-- Guitar No. 1 -- 0:00 Introduction to Guitar Setup 2:59 Cleaning & Oiling the Fretboard 10:05 Checking Pot Wiring & Cleaning the Pots 13:42 Checking Pickup Wiring 24:32 Checking the Frets and Buffing Fretboard 33:04 Notes on Setting Action & Intonation 43:10 Nut Height & Action 47:47 How to Determine Action Height 51:10 Setting the Intonation 1:01:49 Pickup & Individual Pole Height Adjustment 1:10:44 Checking Output Jack Wiring 1:11:32 Plugging & Fixing a Loose Screw Hole 1:16:15 Finishing Touches 1:17:59 Notes on Bridge Radius and Adjustment -- Guitar No. 2 -- 1:20:30 A Pawn Shop Find 1:21:00 Dry Fretboard Treatment 1:27:07 Disassembling Pickguard & Cleaning the Pots 1:29:33 Cleaning a Dirty Guitar Body 1:30:31 Plugging & Fixing Another Few Loose Screw Holes 1:32:08 Removing Fake Sharpie Signatures from Pickguard 1:34:26 Cleaning & Installing the Tremolo 1:39:05 Setting the Neck & Adjusting Neck Angle 1:40:58 Adjusting Tremolo and Setting Tremolo Spring Tension 1:43:14 Bolt-On Neck Back-Angle Shimming 1:47:12 Adjusting Saddles, Setting the Intonation, and String Trees 1:57:43 Notes on Electronics & Spring Tension 2:01:02 Single Coil Pickup Adjustment and Rewiring 2:08:47 Notes on Loose Tuning Machines 2:11:09 Loose Frets -- Guitar No. 3 -- 2:13:49 Identifying the Need for a Truss Rod Adjustment 2:16:46 Common Floyd Rose Tremolo Issues 2:26:53 Outro on Basic Guitar Setups
Probably single-handedly step by step the best walk-through video on a basic setup. Thanks for taking the time to do this, guys like me that don't have access to luthier's have to do it all on their own and this is super helpful.
Because the dislike feature is one of the only ways for a user to let the algorithm know that they're not interested in this kind of video, and want to see it less in future. Given that the user clicked on the video, _then_ disliked it, it also serves as a useful signal to both the algorithm and the uploader that there's a mismatch between the kind of people that will click on their video, and the kind of people that will watch their video, which they need to address by changing the thumbnail, title, or making different content in future.
@@Asdayasman Yes that is one of the ways to show that users are not interested. Another way that MIGHT be better is hitting the "not interested" button lol! But I know, most people probably don't even know that feature exists.
Thank you Will. I was a Technician for 38 years and worked on Radars and chassis on the Hawk Radar System and later in my career I worked on Radars for the Federal Aviation Administration which still had Tubes in their circuits. I spent about 4 years in the US Army as an Instructor on the Hawk Pulse Radar Systems and enjoyed that a lot.You are someone that really cares about the students that you speak to here. I hope everyone realizes just how valuable that these videos really are. I really appreciate the way you talk through as well as demonstrate how to do all of the different types of repairs that you perform. You are a great Instructor and I consider your videos a Master Class of Preventative as well as Corrective Maintenance. Great job Will, as usual.
Use surgical spirit, lighter fuel isn't pure Napha. After cleaning with surgical spirit use a good fret board conditioner, voila! But this set up video is the best maintanence upload yet, a couple of things i may do differently and don't agree with but that's how we learn by sharing, this gentleman has done a lot of novice guitarists a great service furnishing others with the info they need to keep their instrument tip top, with great tutorials like this there really is no excuse.
He is the ONLY one I’ve seen that doesn’t just focus on the height of the Nut Slots which are ALWAYS high (Unless you buy a PRS because they actually care about how your guitar plays the moment you pick it up!) but addresses the fact that once you have the slot filed down far enough each string should be a Half-Step from Open at the 1st Fret and the rest of your setup builds from there. Bravo!!
Very informative video. Judging by your attention to detail I can you tell you are a true craftsman and take pride in your work and willing to put forth extra effort for your customers. I am interested in taking your course once I have the money. Thanks for the quality video.
No luthiers in my town as well, so this vid has become super helpful. Thanks a bunch for investing your time & effort to put together this step by step guide. Have a great day!
I know of strat owners who switch the placement of the middle and bridge pickups as an "easy" way to get a combined front and bridge sound in the 2nd position. With this arrangement, position 1=Front, 2=Front/Bridge, 3=Bridge, 4=Mid/Bridge, 5=Mid, losing the Front/Mid combination.
Super awesome. You made so many 'mysteries' (especially about intonation and the importance of the nut setup being right) melt away before me. Such great advice man, Keep it up, music is all about feeling, and so is your methodology of setting up the instrument that creates it. Thank you!!
