Get guitar inspected and setup before shipping?

[vidi790]

Hi, am looking to buy an expensive strat online and I learned that the shop can do an inspection on the guitar, along with a setup, prior to shipping.

This would obviously mean unboxing etc, I suppose I wanted to be the first to open the box coming from the factory haha but having someone experienced to check before shipping is probably a good idea.

Thoughts?

 

[Eagle]

Hi, am looking to buy an expensive strat online and I learned that the shop can do an inspection on the guitar, along with a setup, prior to shipping.

This would obviously mean unboxing etc, I suppose I wanted to be the first to open the box coming from the factory haha but having someone experienced to check before shipping is probably a good idea.

Thoughts?

If it’s in the shipping carton unopened and they will take it back as is just get them to send it. I don’t want some shop tech even tuning anything of mine.

 

[DrewJD82]

Hi, am looking to buy an expensive strat online and I learned that the shop can do an inspection on the guitar, along with a setup, prior to shipping.

This would obviously mean unboxing etc, I suppose I wanted to be the first to open the box coming from the factory haha but having someone experienced to check before shipping is probably a good idea.

Thoughts?

Well, I can tell my experience doing something similar-

When I was 15 I was fortunate to get an Ibanez JEM7V, Manny’s had 2 in stock, one on the floor and one still in the unopened shipping box. I asked for the unopened one because I also had the “I want to be the first to touch it!” idea. Then I got it home and found a couple QC issues that most likely would have been caught had someone at the store checked it previously; wrong colored pickup screws (easy fix) and a non-functioning middle pickup. Then I set about re-stringing it with my preferred strings/gauge and spent the first 3-4 hours owning my new guitar being frustrated and pissed off, because I definitely wasn’t playing it until I completed my crash course in setting up a Floyd Rose for the first time.

Eagle, above, works on guitars for a living, so his perspective is a little different than the average guitarist. If you can handle all the issues that can come along with a new setup and aren’t worried about the QC, tell them to just ship it to ya. If ya want a little added security measure before it gets to you, it might be a good idea to have them take a peek.

 

[Chocol8]

If you aren’t skilled at setting a guitar up, having them just get close is a benefit, and they might even do a good job. If they aren’t charging or the markup is small, I would suggest most people let them do it.

As far as inspection, that is worth more IMHO. Let them check it out for any QC issues and address them before shipping or send you a different one. The joy of being the first to open the box is pretty small compared to the hassle of doing a return/exchange. I have seen way too many brand new guitars with serious flaws to buy online without someone looking it over and sending pictures of the actual guitar I will be getting.

What is that unopened box really worth anyways? You won’t be the first person to handle the guitar, just the first since the last person who then boxed it. It’s not like you are getting some virgin instrument unspoiled by human hands.

 

[Dave Lewis]

Most quality online retailers will open and check guitars when they arrive or before they are shipped.
Some offer a Plex machine setup which normally costs around £150 a time.

 

[vidi790]

Well, I can tell my experience doing something similar-

When I was 15 I was fortunate to get an Ibanez JEM7V, Manny’s had 2 in stock, one on the floor and one still in the unopened shipping box. I asked for the unopened one because I also had the “I want to be the first to touch it!” idea. Then I got it home and found a couple QC issues that most likely would have been caught had someone at the store checked it previously; wrong colored pickup screws (easy fix) and a non-functioning middle pickup. Then I set about re-stringing it with my preferred strings/gauge and spent the first 3-4 hours owning my new guitar being frustrated and pissed off, because I definitely wasn’t playing it until I completed my crash course in setting up a Floyd Rose for the first time.

Eagle, above, works on guitars for a living, so his perspective is a little different than the average guitarist. If you can handle all the issues that can come along with a new setup and aren’t worried about the QC, tell them to just ship it to ya. If ya want a little added security measure before it gets to you, it might be a good idea to have them take a peek.

I appreciate the perspective. Out of curiosity, are Floyd Rose's hard to setup?

I wouldn't be confident of setting up a guitar (haven't actually don't it before) and don't want to start on an expensive one by myself

 

[vidi790]

Most quality online retailers will open and check guitars when they arrive or before they are shipped.
Some offer a Plex machine setup which normally costs around £150 a time.

Is a manual setup by a person preferable to a Plex setup?

 

[Eagle]

Is a manual setup by a person preferable to a Plex setup?

A plek is a machine to analyse and CNC fret dress not set up the guitar. Once again it absolutely matters who is using it. If the guitar has no issues you should not use it to cut anything but the analysis is excellent if you know how to read it .

 

[DrewJD82]

I appreciate the perspective. Out of curiosity, are Floyd Rose's hard to setup?

