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Description
From shopping for a first electric guitar to setting customized action, this do-it-yourself primer for owning and maintaining an electric guitar explains the ins and outs of choosing the right guitar; cleaning, tools, and basic maintenance; personalizing and improving on a “factory setup;” troubleshooting; basic guitar electronics; choosing and installing replacement pickups, pots, switches, and capacitors; setups of the pros; and much more. This new edition is overhauled from top to bottom and re-organized to make it easy for the reader to make his electric guitar sound and play great. This edition also covers bass guitars and includes online video where Dan shows you how easy it is to set up your Strat, Les Paul, bass or Floyd Rose-equipped guitar so it plays in tune and feels great. Also includes cutout tool sheet with specialized guitar gauges at the back of the book! Read more
Publisher : Backbeat
Publication date : July 1, 2012
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
Print length : 144 pages
ISBN-10 : 0879309989
ISBN-13 : 85
Item Weight : 1.04 pounds
Dimensions : 8.35 x 0.35 x 10.8 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #111,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #186 in Guitars (Books)
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Paperback
Great book. Very informative.
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2026 by ercethn
Format: Paperback
I have been playing guitar for about 26 years at this point and have always wanted to know how to set up my guitars. It costs at least $40 to have it professionally done, but the thorough information in this book should be enough. Actually, way more than enough. A lot of other information is covered in this book, including Dan Erlewine's opinions on bridges, tremolos, how to evaluate a new guitar for damage and what needs to be done in a set up, and a lot more. The book even includes a DVD and pop out cardboard radius gauges to help with setup! For just over $20 new! I've been a fan of StewMac(Stewart MacDonald) for a long time. Dan Erlewine has written books for them and specializes in new product development, including designing new guitar tools. He's a definite master luthier, and his opinions are objective, formed through years of hands on experience. His writing style is also easy to follow, and there are good diagrams and photos to illustrate what he's talking about. I've done some work on guitars before including refinishing a guitar, rewiring a 1965 Fender Mustang, adjusting bridge heights and truss rods, but this book makes me realize how much more there is to know. I can't wait to use this information to set up my 60s Silvertone Jupiter and Harmony Bobkat.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2014 by Rasputin
Format: Paperback
Pros: -Provides a lot of very good information about how the different parts of electric guitars work, common adjustments that need to be made, and things that often go wrong. This info also helps you evaluate and instrument when buying a used guitar. Dan E. is a credible and experienced source so you can believe what he writes. -All this information is provided in a relatively concise form, so you don't have to spend endless time going through various web sites, youtube videos, etc. to find it. - If you have some mechanical skills and nothing is seriously wrong with the guitar you're working on, this book will certainly help you get it set up, tuned up, and playing well. Cons: - As other reviewers have mentioned, the book promises "online videos" but I cannot find any link to the site hosting these videos. - The book would be even better if it were written as more of a step-by-step how-to setup guide. Instead, it's kind of disjointed and feels like a collection of notes on different topics rather than one cohesive work. A basic short setup outline is provided, but then you will find yourself flipping and skipping around to the different sections a lot during the process. You have to at read or at least skim the entire book first to get an idea of where the different information is found (and info about some topics shows up in more than one place).
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Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2018 by ECBuyer
Format: Paperback
A GREAT book that provides complete, solid, easy to understand guidance while you are messing with your guitar. It covers all kinds of issues in good, but not excessive detail. I have spent a few hours trying various fixes on old beat up guitars first, and nicer ones as I got some confidence, and every session seems to result in a better sound from the guitar I am working on. I have one guitar that I bought new, which was not set up by the box store it came from, and has always sounded worse than my $50 craigslist specials. Each repair session with the guitar and Mr Erlewine's book seems to upgrade the sound noticeably, and finally I can say that it sounds pretty decent. I have two other books on guitars which sometimes come in handy, but if I could only choose one of them, Dan's book would be the one I would immediately choose. I, and my guitars, thank you Mr. Erlewine.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2017 by Amazed
Format: Paperback
Some of the information in this book is pretty basic but it does a good job of describing how to setup the neck and string action. It also includes some paper rules to measure the neck. Really useful guide.
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2024 by This bridge worked perfectly on my Vantage bass. It is a bit large but it covered the cavity left by the original bridge. Worth the money, it’s fantastic.
Format: Paperback
I can't speak highly enough of this book. And of Dan Erlewine. He owns StewMac but in this book will even recommend cheaper alternative options for tools, gauges, and tips that will get the job done. He has so much knowledge of the electric guitar and how they work and why different parts function the way they do. He also gives small history lessons on certain parts to help explain the differences and why changes were made. Having said that, he makes it easy to understand no matter what stage of guitar you are learning. This book is going to save me a LOT of money in the future by doing the work myself instead of going to a luthier or setup technician.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2017 by CD9266
Format: Paperback
First: I purchased this book on Amazon as used. It was shipped from "Better World Books" and the condition was advertised as "Very Good". Well the condition was amazing. The CD insert had not even been opened. The book comes with some neck radius gauges that are attached to the back page. These were still attached and had never been used. The book looked as if i purchased it new. Very pleased with the condition. The book content was very well done. There wasn't much information in the book that I couldn't otherwise find online but it was helpful to see guitar setup tips from an expert compared to individual guitar players posting their ides on YouTube. It gave me a more rounded knowledge to decide how I wanted my guitar set up. This author also gives setup tips from other experts in the book which is very interesting. Bottom line: Buy it. It has some great info without spending hours and hours searching the net for this info.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2014 by R.P.
Format: Paperback
Description of the parts of a guitar (neck, nut, saddles, etc.) is fairly good. Photography isn't great. However, there's nothing concrete that I can see, that "pulls it all together" with respect to setting up your guitar. In that area, everything is referred to in the general perspective. Haven't yet sought out the included video (It's online somewhere), so I can't comment on that. I'm put off by the fact that the author constantly refers the reader to Stewart MacDonald, to purchase parts - I'm sure they're a good company, but still, I bought a book, not a commercial. In all honesty, there's no information in this book that you couldn't find in 30 seconds on YouTube.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2018 by Joseph A. Cummings