Thanks for this video gave me a great understanding on how to set up truss rod adjustment, floyd rose, string height, intonation and most of all finding the perfect balance between string tension and spring tension for perfect float.
Great video as I am rebuilding a Fender Starcaster from the neck and body up. At 2:05 in the video you were talking about the pickup magnet being changed and 'why would anyone do that'. Reversing the magnet [turning it over ] in the middle pickup position, changes the magnetic field and turns the #2 and #4 switch position into a neck and bridge pickup humbuckers. It's cheaper than buying Fender Jazzmaster pickups or Seymour Duncan California 50s SSl pickups where the middle pickups are reverse wound to make humbuckers at 2 and 4. Some attempted this and then put the reversed magnet pickup back in the original position at the bridge instead of in the middle.
Doctor, this is a Great video, for people who do work on thier own guitars , but do not understand all the in and outs, very informative , thank you, Cousin Figel
I use Windex to clean my fretboards, and then I oil with trombone slide oil. The Windex cleans really good, but will cut and remove the oil, which is what I want because I want to lift all of the dirt, gunk, sweat, etc. from playing out of the fretboard. The slide oil is a very clean, thin, mineral oil. I've used this for around 30 years now with no issues. I do this maybe once every month or two.
Great instruction video - both for setting a hardtail and a tremolo guitar up. Thank you so much for taking your time andn effort to share these important skills to set up and maintain our guitars.
Thanks Will! Glad I found you (better late than...) I am getting the confidence (thru reliable information like yours) to more deeply maintain my own guitars - its a win/win for me and the guitars! Just a note tho': at the beginning where you are mentioning using digital calipers to figure out string gauge, you say "set it on millimeters" (1:48) and proceed to measure the strings. Actually, string gauges are measured in (thousandths of) inches. Using the same calipers set on millimeters, I measure my 6th (low E) string at 1.25 mm - it is actually 0.046 inches; similarly my 0.010 " high E (1st string) measures about 0.30 mm.. I believe you meant to say "set it on inches" - you get better results! :) Thanks again!
I like linseed oil for Rosewood and other unfinished woods. Rub on a thin coat then rub it off after a seconds to a minute or two. Give some time to dry and it's like playing on glass. Really fills those grains nicely.
Dude you are very thorough, I'm wanting to get into this line of work and I'm scared of failure, do you have any advice and what would you charge for me to ship a guitar to you for a set up by you. I think you could make my Washburn rx50f sound amazing. Do you have any advice to someone just getting into guitar work?
Great video that helped me with my ESP/LTD Eclipse😁 Why does the neck pickup look loke it was originally made for the bridge position or was it wired in backwards?
May I suggest a procedure to employ when you're confronted with rusted Fender bridge parts (intonation screws, springs)? Take the entire bridge off the body and dismantle it. Label each saddle (1 through 6) if it makes a difference due to differing notch sizes. Into a glass vessel, pour a little C-L-R liquid and drop the intonating adjusting screws, the height adjusting set screws, and the intonation adjusting screws into the undiluted solution. Let it sit in solution for about an hour, remove the components, and rinse in clean, fresh water. Dry all the parts in a cheesecloth sac and compressed air. Then, using a Dremel rotary tool or similar, and tweezers which have a secure grip, use a wire brush attachment on the tool to remove any remaining traces of rust. This will also bring back the metal parts' luster. It is somewhat time-consuming, but your clients will think that you provided a new bridge to them.
Great info - just one point on the calipers - you mention in the beginning setting them to millimeters. That would be mils / inches to measure strings. A .010 string (10 mils) is actually .0254 mm, 10/1000th of an inch. That's all the math I know... lol. mil v millimeter.....
Very good information about getting numbers out of your head. The guitar still thinks it's a tree.... if you listen and pay attention the guitar will tell you exactly what it needs. Great video, I just subscribed.
Me as well, yes perfect for a light touch. With that said, intonation is fluid and virtually never perfect on a guitar. Just doing the best you can is as good as it gets
Hey Will ! .. off topic and sorry for a late reply but I'm mostly off grid since a while .. however here we go : set on private .. best wishes and happy new year !
Another comment , You are so correct. I took my ‘69 SG to my luthier Russ , the first time I had been to a luthier. He buffed ever piece of hardware on tha thing and it looks fantastic! I haven’t taken any of my guitars to anyone else!
I paid 85 for a set up at long and mcquade and they fucked my 3k Martin now im scared to take anything in im ordering a kit and learning on my first ever guitar
Iam not a Luthier but I've been doing timber frame construction for 40 years. natural oils in the wood will also evaporate out over time so it is important to keep some kind of oil on it. WHat you are using is the best. penetrating oils like 3 in 1 or wd 40 can really swell the wood. As you say though, too much of anyting ain't good fer yer wood!
