Getting my guitar strings changed is stressing me out.
November 5, 2008 12:22 PM Subscribe
Two questions regarding getting my acoustic guitar strings replaced at the local music shop.
I play a little acoustic guitar. Completely self taught, I'm not very good. I can play open chords, bar chords, a riff or two, but that's about it. I play to entertain myself, and I'm good enough for that, so I'm happy.
I also change out my own strings. Again, I'm probably not doing a great job, but once again, good enough for me. Every once in a while, however, I bring my guitar in to the local music store to get them to change them for me, just to fix any of the damage I've done over the times I've changed them.
Two questions:
1. When a shop changes the strings, do they do anything else? Like adjust the action? Or is there a guitar 'tune-up' that I need to pay for?
2. When I come back to pick up my guitar this happens. Cool guitar guy takes out my guitar and does Eruption up and down the neck, shakes his head yes, gives it to me and tells me to 'try it out'.
What the hell am I suppose to do after that? Play a G chord? It's so intimidating to me that I probably couldn't do that. I know I shouldn't care, but knowing what I should be doing, and not making a fool of myself, would sure help with stress ;)
I play a little acoustic guitar. Completely self taught, I'm not very good. I can play open chords, bar chords, a riff or two, but that's about it. I play to entertain myself, and I'm good enough for that, so I'm happy.
I also change out my own strings. Again, I'm probably not doing a great job, but once again, good enough for me. Every once in a while, however, I bring my guitar in to the local music store to get them to change them for me, just to fix any of the damage I've done over the times I've changed them.
Two questions:
1. When a shop changes the strings, do they do anything else? Like adjust the action? Or is there a guitar 'tune-up' that I need to pay for?
2. When I come back to pick up my guitar this happens. Cool guitar guy takes out my guitar and does Eruption up and down the neck, shakes his head yes, gives it to me and tells me to 'try it out'.
What the hell am I suppose to do after that? Play a G chord? It's so intimidating to me that I probably couldn't do that. I know I shouldn't care, but knowing what I should be doing, and not making a fool of myself, would sure help with stress ;)
Best answer: 1. If I were running a crappy guitar shop, I'd have my techs do nothing but change the strings. If I was running a middling guitar shop, I'd have them lightly clean the frets and fret board and/or check and note wear and other issues (bridge, nut, tuners, action) and let you know at pickup. If I was running a great guitar shop, I'd get a cost estimate and give you call and see if you wanted them addressed.
2. Take it to a place where you're comfortable, relax and play a little bit. Try playing with your eyes closed. Play something you know and/or love. If something feels out of kilter, try to reproduce it and bring it back.
Sometimes it's hard to communicate clearly a subtle change in feel. I had a trumpet tech work on my horn and when I tried it out, the best I could say was that it felt like the valves were trying to catch up to my fingers when I let up on a valve - not slow, but not what I was used to. He worked some magic on the spot and fixed it. Do your best. It's your axe and you know it best.
posted by plinth at 12:30 PM on November 5, 2008
2. Take it to a place where you're comfortable, relax and play a little bit. Try playing with your eyes closed. Play something you know and/or love. If something feels out of kilter, try to reproduce it and bring it back.
Sometimes it's hard to communicate clearly a subtle change in feel. I had a trumpet tech work on my horn and when I tried it out, the best I could say was that it felt like the valves were trying to catch up to my fingers when I let up on a valve - not slow, but not what I was used to. He worked some magic on the spot and fixed it. Do your best. It's your axe and you know it best.
posted by plinth at 12:30 PM on November 5, 2008
Best answer: How much are you paying? If you are just paying $10 or so, they are just changing the strings. If you are paying $50 or so, they will be doing some adjustments to the truss rod, cleaning things, and making sure nothing else is broken. That is worth paying for every now and again (especially when the seasons change, as that is usually when the truss rod needs to be adjusted), but if they are just changing the strings, there is no reason to pay extra for that.
posted by markblasco at 12:44 PM on November 5, 2008
posted by markblasco at 12:44 PM on November 5, 2008
Best answer: 2. if the guitar is solid enough, i recommend whapping him upside the head with it. otherwise, yeah. play the g chord and see if it feels about right.
posted by stubby phillips at 12:58 PM on November 5, 2008
posted by stubby phillips at 12:58 PM on November 5, 2008
Best answer: 1. When I get a "setup" they do what stupidsexyflanders specifies - new strings, fret cleaning, fretboard polish, check the neck for twist and the soundboard for buckling/warp, adjust the action if need be using the bridge. If they wanted to mess with the truss rod I would expect them to show me the problem first and I would want to be confident they knew what they were doing.
