Q: I've been told that my guitar needs a "set up". What's involved in this, and why should I need it if the guitar is brand new?
A: The answer to this question can be found in the two pages dealing with the subject here - Set-ups
Q: My son changed the strings on his guitar and now they are rattling against the frets. Has he broken his guitar?
A: Probably not. Most likely he has put lighter strings on and this has compromised the guitar's set-up in a number of ways. If you are lucky, it may only need a truss rod adjustment, but you should prepare yourself for a basic set up at the least.
A: Sometimes I can repair them, sometimes not. If it's an odd design I've got a jar full of tuners which you can rummage through. Unless you are a guitar manufacturer or importer it's unlikely that individual tuners will be available as most are sold in sets. Unfortunately I can't afford to get involved in time consuming searches for this sort of the thing. Unless it's a historic instrument you are better off replacing the tuners as a complete set, and they will probably be an improvement on the originals.
Firstly, here is nothing wrong with your guitar; this is normal. The explanation is extremely technical. I cover it in some depth in an article called The real reason guitars don't sound in tune and why nothing can be done about it.
You should also check out the website www.midicode.com, one of the best web resources on tuning and temperament.
