Received my first guitar...

[whatdo]

Its a Paul's amber SE and looks great....but it looks like it wasn't tuned or inspected? Or maybe it was?

I dont know anything about proper guitar setups but this seems discombobulated.

the bridge is unscrewed and sitting quite high?
the bridge pickup has some glue marks or something that went bad on with that black cloth thing thats wrapped around it?
the neck pickup is sitting a bit wonky, the left is sitting deeper than its right side (harder to see in pictures but I overexposed to try and make it more obvious).

I got this from Cosmo Music in Canada but they're supposedly doing the tuning before things get shipping out to customers. Should I head back in with this or is this the way its supposed to look when its properly set up?

Any advice or pointers would be appreciated.

 

[DrunkenGarbageCan]

The bridge should be higher on the thicker string side.

The pickups should be lower on the thicker string side

That bridge pickup looks high, but maybe the angle

The glue is just part of mass production unforunately

I dont have a link handy, but you should find string height from factory specs and compare to your guitar just to see if in ballpark

Is this new guitar or used from music store?

How does it play and sound?

 

[whatdo]

Its brand new; wanted to have a decent quality guitar to start with, but also something to keep permanently. Just wanna use it as a hobby to unwind from work while I'm home. Especially in the winter months when going outside isn't as much of an option.

Havent had time to try it with the Snark tuner yet, but I will this afternoon when I wrap up work. I dont have an ear for the notes yet, so I have to go by the tuner's visual guide when i test it out tonight.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Agree with the screen name sweepstakes winner, those closeups actually make it harder to tell in some cases, if a guitar is set up properly. You need to see pictures that show more of the guitar, rather than zoomed in closeups, to see if bridge or pickup height is off, etc.

 

[whatdo]

Do these help? not sure if there's specific angles I should be targeting.

 

[zerolight]

Setup guidance varies by manufacturer and person. There is not right answer. I tend to set my guitars action1.5mm on the high E string and Low E string, measured at the 12th fret, distance between top of fret and bottom of string.

Pickups, bridge 2mm from string on high E side, 2.4mm at low E side. Neck 2.4mm and 2.8mm. Then tweak from there. Holding string down at last fret when measuring.

Of course the neck relief is important too, but you should read up on setting that. It's very easy but best to understand and watch a video first so you don't over do it.

 

[Nice F Holes]

The stuff on the pickup could be wax from potting, and might come off with (low) heat?

The pickup height would most likely get adjusted based on tone anyway, you can raise/lower each side to boost/quell volume of that side.

The bridge looks OK to me. If it was touching the guitar then you'd have zero adjustability.

 

[SinSir]

Agreed, everyone and every guitar setup is differnet. Sure there's recommended manufacturer specs but that's only a baseline. Being a new player I'd play as is and trust in the shop. You don't really have the skill or knowledge in the begining to truly know much of a difference. With practice that'll quickly change as you get a feel for playing and the guitar. I'd concentrate on playing for now and find you a good local luthier to take it to once you have a better feel for what you like and don't like about the guitar. Then you'll be rocking and appreciate it that much more.

I'm a believer in working on my own gear but as a new player I'd rather spend my time learning to play and leave the tech work to the professionals. A setup cost is pretty reasonable and plating time can be hard to come by.

Beautiful guitar you have there.. enjoy it!

 

[aphantomvaper]

Gorgeous guitar! As others have said it is difficult to tell a setup by images.

My SE Paul's had the cloth tape badly wrapped on the pickups, it was sticking out from the bobbin. I carefully used an Xacto knife and cut away the cloth staying far away from the windings.

Enjoy it, looks to be plenty of room for adjustment and that is super important.

 

[Aahzz]

From the pictures, it doesn't look like anything is wrong to me. If the bridge was tightened all the way to the body, that would be concerning - you want some room to adjust the action as needed, to your taste. Wax marks on the pickup tape are common, not an issue other than aesthetics. Pickup height is best adjusted by sound, which means looking at one side higher than the other might look weird, but balances the sound. Pickups should normally be closer on the thinner strings, as mentioned above.

 

[Aahzz]

You probably don't want to dive right into doing your own setups just yet, but here's a basic guide that covers the various parts and how they work.

https://www.bananas.com/blogs/news/what-is-a-guitar-setup-and-why-do-you-need-it

 

[Dirty_Boogie]

The whole point of the screws (for the bridge, pickups, truss rod, etc.) is that the electric guitar is infinitely adjustable to user preference, in terms of playability (action, string height) and sounds (pickup height, adjustment for relative volume of bass vs. treble strings, etc.) Of course, if you have to overly tighten/loosen screws to compensate for manufacturing issues, then that's a problem, but everything I see on your guitar is well within spec. I say if it plays well, and sounds great, then it's set up just right! Enjoy!

 

[László]

Looks fine. It's not supposed to be screwed down to the top when new. Of course, you can put it wherever you like it, but until you learn what to do, best to leave the factory set up, or have it set up by a luthier.

 

[bodia]

I agree with the others. Looks fine.

 

[whatdo]

Thanks for all the pointers on the adjustability of the guitar. I'll do a deep dive this weekend to get a basic understanding of the whole thing. I'm used to the usual thing that people "default to" when they dont know any better; where perfect symmetry is "correct" ; so when i see stuff misaligned my automatic response is "looks like it needs to get fixed".

Glad to know thats not the case heh

Thank you

 

[Uncle Bob]

I wouldn’t be satisfied with that setup, personally. To me the bridge does look high, which is contributing to the high action (and therefore the high bridge pickup). I’ve never received or used a guitar with the pickup set that high (out of necessity).

Sorry if I’ve got the wrong end of the stick here, but if you’re a new player then a really high action is going to hinder your progress, as well as making it harder to be accurate with your fingering. It can also cause intonation issues.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Thanks for all the pointers on the adjustability of the guitar. I'll do a deep dive this weekend to get a basic understanding of the whole thing. I'm used to the usual thing that people "default to" when they dont know any better; where perfect symmetry is "correct" ; so when i see stuff misaligned my automatic response is "looks like it needs to get fixed".

Glad to know thats not the case heh

Thank you

Well, yeah, pickups often aren’t straight/flat to the body, but the rest of it.... suss IMO.

 

[shimmilou]

Sweet guitar! Congrats

 

[dogrocketp]

Play it for a while first and see how it plays. If there is excess wax on the pickup, you can get it off with an old toothbrush. Pickups are adjusted by sound, not symmetry of height. The same is true for the bridge. Enjoy it, do let us know, and congratulations on your first purchase. Remember, perfect on a guitar is what your ears hear, not what your eyes see.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Pickups are adjusted by sound, not symmetry of height. The same is true for the bridge. Enjoy it, do let us know, and congratulations on your first purchase. Remember, perfect on a guitar is what your ears hear, not what your eyes see.

That being said, things like pickup height, bridge height etc. are setup to certain specs for very good reasons (which you well know), and in some cases those things being ‘out’ can spoil the very enjoyment you mention...

For instance, that action.... WAY high.