Guitar Setup
Everything published on Music Adviser UK under Guitar Setup — reviews, buying advice and how-tos written for players and producers in the UK.
The Best Acoustic and Electrics for the Money
Best value isn't the cheapest guitar on the wall — it's the option that solves your actual problem. Here's where the smart spending really is.
Dean Guitar Company for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Loving the shape is a fine reason to start. Here's what genuinely matters when a Dean is your very first guitar.
Gibson Firebird for Beginners: A Complete Guide
The Firebird doesn't handle like anything else you've played — here's exactly what to expect in your first few sessions, and how to settle in quickly.
Common Superstrat Mistakes to Avoid
These are the mistakes that trip up superstrat players most reliably — fix them before they cost you time, money or a bad-sounding guitar.
Common Gibson Les Paul Mistakes to Avoid
The Les Paul is a brilliant guitar, but it has a few specific ways to go wrong. Here are the most common mistakes owners make, and the straightforward fixes for each one.
Locking Tuners for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Locking tuners clamp the string at the post instead of relying on windings. Here's what that means in practice and whether they're worth fitting.
Common Guitar Nut Mistakes to Avoid
Most guitar nut problems come from a handful of predictable mistakes. Here's what goes wrong and what to do instead.
Common Yamaha Pacifica Mistakes to Avoid
None of these mistakes are about being a bad player. Here's what trips people up with the Yamaha Pacifica, and how to fix each one.
Left Handed Guitar for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Starting left-handed means narrower choices but no compromise on quality or success. Pick a comfortable instrument, get it set up properly, find good instruction, and stick with 15 minutes a day. Hund...
Tanglewood Acoustic Guitar for Beginners: A Complete Guide
You don't need to understand every spec to start well. Here's the simple, honest way into your first Tanglewood acoustic guitar.
Epiphone for Beginners: A Complete Guide
A setup, an understanding of the pickup selector and sensible amp settings are the three foundations of a good start — this guide covers all three for new players.
Common Half Size Guitar Mistakes to Avoid
Most young learners struggle not because of lack of talent but because of avoidable mistakes made at the buying and setup stage. These are the ones that matter most.
Common Gibson Guitars Mistakes to Avoid
The mistakes I see people make with Gibson guitars again and again, and why each one costs more than buyers realise at the time.
Common Tuner App Mistakes to Avoid
Using a tuner app sounds foolproof, but a handful of easy mistakes can leave your instrument still sounding off. Here is what to watch out for.
Yamaha F310: A Complete Buyer's Guide
What to actually check before buying a Yamaha F310 — construction details, what's genuinely included, amplification options, and how it stacks up against its closest rivals.
How to Set Up and Use Guitar Polish
Applying polish to your guitar's finish correctly takes only a few minutes — this guide covers the preparation, application and buffing technique to get it right.
Common Squier Electric Guitar Mistakes to Avoid
Squier guitars are reliable, but players consistently make avoidable mistakes that make them harder to play and sound worse than they should. This guide covers the most common errors and how to fix th...
How to Set Up and Use Adam Jones Tool
A step-by-step guide to building and configuring an Adam Jones–style guitar rig: signal chain order, Mesa/Boogie settings, wah configuration, and how to dial in the tone.
Left Handed Acoustic Guitars: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Selection is narrower and the pitfalls are different. Here's how to actually buy the right left-handed acoustic guitar.
Tanglewood Guitars: A Complete Buyer's Guide
What to actually check before buying a Tanglewood, and how to avoid paying for specs you won't use.
Guitar Frets: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Most guitars are sold without any discussion of their frets — but fret material and size affect playability and longevity significantly. Here is what to look for.
Parlour Guitar: A Complete Buyer's Guide
No hype, just the checks that matter: here's what to look for before you buy a parlour guitar, and what you can safely skip.
Fender Stratocaster for Beginners: A Complete Guide
The Fender Stratocaster is one of the best electric guitars to start on. This beginner's guide covers the controls, tremolo, string gauges, tone, and what you actually need to get started.
How to Set Up and Use 8 String Guitar
A well-set-up 8-string guitar plays very differently from a factory-fresh one. Here is how to set the action, intonation and pickup height, and how to handle the muting extended range demands.
Guitar Setup is filed under
All topics
Acoustic Guitar
An acoustic guitar is a versatile steel-string instrument for strumming, fingerstyle, songwriting and live performance.
23 topics
Electric Guitar
A versatile amplified instrument for rhythm, lead and genre-spanning performance, from clean tones to high-gain sounds.
27 topics
ESP
High-performance electric guitars with fast playability, strong output and a bold look suited to rock and metal.
Fender Stratocaster
The fender stratocaster is a versatile electric guitar known for bright tones, comfort and wide genre appeal.
8 topics
Gibson Sg
The Gibson SG is a lightweight, high-output electric guitar with fast playability and bold stage appeal.
3 topics
Guitar Tuners
Reliable tuning hardware for acoustic, electric and bass guitars, with options for upgrades, replacements and classic re...
1 topic
Les Paul
Iconic solid-body electrics known for sustain, thick tone and a classic rock and blues feel.
14 topics
Telecaster
The Telecaster delivers bright tone, simple controls and reliable versatility for stage, studio and rehearsal.
17 topics
