STANDARD GUITAR SETUP
To keep your guitar in top playing condition; so it feels, sounds and most importantly “plays” the best that it can, it is recommend it is set up at least once a year.
Atmospheric pressure changes as well as fluctuations in temperature, cause your guitars performance to change , this is perfectly normal as the guitar is a living breathing instrument, and so with SMB guitars comprehensive 35 point setup you’ll be assured that your guitar will come back to you feeling new again and inspire hours of playing enjoyment.
Electric guitar setups from £55 + strings (Floyd rose +£10)
Acoustic Guitar setups from £50+ strings
Bass guitar setups from £55+ strings
FULL GUITAR RE-FRET SETUP
Typically a guitar with medium frets will get about 3 fret levelling’s before the frets are deemed to small to re-crown at this point an entire re-fret is necessary.
Full set-up including a re-fret from £175 + strings
Full set-up including a re-fret on a bound fingerboard from £250
ACOUSTIC SADDLE REPLACEMENT
Equally, good way to change the tone on an acoustic guitar is to change the plastic saddle to a bone one
Full set-up including a saddle replacement £80 plus strings and saddle
Full set-up including a nut and saddle replacement £100 +strings, nut and saddle
FULL GUITAR SETUP
The SMB comprehensive setup includes the basic setup plus fret levelling.
This is necessary when the frets are worn or pitted from years of playing, the worn frets will cause buzzing and often intonation issues. The process involves levelling all the frets to a new uniform height and “re-crowning” the fret tops to be round again, before being polished and setup
Full setup including fret dress/stoning/levelling £125 +strings
GUITAR STOCK PLASTIC NUT REPLACEMENT
One of the best ways to improve the tone of your guitar is to replace the stock plastic nut, to a bone one. (or graphite if you so choose). This service includes removing the old nut, cutting in a blank bone nut, and cutting in the new nut slots using special luthiers nut slotting files
Full set-up including a nut replacement £80 plus strings and nut
(some companies offer the service of just cutting in a new nut without a setup, in my opinion, a newly cut nut without a proper setup makes the nut cut superfluous, as things like neck relief, string action height and string tension, all have a detrimental effect on the height of the string at the nut, therefore every newly cut nut, comes with the comprehensive SMB full setup)
PICKUP CHANGEOVER
Changing the stock pickups on your electric (or acoustic) guitar can make a huge difference.
At SMB guitars, I hand wind my own pickups and install them free of charge. I can also source for you any of the major brands of guitars pickups.
Pickup replacements from £55+ pickup cost