Did you ever play a chord in the middle of the neck and find it spongy or hard to get a grip on? Are you having trouble noodling out solos at the high frets? Are your strings buzzing like bees in a tin can?

These are just some of the many problems caused by a poor setup. If you're fighting your instrument to play it or it just feels sloppy, chances are it's out of "balance". By "balance" I mean the instruments' nut, neck relief and bridge are not in harmony. In order to get the best possible playability, these three elements should be tweaked to match both the instrument and the players' style.

Now believe it or not, this simple statement has a lot behind it in terms of the knowhow needed to get them all working together. I intend to elaborate on each one individually but for now an overview on the instruments' general well-being is in order. Bookmark this page and check in regularly to get the nasty particulars on how to fine tune your jammin' machine.

That being said, on to some pearls of knowledge.

The Nut. In my opinion, a crucial part in terms of feel - especially near the end of the neck. A well-cut nut can dramatically improve the playability and intonation of an instrument from the first fret right through to the end of the fretboard. Generally the slots should be cut deep enough to allow the string to vibrate freely but not so deep as to cause buzzing from a moderately hard strum. Again, I'll go into more detail at a later date.

Neck Relief. This is the term used to define how much "bow" a neck has. If the neck is too straight - not enough relief - the strings tend to buzz quite a bit and most players find this really annoying or even intolerable. If the neck is too bowed - too much relief - the strings can feel mushy or spongy as I call it. They're hard to press and you might wish you had schwartzenegger hands to manage them. Basically, there's a sweetspot for the amount of relief in a neck depending on the type of instrument and the players' style.

The Bridge. The source of proper string height and intonation. Changes in string height tend to be felt more near the high frets - too high and your upper fret noodling can feel clunky and sluggish, too low and your blistering solos can sound like cats being strangled. Once again, string height is a matter of preference and has a sweetspot for each player and instrument. Intonation (string length) on the otherhand should be bang-on. Each note on every string should ring true in pitch and string gauge has a lot to do with it. Bridges on electric instruments tend to have a great deal of flexibility in height and intonation adjustments while acoustics are usually more fixed - (bugger!).

Finally, all these things have to balance. If just one of them is out of wack it affects the others. A good setup has all of these elements working together keeping your axe user-friendly and totally hackable. For more information, stay connected to this page and get the gory details.