I wouldn't be confident of setting up a guitar (haven't actually don't it before) and don't want to start on an expensive one by myself

It can be a daunting experience if you’ve never set up a floating tremelo before, for sure. There’s a few tricks that get learned along the way, after setting up Floyd’s over and over, but for a first guitar setup I absolutely do not suggest it unless it’s not a guitar you have to play that day and you have all the time in the world to learn how to set it up, so you can walk away from it when you inevitably get pissed.

I strongly advise every player to learn how to setup a guitar ASAP, it ONLY benefits you in the short and long run. While it’s pretty hard to break a guitar by setting it up, you can definitely go in the opposite direction of where you want to and end up with something that you can’t play until you take it to a tech. Maybe play it first and see how it feels, report back here and if you have any concerns/questions/changes needed we can advise you on how to go about them, or if they aren’t too big of a deal, do it yourself!

Is a manual setup by a person preferable to a Plex setup?

The Plek only does frets, but it does them extremely accurately. It still requires the operator’s experience to tell the machine what to do. The machine basically measures the distance between the top of the frets and the strings and if the operator tells it to, will file/even out any high frets. It won’t set up a guitar for you, though.

 

[Eagle]

It can be a daunting experience if you’ve never set up a floating tremelo before, for sure. There’s a few tricks that get learned along the way, after setting up Floyd’s over and over, but for a first guitar setup I absolutely do not suggest it unless it’s not a guitar you have to play that day and you have all the time in the world to learn how to set it up, so you can walk away from it when you inevitably get pissed.

I strongly advise every player to learn how to setup a guitar ASAP, it ONLY benefits you in the short and long run. While it’s pretty hard to break a guitar by setting it up, you can definitely go in the opposite direction of where you want to and end up with something that you can’t play until you take it to a tech. Maybe play it first and see how it feels, report back here and if you have any concerns/questions/changes needed we can advise you on how to go about them, or if they aren’t too big of a deal, do it yourself!



The Plek only does frets, but it does them extremely accurately. It still requires the operator’s experience to tell the machine what to do. The machine basically measures the distance between the top of the frets and the strings and if the operator tells it to, will file/even out any high frets. It won’t set up a guitar for you, though.

Plek can give you a geometry reading of the neck and calculate the required changes in order to give each string the next fret clearance required at any or every point. It can cut compensations for less that perfect relief geometry . But almost nobody actually uses it for this.

 

[vidi790]

It can be a daunting experience if you’ve never set up a floating tremelo before, for sure. There’s a few tricks that get learned along the way, after setting up Floyd’s over and over, but for a first guitar setup I absolutely do not suggest it unless it’s not a guitar you have to play that day and you have all the time in the world to learn how to set it up, so you can walk away from it when you inevitably get pissed.

I strongly advise every player to learn how to setup a guitar ASAP, it ONLY benefits you in the short and long run. While it’s pretty hard to break a guitar by setting it up, you can definitely go in the opposite direction of where you want to and end up with something that you can’t play until you take it to a tech. Maybe play it first and see how it feels, report back here and if you have any concerns/questions/changes needed we can advise you on how to go about them, or if they aren’t too big of a deal, do it yourself!



The Plek only does frets, but it does them extremely accurately. It still requires the operator’s experience to tell the machine what to do. The machine basically measures the distance between the top of the frets and the strings and if the operator tells it to, will file/even out any high frets. It won’t set up a guitar for you, though.

Thanks - I agree with you regarding learning to setup. Would it be better to learn on my current (and much much cheaper) guitar than risking it on a expensive one for now though?

 

[DrewJD82]

Thanks - I agree with you regarding learning to setup. Would it be better to learn on my current (and much much cheaper) guitar than risking it on a expensive one for now though?

Absolutely, for multiple reasons.

While you need to work fairly hard to break a guitar, you can make it really unenjoyable to play and that’d be a bummer on a nice, new guitar. And depending on the guitar and store in question, if you’re getting something like a Fender Custom Shop from WildWood, it’s a safe bet that guitar is going to show up playing pretty good. If you’re buying a $2500 used ‘57 Strat Reissue from Cletus Crawfish And Guitars in Bumfuck, Louisiana, there’s a good chance it’s going to need a setup and an
air freshener.

Your cheaper/lower quality guitar will, hopefully, have more things to address than the expensive Strat and it’s best to go into it without worrying about babying the guitar. There’s a million vids on youtube for setups. Find one with the person you enjoy the most and if they aren’t telling you specifically WHY you’re doing something and clearly explaining why it should be done and when it doesn’t need to be done, find a new one.

Use the right tool for the job, all the time. There’s some great setup kits out there now that have everything you need to learn with and I strongly advise the Buy Once, Cry Once approach to getting the tools-

StewMac Tool Sets - StewMac

Shop StewMac Tool Sets at StewMac. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. Order today with StewMAX FREE Shipping!

www.stewmac.com

Don’t be tempted by the junk kits on Amazon. You’ll hate setting up your guitar if you use junky, ineffective shit to do it with. Save every little screwdriver you come across for the rest of your life.

