Cigano Setup

t-bird

After years of rock and a little Jazz study, I am going to take on the Gypsy Rhythm book I got from this site.

I recently bought a used in Cigano GJ-0 in VGC for a great price. The action/playability is not good on this guitar. I have read this is often the case and they benefit greatly from a professional setup.

Do I need to take the guitar to someone who specializes in this style of guitar or will most luthiers know what to do? Any extra advice on the setup?

Jim Kaznosky

The video below is a good start. I'd do some searches here (top right) to see if folks have already addressed this question. The beautiful thing about this forum is that there is quite a bit of history in the archives.

Bob Holo

Haha.. Thanks Jim.

I've had people ask about the sort of "one size fits all" setup I recommend in this vid and if it's appropriate for everyone. The answer is: "Well... kinda sorta..." I was just trying to keep people away from some of the truly wacky setups you see... the "fingerstyle low" up to the "Freddie Green high" setups with zero frets that are either too high or too low to operate properly and an amount of relief that completely destroys intonation up and down the neck.

If you're coming from electric - and you have an introductory guitar (tend to be a bit stiffer) your hands might appreciate a lower setup at least initially. It's totally fine to go lower if you're able to play cleanly with proper technique. As your hand gains power and you get more responsive guitars, your preferred action might change... then again it may not. Stochelo used to play high action... then low... then higher... now low again. It probably depends on the guitar and amplification or what they're trying to do in the performance. I've seen Gonzalo give amazing performances with guitars of varied setups so I suppose it depends on many factors. Try starting with 2.65 to 2.7mm on the low E and 2.1 to 2.2 on the high E with 11/1000" relief and maybe 3/1000" eased over the body at the 21st fret starting at the 10th fret. Just tell the guy not to alter the top of the bridge - change the height at the bridge foot - or better yet, buy another bridge and have the setup done with that, so that when you get ready to trade-up you can pop on the original bridge - quick & simple and will save you money in the long run. As for the zero fret - just make sure the setup tech doesn't notch it or anything like that. The zero fret height is fairly self-evident. If fretting in the first position pulls the intonation way out (>3 or 4 cents) then it's probably too high. If chording in the middle of the neck creates string buzz between your hand and the zero-fret then it's too low.

Just let people know which city you're in or near - someone will probably know a good tech nearby.

t-bird

Thanks for the great post. I will get a tool and check the heights today.

I am in Portland, Oregon. There are a lot of places to take the guitar. Any personal recommendations?

Bob Holo

OK, that's easy. Mike Burdette at Portland Fretworks.

http://www.portlandfretworks.com/home.html

Any of the folks at PFW actually, but Mike plays GJ and knows the guitars well and started his career fretting classical guitars for Kenny Hill. There are similarities. Great crew there.

t-bird

Great. I've heard good things about Fretworks. Just looking for and endorsement for GJ style guitars. Sounds like Mike is the guy to take it to.

I measured the action at the 12th fret and found the Low E/6th string to be 4.4mm and the High E/1st string to be 3.7mm. Definitely higher than I would like. I have a few guitars I play somewhat regularly and none have action below 2.8mm on the Low E so I think I'll go with the specs you recommended in the video.

I will report back after my Fretworks setup. Thanks so much for the info.