The wonders of mass manufacturing now mean that it’s possible to buy a brand new instrument from online retailers for less than a pair of trainers
Electric basses and guitars can be purchased for as little as £60 on the internet which, if you or your child want to learn to play, can be very appealing. Why pay £300 for something which could end up gathering dust within a year? While this makes a lot of sense, the reality is often that it’s the quality of these instruments which is behind them being abandoned in the first place
Instruments like these can be sold at such affordable prices not only because the components used are made of very low-cost materials, but also because they receive what could best be described as a “template setup” before they leave the factory – the truss-rod is set to a predetermined tension and the bridge is set to a standardised height and length. Whether the frets are levelled, crowned and polished before the strings are fitted is questionable too. It’s very possible that this configuration will suit some instruments, but highly unlikely that is will suit all instruments
As a consequence, a brand new instrument fresh out of the box will often have the strings very high off the fingerboard, rattle and buzz as strings are played and never really seem in tune. Also the fret ends can often be quite sharp along the neck edge. This can result in an unpleasant playing experience which is nothing but off-putting for the learner
A morning on the bench, levelling the frets and setting the action can turn what feels like a longbow into a perfectly serviceable instrument. While this is an additional cost to what was initially a bargain, it does make the playing experience a lot more pleasurable and so increase the odds of it being continued
Caveats and excuses . . .
It’s easy to say that tweaking the truss-rod and setting the action will cure many ills and, although true, the quality of the metals used can cause issues when adjusting. Budget instruments often use softer alloys or injection-moulded metal powder for the metallic components, meaning it’s very easy to strip a thread when adjusting a bridge saddle or truss-rod. While every care is taken to avoid this when making adjustments and these issues can often be remedied, the additional time required will increase the cost of the setup