Inside a Guitar Bench Check: MJT Jazzmaster

A good way to understand what you are paying for with a setup is to watch what actually gets checked. Today it is an MJT Jazzmaster style guitar on the bench, and the routine is the same one every guitar gets: look, listen, measure, plug in, play, and only then decide what it needs. It is the same process as our setup assessment, just narrated.

String height and fret ends first

String height on this one is all right. The fret ends get checked next, because when a neck dries out the ends go sharp and become uncomfortable against your hand. These are not too bad, but the frets are slightly grooved, so if a levelling happens the dressing takes care of that at the same time. The maple board is a little dirty too, and maple wants the careful approach, warm water, not lemon oil.

The Calgary factor, again

Especially in Calgary, a dry snap changes guitars overnight. When the temperature and humidity drop, a neck tends to back bow, which straightens it a touch and drops the action, and a guitar can go from playing amazingly well to buzzing in a few short hours. We also see a ton of guitars with high frets, and if the high frets never get taken care of, the guitar may never play quite as well as you want it to. That is why setup and fret levelling are so often used in tandem here: do both, and we can be extremely confident the guitar plays better and sounds better, whatever the weather does next.

Nut slots, and the player they belong to

The nut slots on this one are pretty good, a little low, and whether that is a problem depends entirely on the player. A light touch can get away with really low action. A player who gets a little rammy needs more clearance, and the guitar gets assessed and tweaked for their style, not for a chart. Same guitar, two right answers.

Tune it, plug it in, play everything

Before anything gets judged, the guitar comes up to pitch, because a neck under real tension behaves differently, and information gathered on a detuned guitar stops being accurate the moment you tune up. Then it gets plugged in: pickups working, pots quiet, no crackle. The intonation on this one reads sharp, which is a bridge adjustment, and then it gets a proper play, every register, bends included.

The honest verdict

It plays all right as it sits. But if the owner wants the action dropped, this one needs a levelling along with the setup, and here is the thing we will not do: send a guitar home playing great today, knowing the first dry week will bring the buzz out of those high frets. If it is on the bench, do it once, do it properly, and it goes back to its owner happy and healthy.

Common questions

Why do you tune the guitar to pitch before assessing it?

Because the neck behaves differently under full string tension. Assess a detuned guitar and the relief, action and buzz picture all change when it comes up to pitch, so the information you gathered is not as accurate as it needs to be.

What does it mean if my intonation is sharp?

Fretted notes read sharper than the open string, so chords go sour up the neck even when open strings are in tune. On most electrics it is a bridge saddle adjustment, and it is a standard part of a setup.

Why do setups and fret levellings so often go together in Calgary?

Because our climate back bows necks and drops action on its own. If a guitar has high frets and we set it up low without levelling, it can leave playing great and come back buzzing after the next weather swing. Doing both while it is on the bench is the honest fix.

Is an MJT or partscaster worth setting up properly?

Absolutely. Good bodies and necks with a proper setup, level frets and dialled intonation can play with instruments at several times the price. The setup is what unlocks it.

Want your guitar checked over the same way?

Bring your instrument into the shop during opening hours, no appointment needed. Assessments are free and we can usually do them while you’re here, so you leave knowing exactly what it needs. Hours and directions are on the contact page.

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