2. To judge action and intonation on the new strings, you want to play something that takes you up and down the fretboard. Learning some simple blues scales or even a basic G scale that climbs the neck and drops again will do this. You're listening for buzz, fuzz, flatness, and spots that sound out of tune. Check the harmonics - they should ring clearly. If you can play any fingerstyle, just about any of the acoustic fingerstyle 'classics' are good for checking a setup - Blackbird, the intro to 'Dear Prudence,' etc. Something that will let you hear every string and listen to sounds all the way up and down the neck. That's the goal (and that's why the show-offy shredding) - to check all the sounds the guitar is making.
Still and all, music shops like that annoy the hell out of me. I go to pains to avoid shops where people act like that. Sometimes there aren't a lot of choices, but if you have a real specialty acoustic shop even within an hour of you, it may be worth the trip for a twice-a-year real setup, delivered with respect.
posted by Miko at 1:01 PM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
2. To judge action and intonation on the new strings, you want to play something that takes you up and down the fretboard. Learning some simple blues scales or even a basic G scale that climbs the neck and drops again will do this. You're listening for buzz, fuzz, flatness, and spots that sound out of tune. Check the harmonics - they should ring clearly. If you can play any fingerstyle, just about any of the acoustic fingerstyle 'classics' are good for checking a setup - Blackbird, the intro to 'Dear Prudence,' etc. Something that will let you hear every string and listen to sounds all the way up and down the neck. That's the goal (and that's why the show-offy shredding) - to check all the sounds the guitar is making.
Still and all, music shops like that annoy the hell out of me. I go to pains to avoid shops where people act like that. Sometimes there aren't a lot of choices, but if you have a real specialty acoustic shop even within an hour of you, it may be worth the trip for a twice-a-year real setup, delivered with respect.
posted by Miko at 1:01 PM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
Best answer: 1. If you're changing string gauge, the neck tension must be adjusted. You don't need a full setup every time you change strings, but once every 3-6 string changes is good form.
2. In my experience, about 95% of music store employees are assholes who want to be in real bands, but change strings and play 30 year old riffs to intimidate regular players. Say, "come on, dude, Eruption is sooo old, don't you know anything more current?" Being an asshole back is not usually productive, and it's not like TV where you hit him with a zinger and then [scene change]. Maybe try asking him to teach you that riff if he's got a few minutes. Develop a rapport and you might get some hookups.
posted by knowles at 1:35 PM on November 5, 2008
2. In my experience, about 95% of music store employees are assholes who want to be in real bands, but change strings and play 30 year old riffs to intimidate regular players. Say, "come on, dude, Eruption is sooo old, don't you know anything more current?" Being an asshole back is not usually productive, and it's not like TV where you hit him with a zinger and then [scene change]. Maybe try asking him to teach you that riff if he's got a few minutes. Develop a rapport and you might get some hookups.
posted by knowles at 1:35 PM on November 5, 2008
Best answer: Maybe think of it this way. Today I went to Lenscrafters and had my glasse adjusted. When they handed them to me, they said "try it out." They weren't being a jerk, they wanted to know how they felt, and if any further adjusting is necessary. I would say that 95% of music employees are not assholes. They're just really big fans of guitar. They use technical terms because those are correct, not to intimidate, and they shred because they love guitar and it's probably a lot more fun to shred than to not. I would ask him what you should be looking out for, they'd probably be happy to explain, and you'll feel informed which is empowering in those situations...
