Alfred's Teach Yourself Guitar Repair and Maintenance : Everything You Need to Know to Start Working on Your Guitar

John Carruthers, legendary guitar builder and repair guru to the stars, has teamed up with Alfred Music to produce this ultimate beginner's guide to guitar repair and maintenance. Comprehensive, step-by-step instructions and close-up shots clarify how to set the action for ultimate playability, adjust for bulletproof intonation, and keep any guitar in top condition for a lifetime. Also includes steps on setting up and adjusting Floyd Rose tremolo systems, soldering and maintaining electronics, the proper way to remove and install strings on both standard guitars and Floyd Rose systems, and exact specs for the action, nut action, and truss rod adjustments of electric guitars, acoustics, and 4- and 5-string basses. Contents 3 About the Author 4 Introduction 5 Parts of the Guitar 5 General Setup 6 Changing the Strings 6 Removing Old Strings 6 Installing New Strings 8 Locking Tuners 11 Stretching the Strings 12 Stringing Fender Slotted Machine Heads 13 Truss Rod Adjustment 14 Direction of Adjustment 15 Testing for the Proper Amount of Bow 16 Measuring the Amount of Bow 18 Adjusting the Action at the Bridge 19 Measuring Action Height at the Upper End of the Fingerboard 20 Setup Specifications 21 Making the Adjustments 22 Adjusting the Action at the Nut 24 Bone, Plastic or Graphite Nuts 24 Measuring Action at the 1st Fret 25 Re-Slotting to Specifications 26 Important Rules 28 If the Slot is Too Deep—Shimming the Nut 29 Mechanical Nuts 29 Making the Adjustments 31 Intonation 33 Basic Principles of String Length 33 Electronic Tuners 34 Reasons to Use an Electronic Tuner 35 Finger Pressure and Intonation 36 Testing and Adjusting Intonation 37 Acoustic Guitars 39 Cleaning and Polishing Your Guitar 40 Types of Finish 41 Choosing the Correct Cleaning Solvent and Polish 41 Polishing Cloths 42 Preliminary Cleaning with Damp and Dry Cloths 43 Cleaning Lacquer and Synthetic Finishes with Chemical Solvents 44 Removing Oxides and Abrasions from Lacquered and Synthetic Finishes 44 Waxing and Polishing 46 Cleaning and Polishing the Unfinished Fingerboard 46 Routine Cleaning 46 Electronic Maintenance 47 Soldering 47 Cleaning and Lubricating Components 55 Your Setup 56 Setting Up and Adjusting Your Floyd Rose System 57 Introduction 57 History of the Modern Tremolo 58 Features 59 Understanding the Basic Principles of Operation 61 Floyd Rose System Parts 62 Stringing Your Floyd Rose Tremolo 63 Adjusting Your Truss Rod 70 Angle of the Base Plate 70 Setting the Base Plate Angle 71 Setting Action at the Bridge 72 About the Floyd Rose Nut 74 Setting Nut Height 74 Setting the String Retainer 75 Setting Intonation (String Length) 76 Tremolo Arm Assembly 77 Addendum A—Tools Required for Adjusting Your Floyd Rose Tremolo 78 Addendum B—Troubleshooting the Floyd Rose Tremolo 79 Problem: String buzzing 79 Problem: Excessive string breakage 79 Problem: Tremolo can't be adjusted to sit parallel to the face of the guitar with claw adjustment all the way in 79 Problem: The guitar won't stay in tune 80 Problem: Fine tuners won't adjust 80 Problem: Height adjustment screws are bottomed out, but the action is still too high 80 Problem: When I use my tremolo, the springs make noise 80 John Carruthers, legendary guitar builder and repair guru to the stars, has teamed up with Alfred to produce this ultimate beginner's guide to guitar repair and maintenance. Comprehensive, step-by-step instructions and close-up shots clarify how to set the action for ultimate playability, adjust for bulletproof intonation, and keep any guitar in top condition for a lifetime. Also includes steps on setting up and adjusting Floyd Rose tremolo systems, soldering and maintaining electronics, the proper way to remove and install strings on both standard guitars and Floyd Rose systems, and exact specs for the action, nut action, and truss rod adjustments of electric guitars, acoustics, and 4- and 5-string basses. 80 pages.