Matheas Guitars - Information about Matheas setup services

66 Westgarth Street
Fitzroy, Melbourne
Victoria 3065
ABN 99437344298
Ph/Fax : +613 9415 9888
Email Matheas Guitars

: Setup Services :

Setup Services

Factory setup Services
Customised Setup Services
Upgrades for the following
Mathaes Roadworthy Service

Setup Information

Setup requirements
What setup best suits me?
The perfect electric guitar setup
Try before you Buy

Also see Things to Know

Factory Setup Services

To the following Specifications

Maton
CF Martin
Ibanez
Gibson
Epiphone
Fender
PRS
Gretsch
And many others

A Matheas Guitars Factory Setup includes the following

A Matheas Guitars Factory Setup includes the following:

Inspection and Evaluation
Re-string with factory recommended guage
Action-Set String Clearances at Nut and Bridge to factory pecifications Set Neck Relief (truss rod adjustment)
Calibrate Tremolo Unit or Bridge
Intonation (Set the string length compensation)
Tune to your open string tuning choice using state of the art real time electronic tuners.
Set Pickup/Polepiece height
Clean and Polish
Final inspection & testing

Customised Setup Services

For Electric Guitar Styles to suit

Shred
Rock
Blues Rock
Electric Slide
Altered tunings
Heavy Metal
Low tuned Heavy Metal
Seven String electric
Baritone conversion
And many others click here for more

Matheas Customised Setup

A Matheas Customised Electric Guitar Setup
includes the following :

Inspection & Evaluation
Calibrate Guitar
mprove stability of string anchors
Preference of string guage and brand
Open String Tuning
Set String Clearances At Nut
Set String Clearances At Bridge
Set Neck Relief
Set String Length Compensation
Correct Setting of Strings At Nut and Saddles
Regulate vibrato system
Stabilize pickup/Polepiece heights
Service electrics
Clean & polish
Final inspection and testing

Additional work is sometimes required to the...

Fretboard Surface and Fretboard Radius<
Milling or replacement of the Fretwire
Upgrading or modifying of the vibrato unit
Repairing or replacing the electronics
Upgrading or modifying pickups to revoice your sound

For Acoustic Guitar styles to suit

Strumming
Fingerpicking
Bluegrass
12 String
Low electric guitar specification
Altered tunings

For Nylon String Guitars styles to suit

Concert Classical
Flamenco
Folk & Latin Styles
Altered Tunings

For Electric Bass Guitars styles to suit

Slap Bass
Fretless Bass
Altered Tunings
Piccolo

For Archtop Guitars styles to suit

Flat wound Strings
Round wound Strings
Plain G string bridge
Low electric set up

Upgrades

Upgrades can be made for all makes and models, these are some of the most common:

Telecasters
Stratocasters
Jaguars
Jazzmasters
Les Pauls
SG s
ES 335
Gretsch
Ibanez Electrics
PRS wrapover bridges
Danelectro

In addition to the factory setups I have developed techniques to enhance the performance of the above instruments and many others.

The following example is based on a Jazzmaster that has no neck other problems.

The Fender Jazzmaster Guitar Improvement Upgrade

This upgrade is completely reversible having no permanent impact to the guitar.

With some Jazzmasters it is not uncommon for the strings to slip out of the saddles with normal strumming force; saddles tend to rattle from side to side, giving you a sense of false tones and intonation; uneven distribution of the geometry of the string.

This particular upgrade would result in a more responsive Jazzmaster, firmer playability, even action, reduced buzzes and rattles, improved intonation and a more mechanically reliable and stable guitar.

My solution involves

Replacing the saddles from Jazzmaster with Mustang saddles that have a machined slot for a firm seating for the string.
Fabricating shims between the saddles and supports on both outer strings to push the saddles together to stop movement.
Fabricating a tapered wedge made of maple, which sits between the neck and the neck pocket, changing the incline of the neck. This geometry dictates that the bridge needs to sit higher to accommodate the new neck angle, which results in firmer seating of the strings and pressure on the saddle.

Matheas Roadworthy Service

Telecasters
Stratocasters
Jaguars
Jazzmasters
Les Pauls
SG s
ES 335
Gretsch
Ibanez Electrics
PRS wrapover bridges
Danelectro

Matheas Roadworthy Service

Individual Care & Attention to your guitar, bass, acoustic, mandoun, bouzouki or any stringed instrument.

Neck Assessment
Remove Strings
Check Electrics
Clean Scratchy Pots
Fret Dress - Light Recrown, Buff, and Polish Frets
Oil Fingerboard
Re-String - Tie special knot to keep in tune-necessary Tune to achieve the correct break angle at nut
Lubricate moving parts
Calibrate Tremolo Unit
Set Strings clearances at nut and ridge (action)
Set neck relief
Set string length compensation (intonation)
Set pickup height
Test play
Clean and polish

Setup Information

A setup is usually required for some of the following reasons;

You would like to personalise the settings to suit your sound & playing style
When there are any changes to settings of your guitar, and you would like to return to the original settings.
These may include string guage, string height settings and open string tuning.
Environmental factors have altered the settings of your guitar.
Strings are buzzing.
Strings are breaking
Guitar is not staying in tune.
The Tremolo system is not returning to pitch.
Electronics are intermittent cutting out or not working at all.
The pickups are squealing, microphonic or unbalanced between strings

What setup best suits me?