WOW ! First time watcher and I’m subbed! I’ve just been drawn in to a 2 hour vid, and I was caught hook line and sinker,- watched every minute! No pretensions, just how to do the job. Cracking stuff- keep it coming I’m hooked Great job
Hi, when setting up the output amplitude of the pickups, the initial transverse adjustment, would a cheapish decibel meter help? I kinda had trouble telling the difference in levels, when you were adjusting the height screws. I guess I don't have your practised ear, or am tone deaf, as I've been told 😂. Love the video though!! And yes, to an Aussie, you do sound like Bill Murray, with a Groundhog cold 🙂👍.
Thanks for the tip about the spring on the bridge. I thought I had bad fret buzz, but it was just the spring. Bent the spring and no more buzz. Thanks man
Many thanks for this. I use a local band tech for my son's first set up (solid experienced guy) but after this it's down to me so this is very helpful thanks. One thing he recommends on all new Gibsons is to recut the nut along with your preferred new strings (11s in the case of my son). Gibson typically don't cut the nut well on a new guitar (even a Standard). This includes rounding off the back edge of the grooves to the tuners where there can be a burr that catches the strings. A technician with skill can also deepen the cut a touch if the string height is excessive at the nut. Add to this a check of the tuners and bridge for tightness and you shouldn't have any tuning instability. Normally with this procedure and a half decent nut, no lubricant (or upgrade parts like Schallers) are needed. Of course you still need to check the neck relief, intonation etc as the guitar (wood) will expand and contract in travel. We traded up to an LP and a J45 acoustic 18 months ago, gigged for this period and no tuning instability on either - my son eats strings but he does play quite aggressively and I think this is an age / experience thing. Here he is on his backup Taylor acoustic, Smells Like Teen Spirit: th-cam.com/video/w49TQOr9fss/w-d-xo.html - cheers.
I have a question. I am making my first electric guitar and I want the string entrance thru the back as this guitar is. First what is that called? And where would I buy the individual cylinders? Sorry never seen one like that before
buy a package of flat brass shim stock because there may be a variation in the wall thickness of a coke can. (a coke can is a hydroformed drawn shell )
Thanks for having so much patience and taking the time to really make sense about every step necessary to do a great job.you are the best ive seen so thanks again Will.
I love your channel! I'm watching this whole video and at the end it got so funny when you started describing the Floyd Rose, and how it works, and how it could go up, and how the screws could turn, and I can only imagine somebody listening to this in disbelief & befuddlement -It just kept getting funnier and funnier. I had to watch it over again because it's like listening to an Abbot & Costello Schtick. 🤣😆🤪
What oils are you putting back in to the neck ? ? Really, the only oils that are good to put back in to the neck are the oils that were lost. Great video though ! ! Well done ! !
Hey Will, I noticed that you checked for neck bow using a straight edge (looking for light under straight edge) but you did this with the strings off first. At this time you mentioned adjusting truss rod. Later you also talk about the truss rod, but with the strings on. I am confused, as I have always heard we should adjust truss rod with the strings on and tuned up. Can you help me with the confusion? Is it best to adjust truss rod initially with strings off to make neck dead straight with itself, then later with strings on and tuned we again truss adjust but to give it some relief?
On the 5 way switch if intentional somebody might have wanted the split position to be between the bridge and the neck not the middle and neck?? If done intentionally on the squire
I went to your site and I didn't see anything related to you, your history, experience. I saw something that said cart, and checkout which I thought was a little weird because the only thing I saw for sale was your courses. Am I missing something here ? ? Is there other merchandise like pickups, guitar bodies, wiring harnesses ? Thanks.
The Squier has a great pool rout, ripe for any Pups you like with minimun work, how cools that? And it looks stock too with that big number 7 marked in there. I haven't come across one that has a pool rout from stock before, i've had to put the Router to them myself for that, cool.
Hey Will, hope you're doing fine. I searched through your channel to find an older video of yours, which was about the psychology of guitarists and held some deep wisdom in my opinion. Can I still find it somewhere?
How did you go about getting those photos imprinted on your fretboard? So Cool!!! Also would it be safe or a bad idea to get my fretboard air brush painted?
