First time setup

Graham Haggett

New Member
Joined
May 22, 2020
Messages
3
Bought my first electric - a used se 22 semi-hollow w trem - about two months ago. The other day I broke a string for the first time so I strung it up with a set of 10s (pretty sure it had 8s or 9s before). I knew it would need a setup but the thing that confused me is when I checked the truss rod with the business card trick I needed MORE relief which is the opposite way I would’ve assumed. I adjusted it and now it’s playing halfway decently. I didn’t check relief before the string change but it was setup by the shop I got it from and was playing great. Can someone please explain?
 
You should also check that the trem is level.

The neck can also take a while to settle, so it may have moved while you had the strings off?
 
You should also check that the trem is level.

The neck can also take a while to settle, so it may have moved while you had the strings off?
Trem is level as far as my eye can see. Good point about neck reset, the strings were off for a little while. Is that something I should avoid in the future?
 
Trem is level as far as my eye can see. Good point about neck reset, the strings were off for a little while. Is that something I should avoid in the future?
If you are going to leave the strings off for any length of time, you should definitely at least lose the truss rod so that it's in a neutral position.

But the amount of time it takes to remove, clean and put a new set on should be ok.
 
Back
Top