Some guitars are so nice you can open the box and they play well right away. Experienced players, though, know that even the best out-of-the-box guitars can play better with a full setup.
At Wagner Music, we take the task of guitar setups very seriously. There are quick and easy things to do which will result in a slightly lower action. We go far beyond that.

We start by truing the neck. Then we remove the nut, and drop the pickups and bridge out of harms way. The guitar gets braced on a padded bench and the frets are milled to much closer tolerances than to which they could possibly have been installed. The first few strokes of the long, smooth acting cutter reveal any special problem areas. We make decisions about the neck adjustment or concentration of cutting force based on any special anomalies we find at this stage. When the frets have been trued to the closest accuracy attainable by a 30 inch stroke of finely milled cutting surface coated with 600 grit, we recrown the arch of the frets so that they play from true center.
 

Then we set the bridge in the right place and we adjust the height of the strings at the 12th fret. The bass strings are set a little higher than the treble, for many good reasons. We cut each nut slot its own best depth.

Each string is different. With new strings, we set the harmonics at the bridge on guitars that have those adjustments. We make sure the 12th and 17th fret harmonics are true. We tighten all the nuts, screws, and thing-a-ma-jigs.
 

 The guitar is then tested. We play each fret, each string with a bare finger first, to cause a round vibrational pattern that is demanding at close tolerances. Then we use a stiff pick and attack the strings with moderate pressure. We listen for irregular buzzes. We don't just fix one bad fret. If there's a problem, they all get milled again together. We listen to the electronics, and adjust the pickups for optimal output. If the new pots and switches are noisy, we treat them or replace them.
 

We play and teach string instruments. We want the best of our own instruments and we know how to give you the best from yours.

Our own unique tools allow us to leave a slow crown that wears more slowly in the future than the usual fast crown. 0000 steel wool completes the process at a gloss. The finished frets play true all over the neck. Bends and vibratos are quiet. No scratching. This doesn't happen out of the box. It doesn't happen in ten minutes with an allen wrench and a flat file.