First, I would like to say, I think it's awesome for you to take the time to help others get a more clear understanding of the what, why, and how to do a proper guitar set up. Unfortunately, it appears to me, that you seem to not care about protecting the guitar. Why do I feel this way? it's only because you've taken no steps to protect the neck, neck joint, head stock, and head stock joints. As you begin, the guitar is clearly elevated off the workbench, as you can see from the shadowed areas under the top and bottom horns, meaning the head stock is resting on the workbench at the very tip, and it's made an elevation to the guitar, which is already how I wouldn't treat my own guitar, let alone a guitar I'm working on for a client/friend. but then you apply pressure to it rubbing to clean off the finger board. At 4:36 you can see by the head stock dropping onto the edge of the workbench it's holding all the guitar's weight as well as any applied pressure from your cleaning. For a short time this could work, but it's definitely not what a professional luthier would ever do. Help is one thing, but this could potentially hurt the guitar. Other than that, top job on the whole thing, and I apologize if I seem to come off as rude, I'm just trying to help others the way you have, by noting this small detail which, let's be honest, could harm a guitar if done by someone without experience in this. Cheers mate!! Thumbs up on this!
@@WillsEasyGuitar You've got me on that, I do worry too much about the little things, but some of the price tags for some guitars make taking chances like this not worth the risk is all I'm trying to say. Thanks man! {Thinking mainly about some Gibson LPs or lower end models that already have weak joints by design.)
hey Will, I just found your channel and have been digging your videos. It's really cool how much knowledge you share for us all. Thanks for the uploads!
wow.... your presentation is about as good as it gets. I have learned so much in a couple of hours. Thank you so much for doing this video. I'm going to check out your other videos on your web site.
My strat is in perfect tune and then when I try to tune at the 12th fret each string is so far out of tune ,I can’t tell which way to intonate please help?
Hey Will, I remembered just now that you're a big fan of f(x) and if you did not know, one of the singers SULLI committed suicide just a few days ago. She is now in our memories. RIP Sulli , she was only 25.
Any jobs? Sorry I have to stet up fret level, dress and cut the nut and do a full set up within the hour, I’ve done two whilst watching this vid, can I have a job in sunny USA?les Paul’s saddle is usually bridge to tailpiece in terms of intonation, do I have to come back to the us of a?
-- Guitar No. 1 --
0:00 Introduction to Guitar Setup
2:59 Cleaning & Oiling the Fretboard
10:05 Checking Pot Wiring & Cleaning the Pots
13:42 Checking Pickup Wiring
24:32 Checking the Frets and Buffing Fretboard
33:04 Notes on Setting Action & Intonation
43:10 Nut Height & Action
47:47 How to Determine Action Height
51:10 Setting the Intonation
1:01:49 Pickup & Individual Pole Height Adjustment
1:10:44 Checking Output Jack Wiring
1:11:32 Plugging & Fixing a Loose Screw Hole
1:16:15 Finishing Touches
1:17:59 Notes on Bridge Radius and Adjustment
-- Guitar No. 2 --
1:20:30 A Pawn Shop Find
1:21:00 Dry Fretboard Treatment
1:27:07 Disassembling Pickguard & Cleaning the Pots
1:29:33 Cleaning a Dirty Guitar Body
1:30:31 Plugging & Fixing Another Few Loose Screw Holes
1:32:08 Removing Fake Sharpie Signatures from Pickguard
1:34:26 Cleaning & Installing the Tremolo
1:39:05 Setting the Neck & Adjusting Neck Angle
1:40:58 Adjusting Tremolo and Setting Tremolo Spring Tension
1:43:14 Bolt-On Neck Back-Angle Shimming
1:47:12 Adjusting Saddles, Setting the Intonation, and String Trees
1:57:43 Notes on Electronics & Spring Tension
2:01:02 Single Coil Pickup Adjustment and Rewiring
2:08:47 Notes on Loose Tuning Machines
2:11:09 Loose Frets
-- Guitar No. 3 --
2:13:49 Identifying the Need for a Truss Rod Adjustment
2:16:46 Common Floyd Rose Tremolo Issues
2:26:53 Outro on Basic Guitar Setups
Nice
Probably single-handedly step by step the best walk-through video on a basic setup. Thanks for taking the time to do this, guys like me that don't have access to luthier's have to do it all on their own and this is super helpful.
Same here , he just saved me hundred's of $$ on several guitars!
If someone is giving you free information to benefit you why would you give thumbs down ?
One word TROLLS!!!
Because the dislike feature is one of the only ways for a user to let the algorithm know that they're not interested in this kind of video, and want to see it less in future. Given that the user clicked on the video, _then_ disliked it, it also serves as a useful signal to both the algorithm and the uploader that there's a mismatch between the kind of people that will click on their video, and the kind of people that will watch their video, which they need to address by changing the thumbnail, title, or making different content in future.
They could also be a Typical DipWad that know everything and has no room in a tiny brain for really high quality information. Many thanks.
@@Asdayasman Yes that is one of the ways to show that users are not interested. Another way that MIGHT be better is hitting the "not interested" button lol!
But I know, most people probably don't even know that feature exists.