(This doesn't apply to Bike-store employees, J/K)
posted by apetpsychic at 2:02 PM on November 5, 2008
(This doesn't apply to Bike-store employees, J/K)
posted by apetpsychic at 2:02 PM on November 5, 2008
Best answer: 1.plinth has it, depends on the shop, i recently had my guitar in a local shop to sort out the intonation and they only charged me £10, iv payed £40 in the past
2.I always like to check the intonation using the harmonics if you play a harmonic on the 12th fret then play the 12th normally they should be the same note, this isnt flashy but it makes it look like you know what your doing.
posted by chelegonian at 3:04 PM on November 5, 2008
2.I always like to check the intonation using the harmonics if you play a harmonic on the 12th fret then play the 12th normally they should be the same note, this isnt flashy but it makes it look like you know what your doing.
posted by chelegonian at 3:04 PM on November 5, 2008
Best answer: Ooh, chelegonian touched upon something I had almost forgotten about. If you barre across the 12th fret and strum all six strings, it should sound exactly the same (pitch-wise) as strumming all six 12th fret harmonics at once on a properly intonated guitar. Do them one at a time, and do them all at once.
posted by knowles at 3:19 PM on November 5, 2008
posted by knowles at 3:19 PM on November 5, 2008
Best answer: 1. I got's nothing for you here, sounds like some guys above gave some good sounding advice.
2. Knowles pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one, music store employees suck balls. There's a good half dozen music stores in my town, I've been to all of them and they all suck. Than I thought it might've been my town, I moved towns and all these music store employees suck too. I finally found one that's decent and these guys even suck a little bit, more tolerable than the others though b/c they're a lot younger. There's no getting around music store employees sucking, it's as certain as gravity.
posted by BrnP84 at 3:26 PM on November 5, 2008
2. Knowles pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one, music store employees suck balls. There's a good half dozen music stores in my town, I've been to all of them and they all suck. Than I thought it might've been my town, I moved towns and all these music store employees suck too. I finally found one that's decent and these guys even suck a little bit, more tolerable than the others though b/c they're a lot younger. There's no getting around music store employees sucking, it's as certain as gravity.
posted by BrnP84 at 3:26 PM on November 5, 2008
Best answer: Ask them what they charge to set/adjust the intonation of your guitar. On most acoustic guitars, this is a little more complicated, as the bridges usually aren't adjustable, as they are on most electric guitars. Or, better yet, ask them exactly what is included when you pay to have a string change and a "setup."
If you played electric, I'd tell you to learn to do your own setups, because it isn't that hard and you can really dial in your instrument exactly the way you like it (and keep it there when the weather changes or you try a new string gauge). But, I don't mess with my acoustic guitar. If it needs anything other than a routine string change (and it almost never does: thank you, Guild), I take it to a shop.
A good shop will hand it back to you, encourage you to play it, and make subsequent adjustments if you're not happy with it. Check for intonation (i.e. the 12th fret harmonics matching the fretted notes) and buzzing. Just pick some simple, moveable scales and chords and play them in several different positions up and down the neck. Check the action: play the way you ordinarily do and see if it feels comfortable. And try not to worry about what other people think. Your goal is to have a guitar in good playing shape. The opinions of the sales guys at the shop, much less the other customers, are irrelevant.
posted by wheat at 5:50 PM on November 5, 2008
If you played electric, I'd tell you to learn to do your own setups, because it isn't that hard and you can really dial in your instrument exactly the way you like it (and keep it there when the weather changes or you try a new string gauge). But, I don't mess with my acoustic guitar. If it needs anything other than a routine string change (and it almost never does: thank you, Guild), I take it to a shop.
A good shop will hand it back to you, encourage you to play it, and make subsequent adjustments if you're not happy with it. Check for intonation (i.e. the 12th fret harmonics matching the fretted notes) and buzzing. Just pick some simple, moveable scales and chords and play them in several different positions up and down the neck. Check the action: play the way you ordinarily do and see if it feels comfortable. And try not to worry about what other people think. Your goal is to have a guitar in good playing shape. The opinions of the sales guys at the shop, much less the other customers, are irrelevant.
posted by wheat at 5:50 PM on November 5, 2008
Response by poster: Wow, thanks for all the great answers. I hate to mark them all as best, but I think I got something from every one.
I'll feel much more comfortable next time he hands me my guitar. Thanks again.
posted by gtr at 11:18 PM on November 5, 2008
I'll feel much more comfortable next time he hands me my guitar. Thanks again.
posted by gtr at 11:18 PM on November 5, 2008
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2. GREAT question. If your guitar shop does this, go somewhere else you feel more comfortable. If all the guitar players in the bottom 25th percentile of ability suddenly took up flute instead, those guys would be out of a job. If you want to check it out, walk over to the nearest stool, back to Cool Guitar Guy, and play a few chords as you normally might. If it feels bad, wrong, or different, let him know, otherwise, you're set.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:30 PM on November 5, 2008