling frets requires good tools, and takes a little practice. Nut slots also require good tools, and it is really easy to file one stroke too much and end up with fret buzz.

This, I'm going to differ on a little bit. "Little practice," no. I would say that even if you're really handy and have a fair bit of practice doing basic setups that in my experience, this takes actual instruction from someone who knows what they're doing and it takes a fair bit of supervised practice to get it correct. I used to make good money doing fret jobs on everything ranging from beater imports to brand new custom shop American guitars that shouldn't have required them, so I'm not speaking as a hobbyist here, but a former professional. These aren't activities I would suggest a beginner or novice engage in. As you say, it's really easy to make a mistake, and expensive for a professional to correct.

These are points that are mostly quibbling, but I'm going to make them anyways.

Quibbling? Yes, but that's ok.

As a hobbiest, I've found it is quite possible to do fretwork. However, the first try usually doesn't go so well! I've completely refretted several guitars, as well as leveled or spot leveled frets on several others. Making a new nut or just filing the slots a bit deeper does take patience and some practice. Using good tools is a key factor, which makes paying a good luthier a cheaper option if you only have one or two guitars needing work.

For me, I enjoy doing the work myself. I've also seen the crappy work from some "professionals", which was the impetus for me to take on the first full refret job. A specialist guitar shop probably has a good luthier. Guitar Center maybe not.

Every guitarist can, and should imho, learn to do the very basics such as adjusting the bridge/saddle on an electric guitar, and the truss rod on acoustic and electric.

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Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
For me, I enjoy doing the work myself. I've also seen the crappy work from some "professionals", which was the impetus for me to take on the first full refret job.

Yep, it's like anything else: When you find a good mechanic, dentist, or doctor, hang onto them because there's a dime a dozen of the crappy ones out there. I started doing my own work because I got tired of paying $50 for a setup every four to six months and it took off from there.

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Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
A specialist guitar shop probably has a good luthier. Guitar Center maybe not.

Agreed, though you might be surprised. Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to give them a shot. I've talked to a couple techs at independent places that I wouldn't trust to work on someone else's Chinese learner.

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Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
Every guitarist can, and should imho, learn to do the very basics such as adjusting the bridge/saddle on an electric guitar, and the truss rod on acoustic and electric.

Yeah, agreed. You wouldn't believe how many guitars I worked on for gigging musicians who didn't know the first thing about it, nor did they care to learn. It was just easier to pay someone else to do it whenever it needed done. If you're a hobbyist and not a gigging professional, I think there's no harm in watching some Stew-Mac Dan Erlewine videos on getting the basics down and trying yourself.

Mendocino Guitar Works

He's a friend of mine.