@@DatHombre That button does not exist on this page for this video. It's only on recommended videos.
Thank you Will. I was a Technician for 38 years and worked on Radars and chassis on the Hawk Radar System and later in my career I worked on Radars for the Federal Aviation Administration which still had Tubes in their circuits. I spent about 4 years in the US Army as an Instructor on the Hawk Pulse Radar Systems and enjoyed that a lot.You are someone that really cares about the students that you speak to here. I hope everyone realizes just how valuable that these videos really are. I really appreciate the way you talk through as well as demonstrate how to do all of the different types of repairs that you perform. You are a great Instructor and I consider your videos a Master Class of Preventative as well as Corrective Maintenance. Great job Will, as usual.
Q3%
Bob Burchett bbjobvjoii
Use surgical spirit, lighter fuel isn't pure Napha. After cleaning with surgical spirit use a good fret board conditioner, voila! But this set up video is the best maintanence upload yet, a couple of things i may do differently and don't agree with but that's how we learn by sharing, this gentleman has done a lot of novice guitarists a great service furnishing others with the info they need to keep their instrument tip top, with great tutorials like this there really is no excuse.
your custom gtr is f**** hilarious love it
He is the ONLY one I’ve seen that doesn’t just focus on the height of the Nut Slots which are ALWAYS high
(Unless you buy a PRS because they actually care about how your guitar plays the moment you pick it up!)
but addresses the fact that once you have the slot filed down far enough each string should be a Half-Step from Open at the 1st Fret and the rest of your setup builds from there.
Bravo!!
Very informative video. Judging by your attention to detail I can you tell you are a true craftsman and take pride in your work and willing to put forth extra effort for your customers. I am interested in taking your course once I have the money. Thanks for the quality video.
No luthiers in my town as well, so this vid has become super helpful. Thanks a bunch for investing your time & effort to put together this step by step guide. Have a great day!
You should start a business there. Find a need and fill it.
I know of strat owners who switch the placement of the middle and bridge pickups as an "easy" way to get a combined front and bridge sound in the 2nd position. With this arrangement, position 1=Front, 2=Front/Bridge, 3=Bridge, 4=Mid/Bridge, 5=Mid, losing the Front/Mid combination.
what do you mean by front?
This is a gold mine ...it's so detailed and down to earth .i'm speechless, thank you very much
Super awesome. You made so many 'mysteries' (especially about intonation and the importance of the nut setup being right) melt away before me. Such great advice man, Keep it up, music is all about feeling, and so is your methodology of setting up the instrument that creates it. Thank you!!
Thanks for this video gave me a great understanding on how to set up truss rod adjustment, floyd rose, string height, intonation and most of all finding the perfect balance between string tension and spring tension for perfect float.
Great video as I am rebuilding a Fender Starcaster from the neck and body up. At 2:05 in the video you were talking about the pickup magnet being changed and 'why would anyone do that'. Reversing the magnet [turning it over ] in the middle pickup position, changes the magnetic field and turns the #2 and #4 switch position into a neck and bridge pickup humbuckers. It's cheaper than buying Fender Jazzmaster pickups or Seymour Duncan California 50s SSl pickups where the middle pickups are reverse wound to make humbuckers at 2 and 4. Some attempted this and then put the reversed magnet pickup back in the original position at the bridge instead of in the middle.
Doctor, this is a Great video, for people who do work on thier own guitars , but do not understand all the in and outs, very informative , thank you, Cousin Figel
I use Windex to clean my fretboards, and then I oil with trombone slide oil. The Windex cleans really good, but will cut and remove the oil, which is what I want because I want to lift all of the dirt, gunk, sweat, etc. from playing out of the fretboard. The slide oil is a very clean, thin, mineral oil. I've used this for around 30 years now with no issues. I do this maybe once every month or two.
Great instruction video - both for setting a hardtail and a tremolo guitar up. Thank you so much for taking your time andn effort to share these important skills to set up and maintain our guitars.
Thanks Will! Glad I found you (better late than...) I am getting the confidence (thru reliable information like yours) to more deeply maintain my own guitars - its a win/win for me and the guitars! Just a note tho': at the beginning where you are mentioning using digital calipers to figure out string gauge, you say "set it on millimeters" (1:48) and proceed to measure the strings. Actually, string gauges are measured in (thousandths of) inches. Using the same calipers set on millimeters, I measure my 6th (low E) string at 1.25 mm - it is actually 0.046 inches; similarly my 0.010 " high E (1st string) measures about 0.30 mm.. I believe you meant to say "set it on inches" - you get better results! :) Thanks again!
I like linseed oil for Rosewood and other unfinished woods. Rub on a thin coat then rub it off after a seconds to a minute or two. Give some time to dry and it's like playing on glass. Really fills those grains nicely.
