A quick guide to guitar setup

Setting up a guitar is pretty easy with the right tools.  The first step I take is to put on new strings and tune the guitar.  Next, you need to check that the curvature of the neck is ok.  It usually is acceptable from the factory, but sometimes a bit of adjustment to the truss rod is needed.  The truss rod is a steel rod that runs the length of the neck on the inside, and the amount of tension on it determines how curved the neck will be.  This can be a tricky adjustment as you need to get the height of the strings right (along with the bridge height).  Proper truss rod adjustment is how you prevent strings from buzzing on frets.  Once the neck is adjusted, you should be able to fret any note along the neck with no buzz and the strings should not be too high off the fretboard.  The next step is to set up the intonation of the guitar.  This means that plucking an open string should produce a tone exactly one octave lower than a fretted note at the 12th fret.  This adjustment is usually made at the bridge with a small screwdriver.  It's pretty easy.  Just hook up the guitar to a tuner and check to see if the octave is correct at the 12th fret and adjust as needed.  This is a common adjustment that may need to be made when changing string gauges or brands.  Finally, retune, make sure that the pickups are at a proper height and you are ready to play!

Setting up a tremolo is significantly more difficult and can be quite a pain.  The tension of the springs holding the tremolo needs to be set so that the bridge floats if it is supposed to float (like a Floyd Rose bridge), or the tension needs to be sufficient to hold the bridge down against the tension of the strings.  Floating tremolos are set up by tuning the guitar, adjusting the springs, and retuning the guitar.  It can be very time consuming.  Standard tremolos are much more simple as you just have to make sure that the springs have enough tension to hold the bridge down, then retune the guitar.  Simple!