A note to all the beginners and struggling beginners...

Yep, couldn't agree more....I take my guitars in twice a year to get setup and maintenance done on them.

It works wonders!!

I live in different parts of the world than y'all, so my experiences may be very different:

I agree that having a properly set up guitar is essential, and makes it much easier on beginners.

I would rather eat bugs, really horrible nasty ones, that allow anyone, regardless how professional, to set up any of my guitars.

I've bought guitars, allegedly set up in the shop, and found that they needed hours of my time to set up before being as playable as they can be. I never considered taking them back to the shop- the guy there will never take the time and care that I will.

I don't know why, but I've had bad luck with the pros- the few times any guitar I own has been in the shop, they come back short-cutted- set up by someone who didn't take that time, didn't know how I like to play, and didn't care as much as I do about how it finishes up feeling. Just folks who wanted my passing trade, don't really care about what kind of instrument they are putting together.

My advice is, unless you have a pro in your neighborhood who real players you know really trust, learn to do your own setups.

Truss rods aren't rocket science.

Anybody with steady hands and a few simple tools can lower a nut or saddle, or replace one.

Don't get me wrong- I agree with the OP. A properly set up guitar is practically miraculous, compared to one that is badly set up. Too many newbies give up because they can't play things, when really the action was so high on their guitars that SRV would've sounded like an amateur.

But for me, the secret has been in learning how the adjustments work, learning how to make them, how to measure them, and doing them, slowly and experimentally, by myself.

If you're in my neighborhood, and need a hand setting up a guitar, I'll show you how! But if you touch the truss rod on my axe, I'll kill you.

Best,
Ande

I understand your concern about people messing with your guitars. I didn't want to bring mine to the neighborhood guitar store tech because of those reasons... I brought mine to a local, well known and respected luthier based on two personal recommendations.

One of the problems with learning to do your own setups is that a beginner probably would not know what a properly setup guitar is supposed to sound and feel like - at least that is the case with me.

I read a lot about setting up guitars... it really doesn't sound too complicated and I am a hands on type of guy so I wouldn't be scared of doing it. And, I probably will from now on. I now have a good point of reference on what my guitar(s) are really supposed to feel like when set up.

For anyone in the Southern Ontario, Canada (London/St. Thomas) area... I highly recommend going to the guy I went to.
Here is his website... worth checking out anyway to see his beautiful hand made guitars:
http://www.lacroixguitars.ca

I've stood on the guitar set-up soapbox many times. I normally do mine in mid autumn after the weather breaks and then again late Spring as the weather breaks. I think it's the humidity changes.

I set them up myself and do get a sense for when they're needing some attention, and make a mental plan to do the set-up during the next string change. I just don't do it right before the summer -> Autumn change, not the Spring to Summer change. I did that once on a SG and was fiddling with that thing for what seemed like a solid month. If the seasons are changing too far out, I'll do it rather than wait. I don't gig, and I certainly have enough toys where I can play any number of guitars, so no biggie waiting a few weeks.

My PRS SE has supremo action normally, but I just noticed a touch high the other day down around the 12th - 15th fret area. I won't mess with it until after the humidity changes. Another few weeks. Otherwise I'd have to do it twice.

I think this thread should be a sticky. LOTS of good info here . . .

I'm really lucky that my teacher is also a guitar tech, he spent ages sorting out the set up of my new ESP so it sounded amazing.

Then there are people like me. Never had it set up and never did it myself. Change strings and tune them to pitch is about it.

Both of my main guitars seem fine although there is a slight buzz on one string of the Epi LP but you can' hear it when playing so I don't bother.

The action is fairly low and I've never had an issue with playability so I've never messed around with it.

I agree with Ande that in alot of cases you are probably better off adjusting yourself rather than trust it to some guitar tech that couldn't give a damn, but if you find someone that comes recommended than I would bring it to them. I definitely don't have the time or desire to do it myself. (Technically it isn't very difficult)

Are the people saying setups are easy talking about electric or acoustic guitars or both?

I ask because the electric looks far easier to make bridge adjustments too, all I think I'd be able to (semi-)confidently do to an acoustic is adjust the truss rod. Having spent a few months learning with the acoustic I finally found the time to take it along and get it set up by a luthier (which in my case was incredibly cheap) and the improvement in playability is amazing. I wouldn't have been able to do it myself, at least partly because I wouldn't have known what to aim for.

Funny this topic would pop up. The hot, humid Summer air has left and the cool dryness of autumn has set in. For me, that means one thing. 11 guitars, all going sharp for a month. Even got one buzzin' already. Same thing, twice a year. They'll all get string changes, measured up and adjusted as needed. Well, string changes maybe more often, but every Summer -> Autumn and then again sometime in the Spring. Humidity changes, temp changes, etc.