Linseed oil and sesame oil are nice for my rosewood fretboards.
im hoping its boiled linseed oil.
The best and my favourite on TH-cam, like these long videos! Lot of great, useful informations, it's really professional! Thank you so much!
Sir, best video ever. Hands down. Thank you for your time!
Yes, Naptha will damage some finish and paint surfaces! It's not as macho as paint thinner, but it will remove some things.
I would say this is the best video on a setup on youtube .
I would suggest that you haven,t watched enough variety then Regarfing this video I maintain thetitle to be very misleading and entirely debatable
I'll be back tonight to watch the rest of this later . This is extremely interesting. Tnx ... 👌
Dude you are very thorough, I'm wanting to get into this line of work and I'm scared of failure, do you have any advice and what would you charge for me to ship a guitar to you for a set up by you. I think you could make my Washburn rx50f sound amazing. Do you have any advice to someone just getting into guitar work?
Great video!. Helped me sort out my fret buzz issues.
Rock on!
Thanks for all the free content as of late, most in depth guitar channel out there
Used a regular drill bit to make tuning peg holes bigger to install different tuners. Learned the hard way what Brad point drill bits are good for.
Great video that helped me with my ESP/LTD Eclipse😁 Why does the neck pickup look loke it was originally made for the bridge position or was it wired in backwards?
Great informative video WITHOUT the silly crap and obnoxious attitude that a lot of guitar guys post so often. Refreshing!
May I suggest a procedure to employ when you're confronted with rusted Fender bridge parts (intonation screws, springs)? Take the entire bridge off the body and dismantle it. Label each saddle (1 through 6) if it makes a difference due to differing notch sizes. Into a glass vessel, pour a little C-L-R liquid and drop the intonating adjusting screws, the height adjusting set screws, and the intonation adjusting screws into the undiluted solution. Let it sit in solution for about an hour, remove the components, and rinse in clean, fresh water. Dry all the parts in a cheesecloth sac and compressed air. Then, using a Dremel rotary tool or similar, and tweezers which have a secure grip, use a wire brush attachment on the tool to remove any remaining traces of rust. This will also bring back the metal parts' luster. It is somewhat time-consuming, but your clients will think that you provided a new bridge to them.
That really is the only quality way to go about it
Great info - just one point on the calipers - you mention in the beginning setting them to millimeters. That would be mils / inches to measure strings. A .010 string (10 mils) is actually .0254 mm, 10/1000th of an inch. That's all the math I know... lol. mil v millimeter.....
I've taken a saddle off and ground some off it to move it a little bit more forward.
To get my guitar building course or other videos go here gelvinguitars.com/shop/
Hey, great job. What kind of guitar is the first one, the set neck guitar? You never showed the headstock.
Very good information about getting numbers out of your head. The guitar still thinks it's a tree.... if you listen and pay attention the guitar will tell you exactly what it needs. Great video, I just subscribed.
I play a harmonic on the 12th when intonating, but using your playing pressure makes sense 👍
Me as well, yes perfect for a light touch. With that said, intonation is fluid and virtually never perfect on a guitar. Just doing the best you can is as good as it gets
Hey man, gald to see you here! Thanks, you help me raising my little business
Hey Will ! .. off topic and sorry for a late reply but I'm mostly off grid since a while .. however here we go : set on private .. best wishes and happy new year !
Great video. I have a question about the Howard Beeswax. Which one you you use on the fretboard?? There are many Howard products
Another comment , You are so correct. I took my ‘69 SG to my luthier Russ , the first time I had been to a luthier. He buffed ever piece of hardware on tha thing and it looks fantastic! I haven’t taken any of my guitars to anyone else!
I paid 85 for a set up at long and mcquade and they fucked my 3k Martin now im scared to take anything in im ordering a kit and learning on my first ever guitar
The best setup video on the web.
Very well done. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Iam not a Luthier but I've been doing timber frame construction for 40 years. natural oils in the wood will also evaporate out over time so it is important to keep some kind of oil on it. WHat you are using is the best. penetrating oils like 3 in 1 or wd 40 can really swell the wood. As you say though, too much of anyting ain't good fer yer wood!
WOW !
First time watcher and I’m subbed!
I’ve just been drawn in to a 2 hour vid, and I was caught hook line and sinker,- watched every minute!
No pretensions, just how to do the job.
Cracking stuff- keep it coming I’m hooked
Great job
Thank you for sharing with us your knowledge.
Great video, thanks for your contribution to the guitar community - New Subscriber
Hi, when setting up the output amplitude of the pickups, the initial transverse adjustment, would a cheapish decibel meter help? I kinda had trouble telling the difference in levels, when you were adjusting the height screws. I guess I don't have your practised ear, or am tone deaf, as I've been told 😂. Love the video though!! And yes, to an Aussie, you do sound like Bill Murray, with a Groundhog cold 🙂👍.
