You wouldn’t put your shoes on before your socks, so why would you modify your nut slots before adjusting your trussrod? When you approach problems with your guitar, it always helps to have a working plan. This is how I approach setting up a guitar.
More than likely, if you’re in the market for a setup, you are either trying to make your guitar feel better, or are dealing with a problem like buzzing. Let’s say you are looking for the lowest action with the least amount of buzz. I always start with the strings. If there is a kink in the string, it could cause a mysterious isolated buzz, or play out of tune, or just sound bad. Starting off with new strings can never hurt.
Tech-savvy guitarists might take out rulers and gauges and go to town, but not everyone is that guy. Try following these steps—which are about the same whether your action is too low or too high.
• Play the high-E string starting at the 12th fret and going up to the highest fret. Adjust the height of the string at the saddle as low as you can while still having it ring as clear as you need, making sure you still have the amount of bending you require. You will find a small adjustment will add more to your clean bending than you may think, so go slow.
• Do the same thing with the low-E string. Remember, you can always go back and undo whatever adjustments you make. I will often err on the low side, hoping the amp will hide some buzzing in exchange for lower action.
• Tighten or loosen the trussrod until frets 1 through 7 play cleanly. The tighter the trussrod, the more buzz you