best place for guitar setup

voxpop

Guys,

I've had a prs se for about 3 months now and over the last two weeks I've noticed a buzzing on the top E string. Since I bought the guitar in the states, I was thinking that maybe it needs a little big of a setup done, maybe the neck adjusted. Anyway, where is the best place in Dublin to get this done - I was thinking musicmaker because they seem to be the only place that sell prs guitars and so should know what they are at when it comes to setting up mine.

Has anyone any experience with gettting this sort of thing done in dublin or any advice on the best place to get it done ?

Karl Hungus

Well I can't say anything bad about music maker, they've been very sound anytime I wanted anything done with my guitar, they adjusted the neck of my guitar for me and all at one stage for free.

Another place that does PRS is Musician Inc. which is practically just 'round the corner from music maker, next to the entrace to the Georges st arcade. You could try them also.

Was just about to post somethin similar. Except my guitar was bought in Ireland. Do i
a) Bring it back to the shop to get set-up
b) Go to the most user-friendly shop i know to get it sorted.?

Thanks

Karl Hungus

Depends if it was a fault that you weren't aware of when you bought it, Vaughn Zealous Leper. If so, bring it back to where you got it, and if not, go elsewhere, unless the place where you got it was actually the soundest.

NeMiSiS

You have changed the strings in 3 months yeh ? Like not left the ones on from when you bought it ?..

Tom

Shazbot

i had the same problem with my bass a while back after i bought it from the states.

i just brought it into muisician inc and they straightened the neck with no questions asked for free. very nice people there

I don't think its anything serious really, I just messed around with the action and setup before i really knew what i was doing and several attempts to fix the buzzing has failed.

voxpop

NeMiSiS wrote:

You have changed the strings in 3 months yeh ? Like not left the ones on from when you bought it ?..

Tom

yeah

muisician inc - sounds like the place to go, I remember ringing one of the shops on capel street and they wanted to charge me 15e and keep it for a week!

Shazbot - how long did you leave the bass with them ? I assume it takes at least an hour to properly adjust everything ?

NeMiSiS

Man. Do you know what way you want the guitar setup ? The action etc ?
It aint a huge deal to be honest, I setup my Mockingbird Floyd Rose and all myself, and it's sexual to say the least.

There are a million and two guides on the net about it, and even if Musician Inc or whoever do it for free, why bother ? I'd be happier knowing I learnt a bit more about my guitar, and why she plays like she does.

Also ! If some guy in Musician or wherever sets up a guitar you bought.. not even from there for nothing.. would it not be manners to go 'here man heres a few quid for that' insted of going 'wahey that was free..' : those guys could'nt be on a lot of money, and they are after helping you out... and at the end of the day.. what's a good setup worth to you ? Just a thought.

Tom

daram

There a guy who has a small guitar workshop just off the south circular road near portabello. Mans a legend and frequently fixed my guitar when I break it. always does a good job even if he is a little on the steep side.think he has a website at http://www.theguitarworkshop.net or something. Theres also a guy called Derek Nelson whos somewhere near marley park whos very good. But everybody in the irish music industry hates him cause hes a tosser.

Shazbot

Angry_Penguin wrote:

Shazbot - how long did you leave the bass with them ? I assume it takes at least an hour to properly adjust everything ?

i didnt leave it. i watched him do it in front of me. he had it fixed in 10 mins.

its sounds perfect now, only 3 months old. if only i had a good amp to get better sound

Eoin Madsen

daram wrote:

Theres also a guy called Derek Nelson whos somewhere near marley park whos very good. But everybody in the irish music industry hates him cause hes a tosser.

Haha. I love the way you try and make it sound like the "Irish music industry"
is some kind of cohesive group and not a mish mash of hundreds of bickering and backbiting individuals and groups that couldn't agree on something if their lives depended on it.

Perfect Pitch do setups as well. Tbh, I imagine it's much of a muchness where you drop it in, Perfect Pitch, MusicMaker and Musician Inc are all in the same area and all have good reps. But don't go in expecting something for free - they generally charge about €40 for a full setup (and new strings) and you or your guitar may not be eligable for a quick 10 minute freeby.

Bear in mind that if you change the gauge of the strings at any point the guitar will more than likely need to be adjusted. So make sure you're happy for the time being with what you're using before you take it in. If you get it fixed and then drop a gauge next week the buzzing will come back!

Eoin Madsen

Eoin Madsen wrote:

Bear in mind that if you change the gauge of the strings at any point the guitar will more than likely need to be adjusted. So make sure you're happy for the time being with what you're using before you take it in. If you get it fixed and then drop a gauge next week the buzzing will come back!