Make a 7 -8 sting set up video.Ive been using 7s with your method works 150% just saying thanks for these videos!
Thanks for the tip about the spring on the bridge. I thought I had bad fret buzz, but it was just the spring. Bent the spring and no more buzz. Thanks man
Great video.. I was never aware that pickup polarity mattered. But if it does, didn't you change it when you rotated that pickup 180 degrees?
this is the only video I have seen were the guy actually knows what he is doing and is not annoying
I too, have to sometimes make a nut adjustment.
Lol
Many thanks for this. I use a local band tech for my son's first set up (solid experienced guy) but after this it's down to me so this is very helpful thanks. One thing he recommends on all new Gibsons is to recut the nut along with your preferred new strings (11s in the case of my son). Gibson typically don't cut the nut well on a new guitar (even a Standard). This includes rounding off the back edge of the grooves to the tuners where there can be a burr that catches the strings. A technician with skill can also deepen the cut a touch if the string height is excessive at the nut. Add to this a check of the tuners and bridge for tightness and you shouldn't have any tuning instability. Normally with this procedure and a half decent nut, no lubricant (or upgrade parts like Schallers) are needed. Of course you still need to check the neck relief, intonation etc as the guitar (wood) will expand and contract in travel. We traded up to an LP and a J45 acoustic 18 months ago, gigged for this period and no tuning instability on either - my son eats strings but he does play quite aggressively and I think this is an age / experience thing. Here he is on his backup Taylor acoustic, Smells Like Teen Spirit: th-cam.com/video/w49TQOr9fss/w-d-xo.html - cheers.
Great detailed video ,but SOMEBODY GET THIS GUY A TISSUE!
Almost halfway through, awesome vid!
I have a question. I am making my first electric guitar and I want the string entrance thru the back as this guitar is. First what is that called? And where would I buy the individual cylinders? Sorry never seen one like that before
buy a package of flat brass shim stock because there may be a variation in the wall thickness of a coke can. (a coke can is a hydroformed drawn shell )
man this is so true, a coke can shell is all over the place.
What is that beautiful guitar during the intro and the first setup?
Where do you buy the wood veneer for the neck shims? Love you videos.
Thanks for having so much patience and taking the time to really make sense about every step necessary to do a great job.you are the best ive seen so thanks again Will.
Excellent site , information is very well presented , thanks for all the great tips .
Just an excellent video, well worth spending almost two hours with you! But what the heck was that third R-rated guitar LOL?
I love your channel! I'm watching this whole video and at the end it got so funny when you started describing the Floyd Rose, and how it works, and how it could go up, and how the screws could turn, and I can only imagine somebody listening to this in disbelief & befuddlement -It just kept getting funnier and funnier. I had to watch it over again because it's like listening to an Abbot & Costello Schtick. 🤣😆🤪
I've learned a lot through this video, thank you!
What oils are you putting back in to the neck ? ? Really, the only oils that are good to put back in to the neck are the oils that were lost. Great video though ! ! Well done ! !
Hey Will, I noticed that you checked for neck bow using a straight edge (looking for light under straight edge) but you did this with the strings off first. At this time you mentioned adjusting truss rod. Later you also talk about the truss rod, but with the strings on. I am confused, as I have always heard we should adjust truss rod with the strings on and tuned up. Can you help me with the confusion?
Is it best to adjust truss rod initially with strings off to make neck dead straight with itself, then later with strings on and tuned we again truss adjust but to give it some relief?
On the 5 way switch if intentional somebody might have wanted the split position to be between the bridge and the neck not the middle and neck?? If done intentionally on the squire
I just fixed the pickups on an old Tele I had, thanks to you. You're the best.
Nice vid. Thx.
What guitar is that?
Looks a little like my "The Heritage Parsons street". Less than 10 were made...
Curious.
I went to your site and I didn't see anything related to you, your history, experience. I saw something that said cart, and checkout which I thought was a little weird because the only thing I saw for sale was your courses. Am I missing something here ? ? Is there other merchandise like pickups, guitar bodies, wiring harnesses ? Thanks.
I only sell videos now. I quit making guitars and pickups.
The Squier has a great pool rout, ripe for any Pups you like with minimun work, how cools that? And it looks stock too with that big number 7 marked in there. I haven't come across one that has a pool rout from stock before, i've had to put the Router to them myself for that, cool.
Hey Will, hope you're doing fine. I searched through your channel to find an older video of yours, which was about the psychology of guitarists and held some deep wisdom in my opinion. Can I still find it somewhere?
