Official Luthiers Forum!

You’re right, setup specs need to be tailored to each individual player. Most players don’t have the control to play the super low setups and some styles just need more clearance. The majority of the setups I do are lower than factory specs but not too low, that plus a properly setup nut makes em play real nice.


Steve

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I am sorry for the delay in reading these responses; rest assured that they are - albeit belatedly - much appreciated. I have been running very long days getting my new practice and clinic established, so my apologies for seemingly ignoring what were fascinating responses and insightful comments on the topic. Again, my thanks to you all.

Now onto the sausage-making...

I do believe there is a density function with regard to setup work as well as accurate diagnosis the various ills which befall guitars. Early in my time at Greenridge, I started keeping a repair journal, foolishly thinking that if I captured the specifics of every repair, I would have a reference document of some utility ready at hand. In retrospect, that journal - while useful for keeping track of the ever-evolving relationship with my coworkers and pithy quotes from one or both of the boys - was a superfluous exercise in documentation. With enough exposure to a broad range of the usual issues, that desired repair document resides in the head and the hands, and necessarily so for a tech in a busy shop.

That thought aside, and while fretwork adjustment may be part of a specific setup job, I believe the expectation held by most buyers is that fretwork as delivered will be serviceable - which is to say the frets will be reasonably level and with shaping that is both functional and does not cause discomfort or injury to the player. Further, fret shape may influence intonation, sustain, and the dynamic range possible on a given instrument, and it is these last qualities that brought those three guitars into the shop for adjustment.

As a final anecdote, Greenridge saw a John Cruz FCS Strat come in for poor intonation and sustain just after the three aforementioned acoustics went out, with the diagnosis being a poor setup and flat-topped frets. When I was at Greenridge on a more frequent basis, anything by Mr. Cruz that came in the door was reason to gather around the bench and marvel at the output of Fender's most accomplished Master Builder (note that Mr. Cruz was dismissed from Fender in 2020 and is out on his own... another in a long line of 'thought crime' casualties of the 2020 'Mostly Peaceful' Summer of Love). While my experience with Mr. Cruz's guitars was necessarily limited -I saw at most four of his instruments over my period of residency at the shop - I do not recall poor fret shape as being an issue. Indeed, a receipt for a setup with level/crown/polish from another shop was found in the case, accurately placing the blame elsewhere. This makes the point that however perfect the guitar might have been leaving the hands of the builder, some exemplar of the Dunning Kruger Effect may have taken it upon himself or herself to screw things up but good.

And to close... yes, Greenridge extended an invitation to the young builder of the early effort mentioned in my post, and my understanding is that she is in the shop over the weekend with targeted sessions on getting the neck on at the right angle, bridge setting, and fretwork. Further, the boys deferred any discussion with the builder of the those three otherwise lovely guitars mentioned earlier in favor of the owner having that discussion in conjunction with his new orders (sheesh... because everyone needs at least one more exquisitely crafted, hyper-expensive custom guitar, right?).

_________________
We have become a civilization that elevates idiots, prostitutes, and clowns. Am I still to defend it? Yes, for its principles. Yes, for what it was. Yes, for what it still may be.

-Mark Helprin, The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, A War Story, A Love Story (A Novel)