 

[Eagle]

Absolutely, for multiple reasons.

While you need to work fairly hard to break a guitar, you can make it really unenjoyable to play and that’d be a bummer on a nice, new guitar. And depending on the guitar and store in question, if you’re getting something like a Fender Custom Shop from WildWood, it’s a safe bet that guitar is going to show up playing pretty good. If you’re buying a $2500 used ‘57 Strat Reissue from Cletus Crawfish And Guitars in Bumfuck, Louisiana, there’s a good chance it’s going to need a setup and an
air freshener.

Your cheaper/lower quality guitar will, hopefully, have more things to address than the expensive Strat and it’s best to go into it without worrying about babying the guitar. There’s a million vids on youtube for setups. Find one with the person you enjoy the most and if they aren’t telling you specifically WHY you’re doing something and clearly explaining why it should be done and when it doesn’t need to be done, find a new one.

Use the right tool for the job, all the time. There’s some great setup kits out there now that have everything you need to learn with and I strongly advise the Buy Once, Cry Once approach to getting the tools-

StewMac Tool Sets - StewMac

Shop StewMac Tool Sets at StewMac. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. Order today with StewMAX FREE Shipping!

www.stewmac.com

Don’t be tempted by the junk kits on Amazon. You’ll hate setting up your guitar if you use junky, ineffective shit to do it with. Save every little screwdriver you come across for the rest of your life.

You don’t actually need special tools to do a set up. Wherever possible I use high quality engineering tools. Tho only thing that makes life easier is a quality action gauge but an engineer rule works. You may need a particular truss rod key as well. The main thing is the process itself.

 

[megametal7]

I appreciate the perspective. Out of curiosity, are Floyd Rose's hard to setup?

I wouldn't be confident of setting up a guitar (haven't actually don't it before) and don't want to start on an expensive one by myself

Have them set it up… Floyds are pain in rectum department to set it up.. speaking from experience…

Good luck!

 

[DrewJD82]

You don’t actually need special tools to do a set up. Wherever possible I use high quality engineering tools. Tho only thing that makes life easier is a quality action gauge but an engineer rule works. You may need a particular truss rod key as well. The main thing is the process itself.

I didn't say "special", just "right", IE- not using a big ass screwdriver to turn saddle screws, giving up on finding the right sized truss rod wrench and sticking one that's too small in the slot at an angle and trying to force it to turn, using a pair of pliers to strip insulation off a wire, using a lighter on the tip of a small flathead screwdriver to attempt to solder something......

Some of these things I've done myself when I've gotten impatient and that first fret job I butchered was partially the result of using shitty Amazon fret tools, like the fret-end clippers that folded when I squeezed on them and spun the fret right out of the slot, or the fret end files that just ate the shit out of the fret material, or the crowning tool that just left jagged gouges across the top of the frets.

 

[Eagle]

I didn't say "special", just "right", IE- not using a big ass screwdriver to turn saddle screws, giving up on finding the right sized truss rod wrench and sticking one that's too small in the slot at an angle and trying to force it to turn, using a pair of pliers to strip insulation off a wire, using a lighter on the tip of a small flathead screwdriver to attempt to solder something......

Some of these things I've done myself when I've gotten impatient and that first fret job I butchered was partially the result of using shitty Amazon fret tools, like the fret-end clippers that folded when I squeezed on them and spun the fret right out of the slot, or the fret end files that just ate the shit out of the fret material, or the crowning tool that just left jagged gouges across the top of the frets.

For me it’s about learning the process. What tools to use and how to identify a good one.
Find the sizes you need and buy quality engineering tools, they are far superior to StewMak stuff . I agree that cheap tools are a bad idea. Fret work tools are another subject really but I don’t think a beginner should not use any fret crowning file before they can do it with a safe edge triangle file and actually see what you are doing as you do it and again learn the process. A Z file can save you time if you’re experienced but can do a lot of damage if you’re not.

 

[Eagle]

A good compromise;
Get them to send a set of hi res photos and weigh it. That and no quibble return. Hopefully they can manage that without dropping it

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Hi, am looking to buy an expensive strat online and I learned that the shop can do an inspection on the guitar, along with a setup, prior to shipping.

This would obviously mean unboxing etc, I suppose I wanted to be the first to open the box coming from the factory haha but having someone experienced to check before shipping is probably a good idea.

Thoughts?

Don't buy an expensive guitar from a shop that you don't trust to have decent employees that know how to handle guitars and how to set them up. If you don't know how to do a setup, don't do the setup yourself. If you don't know who you might take a guitar to within driving distance of yourself to tweak a setup, don't buy an expensive guitar online. Quite honestly, if you don't have a VERY solid idea of what you might be getting (have played numerous examples of the guitar you are considering), don't buy that expensive guitar online.