"Bob Holo quick course on gypsy jazz guitar setup" / DFNW 2012 www.hologuitar.com www.patrus53.com
This video is intended to help people understand "why" a guitar is setup the way it is. Think of this knowledge as the equivalent to "music theory". You don't need it, but it can give you a system for understanding gypsy guitar setup.
Of course there is much more to playability and setup than action, relief, and intonation, though they are the "big 3". Perhaps someday I will do other videos. This video simply arose in conversation one evening. Patrus ran the camera, his wife coached me through the sections, and then suddenly the filming was done and we went back to drinking wine.
So if every good course has a handout, then here is one for you. Again, this is not comprehensive, and some concepts such as string motion and intonation are treated very simply because a full discussion of them would require time, illustrations and mathematics. But understanding the concepts at a functional level is all you need to help you find your ideal setup and understand how to maintain it across different guitars and through the different seasons and conditions in which you will play.
Bob Holo
November 2012, Portland Oregon.
Additional Notes:
1.) This video is not intended to say that every gypsy guitar should be set up to 2.9/2.35 with 12/1000" relief. However, I use it as an example here because it is such a good universal setup. By that, I mean that I am confident that I can hand a 670mm scale gypsy guitar with this setup, strung with Savarez 11's or Savarez 10's with an 11 for the high-E string ("Django strings") to any professional guitar player and know that he can go on stage and play a show and be happy and comfortable and enjoy his time on stage. Many find this setup ideal, and almost everyone finds this setup very usable.
2.) In general, the shorter the scale length of the guitar, the larger the strings, or the higher the action, or the greater the relief you will need to play cleanly. This is because the tension of the strings is lower. I don't know many people who play short-scaled (640mm) guitars with Savarez 10's.
3.) In general, the smaller the strings, the higher the action or greater the relief you will need to play cleanly. This applies mostly to the bass strings which vibrate more wildly. If the frets are good, there is very little need to have the high-E string higher than 2.4mm to 2.5mm because the high E doesn't vibrate as wildly.
4.) Every guitar is different. The neck angle, the crown of the fingerboard, the spacing of the strings, the bridge height, the scale length, the strength or hardness of the soundboard and its braces.... all of these things contribute to a guitar's playability. Different guitars will require unique setups to play similarly.
5.) Rhythm players tend to like higher and more equal setups than lead players. So a rhythm player might like a 2.9 low E and 2.6 high E, whereas a lead player might like a 2.8 low E and a 2.3 high E on the same guitar. The way they use the guitars explains the reason why. The rhythm player wants a balanced feel for chords with nice bass so that he can play "light and dry" and still get a full sound. The the lead player wants speed and agility with a midrange-focus and good "cut" to his sound.
6.) There are some common sense limits - Setups that are at the edge of "normal" can be difficult to intonate and can become unreliable with the slightest change in the weather. If you are set very low and the next day is hot and dry, you're buzzing. If you are set high and the next day is humid, the guitar can become uncomfortable or even unplayable.
7.) Strings that are larger than 11-47, and strings that are made of hard dense metals are not appropriate for gypsy guitars. Strings that are too large have too much tension and can damage lightly built gypsy guitars. Strings made of hard metals such as Phosphor or Bright Bronze will give an unpleasantly brittle sound. Gypsy guitars are lightly built, loud guitars and are played with a technique that favors slinky strings that sound warm and a little grungy when driven hard silver over copper. gypsy strings give the proper tension and sound just as nylon strings work well on classical guitars and Bronze strings work well on arch tops. I use Savarez Argentine strings as an example because they are commonly available and they are good strings, but i have used Galli, Pearse, D'Addario Gypsy, and other gypsy strings with good results.
8.) All of this depends on a good stable neck, a good fret-job and good fret-level. If the guitar is of poor quality or in poor condition, you will not be able to make it play well. With a messed-up guitar, the best you can hope for is to raise the action to get it to play cleanly and hope it isn't too hard to intonate and play.
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