These are my starting points. They’re Fender’s published factory specs, which most electrics are close to. From here I adjust for how you play: a heavy picking hand needs more height, a light touch can go lower. Adjust in this order, because each step changes the ones after it.
You’ll need the guitar tuned to pitch with the strings you’ll be using, a tuner, a capo, feeler gauges, a steel rule marked in millimetres or 64ths of an inch, the right truss rod key, and the screwdriver or hex key that fits your saddles.
1. Neck relief
Relief is the slight forward bow in the neck. Put a capo on the first fret and hold the low E down at the last fret. Measure the gap between the top of the 8th fret and the bottom of the string.
| Fingerboard radius | Relief |
|---|---|
| 7.25″ (vintage Fender) | 0.30 mm (0.012″) |
| 9.5″–12″ (most modern electrics) | 0.25 mm (0.010″) |
| 15″–17″ (flatter boards) | 0.20 mm (0.008″) |
| Acoustic | 0.08–0.13 mm (0.003–0.005″) |
| Bass, 9.5″–12″ | 0.30 mm (0.012″) |
Adjust it with the truss rod, a quarter turn at most at a time. Looking down the neck from the headstock, turning the nut clockwise tightens the rod and reduces relief; anticlockwise adds relief. Then retune and give the neck a few minutes to settle. Some vintage-style Fenders adjust at the heel and need the neck off; bring those in. If the truss rod nut is stiff or won’t turn, stop and bring the guitar in. A truss rod that snaps is a much bigger repair than a setup.
2. String height
Take the capo off. Measure from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string, at the 17th fret (the 12th on an acoustic).
| Instrument | Bass side | Treble side |
|---|---|---|
| Electric, 7.25″ radius | 2.0 mm (5/64″) | 2.0 mm (5/64″) |
| Electric, 9.5″–12″ | 1.6 mm (4/64″) | 1.6 mm (4/64″) |
| Electric, 15″–17″ | 1.6 mm (4/64″) | 1.2 mm (3/64″) |
| Acoustic, 12th fret | 2.3 mm | 1.9 mm |
| Bass | 2.4 mm (6/64″) | 2.4 mm (6/64″) |
Raise or lower each saddle with its height screws; on a two-post bridge, turn the post thumbwheels. Set the strings in between to follow the curve of the fingerboard. On an acoustic, lowering the action means sanding the bottom of the saddle, and too much means a new saddle, so I’d book that in. I don’t recommend adjusting nut height yourself. File a nut slot too low and the only fix is a new nut.
3. Intonation
Play the 12th-fret harmonic on each string, then the fretted note at the 12th fret, and compare them on a tuner.
- Fretted note sharp: move the saddle back, away from the neck.
- Fretted note flat: move the saddle forward, towards the neck.
Retune after every adjustment, and check again whenever you change string gauge or tuning.
4. Pickup height
Hold the string down at the last fret. Measure from the bottom of the string to the top of the pole piece, on both the bass and treble side.
| Pickup | Bass side | Treble side |
|---|---|---|
| Vintage-style single coil | 2.4 mm (6/64″) | 2.0 mm (5/64″) |
| Hotter single coil | 3.2 mm (8/64″) | 2.4 mm (6/64″) |
| Humbucker | 1.6 mm (4/64″) | 1.6 mm (4/64″) |
Adjust with the pickup’s mounting screws, one on each side: screw in to lower it. Neck pickups often sound better set a little lower than this. Set too close, single coils pull on the strings magnetically. That causes a warbling, out-of-tune sound on the low strings, worst on the low strings fretted above the 12th fret.
When a setup isn’t enough
If you can’t get the action low without buzzing in one area of the neck, the frets are probably uneven. That’s a fret level and dress, not a setup. It’s on the repairs page.