At Matheas Guitars we understand the difficulty in deciding what set may best suit you. In order to help you decide we have a wide selection of guitars with varying setups. This service is so you can come to a conclusion as to which setup would best suit your playing style.

Want to Try before you buy?

The perfect electric guitar setup

Each musician has their own playing style. Therefore, standard factory specifications will not always suit you. Ask yourself these questions:

How is your picking technique?
Are you heavy handed and use a heavy pick, or are you light handed and use left hand legato for that progressive rock style?
Do you find you get fret buzz when playing at normal technique or find it very uncomfortable to hold down chords for normal periods of time?
Are notes choking out when you bend strings in the upper register of your guitar?
When playing chords, are some perfectly in tune while changing position and others sound bitterly out of tune?

Achieving the perfect setup for you starts with understanding what your musical requirements are, and the limitations of your instrument. The make and model of each instrument have their own individual peculiarities, as well as mechanical and physical differences.

Take these variations into consideration:

String guage (thickness)
Tuning of open strings
Scale length of your instrument
Fretwire dimension
Fingerboard radius
String clearance at bridge
String clearance at nut
Neck relief (deliberate neck curvature)
String length compensation (intonation settings)
Flexibility of neck and soundboard
Right hand and left hand techniques
Your musical style
Tremolo bridge setting

Whether you are after a simple setup or a complete upgrade, our aim is to fine-tune your instrument to your playing style. If you are not sure of the condition of your prized instrument and how it should be setup, feel free to make a time for an inspection, where we can discuss your musical requirements and instruments' needs. During your visit we will inspect the instrument to see if it is in a satisfactory condition and make any necessary adjustments to bring it back to its intended factory specifications. This will suffice for general playing styles.

What is the right setup for me ?

If you are not sure of the condition of your prized instrument and how it should be setup call and make a time for an inspection. Whether if it is a Maton, Fender, Gibson, Epiphone or custom, we can discuss your instruments potential.
During your visit we will inspect the instrument to see if it is in satifactory condition and make any necessary adjustments to bring it back to its intended factory specifications for a small fee. This will suffice for general playing styles.

MATHEAS ELECTRIC GUITAR SETUPS
Set to manufacturers recommended specifications

To Maton's factory specification
To Gibson's factory specification
To Fender's factory specification
To Gretsch's factory specification
To Ibanez's factory specification
and many many more

Examples of the pro's setups
Have you ever wondered how a progressive shredder like Steve Vai or an electric southern blues rocker like Stevie Ray Vaughn had their guitars setup.Two extremely different sounding players and techniques to match. Compare the following setups.

Guitarist	Steve Vai	Stevie Ray Vaughn
Instrument	Ibanez Jem	60's Fender Stratocaster
1/ String guage	9 to 42	13 to 58
2/ Tuning of open strings	Concert pitch	E flat (1 semitone below concert)
3/ Scale Length	25.5'' ( 647.7 mm)	25.5'' ( 647.7 mm)
4/ Fretwire dimension	3mm wide by 1.4 mm	Dunlop 6000 (similar to Vai's)
5/ Fingerboard radius	16'' diameter	7.25'' compounded to 12'' at last fret
6/ String clearances at bridge	6th = 1.2mm, 1st = 1mm	6=2.8mm, 1st = 2mm
7/ String clearances at nut	N/A	6=0.45mm, 1st= 0.3mm
8/ Neck Relief	straight	0.3mm at 9th fret
9/ String length compensation	Buzz Feiten tuning system	N/A
10/ Flexibility in neck	Thin neck	Thicker neck, more stable
11/ Right / Left hand technique	Fluid,light touch	Aggressive strong attack
12/ Musical style	Progressive rock guitar	Southern electric blues/rock

Note some of the above specifications were borrowed from Dan Erlewines guitar repair books (GPI Books, Miller Freeman print)

By making simple but specific adjustments, chances are your instrument 's performance will be improved and personalised to suit your music and your playing style.
Have a think about the above parameters and feel free to discuss any quiries you might have during your next visit.

Customised electric guitar setups by MATHEAS GUITARS

1/ Shredders Setup (eg Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Beck ,Frank Gambale etc.) Sweep pickers,Right hand tappers,linear legato lines with left hand, slurring, sliding, hammer on, pull offs at blistering speed with ease.

2/ Rock Setup (Angus Young, Kiss, Rose Tattoo) Powerfull rhythm chord style,aim for clear firm sound large dynamic range.

3/ Blues Rock setup

4/ Modern Metal Tuned to low pitches (eg Tool, Limp Bizkit, Order of Chaos,) Corrections are made to improve the intonation and perfomance of the fret board.Strings move in a larger pattern when tuned to lower pitches than concert pitch.

5/ Jazz guitar

6/ Electric Slide

If your ready to have the performance of your guitar upgraded contact us to arrage a time.

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