I'm looking for the ones with the korean girl group, those were nice
Last Dollie I’m trying to find the trolling guitar center employee video
great video and when you oil the fret board you are conditioning the wood.
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Hey man, you good? I miss your videos, hope you're doing ok.
How did you go about getting those photos imprinted on your fretboard? So Cool!!! Also would it be safe or a bad idea to get my fretboard air brush painted?
Perfect video✌️
Is there anything to be cautious about when using Zippo fluid for neck cleaning?
Hello, when I’m strting to adjust intonation? How must be my all bridge saddle positions first? Must be on all forward or backward ?
Very very very cool .
First, I would like to say, I think it's awesome for you to take the time to help others get a more clear understanding of the what, why, and how to do a proper guitar set up. Unfortunately, it appears to me, that you seem to not care about protecting the guitar. Why do I feel this way? it's only because you've taken no steps to protect the neck, neck joint, head stock, and head stock joints. As you begin, the guitar is clearly elevated off the workbench, as you can see from the shadowed areas under the top and bottom horns, meaning the head stock is resting on the workbench at the very tip, and it's made an elevation to the guitar, which is already how I wouldn't treat my own guitar, let alone a guitar I'm working on for a client/friend. but then you apply pressure to it rubbing to clean off the finger board. At 4:36 you can see by the head stock dropping onto the edge of the workbench it's holding all the guitar's weight as well as any applied pressure from your cleaning. For a short time this could work, but it's definitely not what a professional luthier would ever do. Help is one thing, but this could potentially hurt the guitar. Other than that, top job on the whole thing, and I apologize if I seem to come off as rude, I'm just trying to help others the way you have, by noting this small detail which, let's be honest, could harm a guitar if done by someone without experience in this. Cheers mate!! Thumbs up on this!
you worry about things that dont matter. guitars are not Faberge eggs. thanks for your comment
@@WillsEasyGuitar You've got me on that, I do worry too much about the little things, but some of the price tags for some guitars make taking chances like this not worth the risk is all I'm trying to say. Thanks man! {Thinking mainly about some Gibson LPs or lower end models that already have weak joints by design.)
Its all about feel. Thats the best statement made.
I agree with Blaze. Good job !!!
hey Will, I just found your channel and have been digging your videos. It's really cool how much knowledge you share for us all. Thanks for the uploads!
This was a good guitar repair to do a video on. Thanks
The floyd bridge is almost like a hybrid Piezzo violin bridge.
My first thought when I saw those pickups oriented that way was, "The Peter Green mod".
wow.... your presentation is about as good as it gets. I have learned so much in a couple of hours. Thank you so much for doing this video. I'm going to check out your other videos on your web site.
When buffing the neck or whole guitar it is very possible to burn the finish
Would you use lemon oil if that's all you have and I'm not saying pledge I'm talking about the fretboard type lemon oil for guitars
Old English furniture oil (Not Polish) is perfectly fine, it is lemon oil.
My strat is in perfect tune and then when I try to tune at the 12th fret each string is so far out of tune ,I can’t tell which way to intonate please help?
Hey Will,
How much fretbuzz is acceptable when doing a setup?
Thank you! It was all I knew before but all collected together, and shown and said in simple!
Thank you very much for this. Had anyone ever told you you sound like Alex Lifeson?
I was gonna say Bill Murray, but I definitely hear Alex Lifeson too
Hey Will, I remembered just now that you're a big fan of f(x) and if you did not know, one of the singers SULLI committed suicide just a few days ago. She is now in our memories. RIP Sulli , she was only 25.
yeah i know. i am still depressed over it. it isnt right
What is the make and model of that 1st brown colored guitar in the video?
I am curious about that also, It is nice!
Man, I would highly appreciate time stamps on long videos like this
I’m surprised no good TH-cam soul has obliged.
1:37 measure string gauge
3:00 clean and condition fretboard
10:11 pickup electronics maintenance
20:40 fret and neck check up
30:50 bridge set up
39:50 restring/relief setting
51:00 intonation
1:01:50 pick up height
Gotta run, that’s half way if someone else takes over.
what are you 6, just watch the video or scrub through it
@@crucifixx3523 just go on boy. This none of your business.
You can skip through any video as long as you want. Just don't bother around.
@@jicklesjingles8134 oh lighten up old man
Any jobs? Sorry I have to stet up fret level, dress and cut the nut and do a full set up within the hour, I’ve done two whilst watching this vid, can I have a job in sunny USA?les Paul’s saddle is usually bridge to tailpiece in terms of intonation, do I have to come back to the us of a?
I am SO glad I got a hardtail Strat.
Hi, you mentioned a guitar building course of yours? Where can we purchase it? Thanks
gelvinguitars.com/shop/