Acoustic guitar setup question

just Scott · 21 Dec 2009 at 22:46

I recently got a Seagull S6 Original, which for the price sounds absolutely lovely and the build quality is great. The only thing that's stopping me from playing it more is the setup - it's very hard to play. The action is slightly higher than the cheap £50 Encore I borrowed from my friend when I didn't have my own acoustic.

I've read around and I know it's possible to sand down the saddle or even file the nut (both of which sound far too dangerous for my liking ha) but I've gathered that even this won't lower the action that much. The guitar isn't unplayable by any means, but I find that when I play a song on the acoustic, then play it on my electric it just seems to flow so much better on the electric because I'm not concentrating on whether I'm actually fretting the note or not.

My question is, if I take this in for a setup at a decent shop, would I be wasting my money or is it going to increase the playability of the guitar? I know it's never going to be as playable as my electric, but I'd like to pick up my acoustic and not think "why am I practising this song when I can play it perfectly on my electric" lol.

Cheers

Irish_Tom · 21 Dec 2009 at 23:03

Did you not try it out before you bought it? I would have thought an uncomfortable action would have presented itself during a test play or two. (I wouldn't have spent almost £400 on a guitar without playing it first).

You could take it in to a shop but it should be set up for the best sound all ready.

Electrics are almost always 'quicker' than acoustics anyway. Narrower necks, lighter strings and lower actions make fretting chords and notes easier and due to the nature of the electric, you don't have to be quite as accurate to produce a nice sound. especially if you throw in some overdrive or reverb.

I would suggest persevering for a while with it in it's current form. You might find it makes you a better guitar player in the long run. You'll be more accurate, get stronger fingers and you'll probably find your electric playing improves because of it. A poor workman blames his tools and all that.

The reason it's worth practising on an acoustic is a) you can take the acoustic places you cant take the electric and b) (IMHO) Acoustic sounds nicer.

Panzer

Uriel · 21 Dec 2009 at 23:11

A decent setup is definitely worth it. If you bought online it's practically essential.

Spend some time discussing with a guitar tech or luthier what you want exactly. A lower action makes for easier playing but the sound can suffer.

Don't try to DIY, if you don't know exactly what you're doing. Even something so simple as a truss rod adjust can go horribly wrong if you do it badly.

just Scott · 21 Dec 2009 at 23:16

Uriel said:
A decent setup is definitely worth it. If you bought online it's practically essential.

Spend some time discussing with a guitar tech or luthier what you want exactly. A lower action makes for easier playing but the sound can suffer.

Don't try to DIY, if you don't know exactly what you're doing. Even something so simple as a truss rod adjust can go horribly wrong if you do it badly.

Don't worry I wouldn't DIY something that wasn't 100% reversable. I don't trust myself with a truss rod adjustment, nevermind sanding down a saddle.

Panzerbjorn said:
Did you not try it out before you bought it? I would have thought an uncomfortable action would have presented itself during a test play or two. (I wouldn't have spent almost £400 on a guitar without playing it first).

You could take it in to a shop but it should be set up for the best sound all ready.

Electrics are almost always 'quicker' than acoustics anyway. Narrower necks, lighter strings and lower actions make fretting chords and notes easier and due to the nature of the electric, you don't have to be quite as accurate to produce a nice sound. especially if you throw in some overdrive or reverb.

I would suggest persevering for a while with it in it's current form. You might find it makes you a better guitar player in the long run. You'll be more accurate, get stronger fingers and you'll probably find your electric playing improves because of it. A poor workman blames his tools and all that.

The reason it's worth practising on an acoustic is a) you can take the acoustic places you cant take the electric and b) (IMHO) Acoustic sounds nicer.

Panzer

I bought it brand new from Canada, since they're only £200 from there. Shipping was £50 and import tax was £20 so it wasn't a bad deal. I went to the shop and tried a load of acoustics, but I didn't much like any of them. None of them had a cedar top and 1.8" nut width which is what I love about the Seagull.

Thanks for the advice guys. It definitely does need at least new strings on it. I phoned up a shop and the luthier spent 5 minutes telling me how great Seagull (and every Godin sub-brand) guitars are and that it should be setup perfectly already, but I'd have to disagree. Some of the guitars I played in the shop were easier to play than the Seagull. He quoted me £40 including strings for a setup.