I never knew this. This could very well by the problem. Its my first electric guitar so i have been messin about with gauges and tunings to find my preference. I've settled on 11's though so if i do drop it in (Probably to perfect pitch) should i tell them that their the gauge i want?

ferdi

dropped me bass into musician inc there today, will have it back on friday...just getting it set up, its costing me 35euro + 30 for the strings!! so if there is one buzz off one fret i'll go ape/

DamoRed

I brought in an acoustic for a set up into Sound Gear in Portobello. It was a marvellous job, and €35 including a set of D'Addario strings was pretty good, I thought. I left it there for a couple of days.

Damo

Doctor J

ferdi wrote:

dropped me bass into musician inc there today, will have it back on friday...just getting it set up, its costing me 35euro + 30 for the strings!! so if there is one buzz off one fret i'll go ape/

:eek:

Ay caramba! Setting your instrument up is really quite straightforward once you understand what it is you're trying to do. A good place to start is Mr. Gearhead setup pdf file - just right click and save as on that link there. The principals are the same on a bass. Have a look here too.

I just can't help but think that €35 is just a rip off for something which really needs to be done in harmony with your playing style.

feylya

Bloody hell. I charge about €15-20 for a setup plus strings and that's only for Floyd Roses. Anything else (simpler) and I charge less!

ferdi

i know, its insane, but i was in a major rush, i had no time to do it myself (it would take ages because i'm bollix at that stuff) and i needed it done badly. if its not up to scratch, i'm goning to hop up on the counter in Musician Inc. and ****.

ferdi

feylya, its a pitty you live where ever it is you live, cause i'd definitly go to someone like yourself for all my guitar needs, but unfortunatly not only do i have no wheels, i have no money to be buying train tickets either.

feylya

I know the feeling. Ah well, excrement occurs.

ferdi

feylya wrote:

I know the feeling. Ah well, excrement occurs.

yes it does....all too frequently :mad:

Eoin Madsen

Deleted User wrote:

I've settled on 11's though so if i do drop it in (Probably to perfect pitch) should i tell them that their the gauge i want?

Yeah. They usually put on new strings as part of the setup, and - apparently - clean your frets etc as well. It's €40, including strings, or €50 if you get Elixir strings.

I dunno, Doctor J, I read all that stuff, got all the gear, and setup my bass myself. And tbh, I'm still not happy with it. Maybe the neck is borked or something, but I can't get it to intone right. It definitely not something to do if you don't have the time to play about with it.

Doctor J

Regarding the intonation, be weary of how high your pickups are and how much pull they'd have on the strings. it sounds dopey but it does happen. It the instrument still won't intonate correctly, try a capo on the first fret and use the 13th fret and harmonic. Could be a badly cut/positioned nut. You'd be surprised how many ****ty nut installations get out of the factory.

feylya

Of course, EMG's don't have the magnetic interference problem :P

Also, with basses, you'll find there's usually a couple of notes that just won't be intonated right. But the Doc's advice is good

HusseinSarhan

ferdi wrote:

dropped me bass into musician inc there today, will have it back on friday...just getting it set up, its costing me 35euro + 30 for the strings!! so if there is one buzz off one fret i'll go ape/

If it does buzz (which is certainly not impossible) it would mean that you need a fret level and crowning to give an even playing surface.

If it does buzz, ask for your money back as they did not fix the problem. (they should have told you it was the frets - for example)

By the way, I used to think that €35 was a lot for a set-up. But now I think that €60 is quite alright ( the guitar workshop price I believe). That is of course if you own a guitar that is expensive enough to warrant such a amounts to be spent on set-up. If your not arsed setting it up yourself , then always spend the most you think is proportionate to the value of the guitar on the set -up. I, personally, do all my set-ups myself (inc. soldering etc.). But if I had a lot of cash and a high value instrument, I wouldnt think twice. A poor set-up can make the best built guitars play crap, and visa versa. This especially applies to acoustics and classical guitars.

This is not to say that you fellas offering set-ups that are cheap are neccessarily going to be poor set-ups! I think the costs in general are very high and there is no real "qualifications" in repairs, just lots of experience and skill. (some have this, some not. you can see it in the work usually)

feylya

HusseinSarhan wrote:

This is not to say that you fellas offering set-ups that are cheap are neccessarily going to be poor set-ups! I think the costs in general are very high and there is no real "qualifications" in repairs, just lots of experience and skill. (some have this, some not. you can see it in the work usually)

I absolutely agree with that. But expensive repairs could be crap also. IMO, if you find someone that sets your guitar up the way you like, stay with them!!!

ferdi

got my bass back from musicin inc after a setup, i paid 60 euro for set up and new strings put on.

i gotta say, this bass never played so sweet! and i'm playing it through an absolutly bollox 20watt no name guitar amp and it still sounds great, it was probably worth the money, this is now one of those very good mexican jazz basses one sometimes comes across. they just seemed to have lower the action, fiddled around with the neck some how...either way, she plays very well now...good job lads!