As someone who recently started to learn to do their own set up, your channel has saved me every time at this point. Thank you man your saving me thousands!
Could it have been ok at factory. It change on journey or depending on climate difference? My Pringles always went all domed when travelling up mountains :-)
@@stephenhookings1985 I think so. A lot of acoustics and electrics made with green or unseasoned or not fully seasoned woods will shift a lot depending on temperature, humidity, and time.
I believe places like guitar center take the guitars they get in and make them a bit unplayable so you have to “buy” a set up. I’ve gone in looking at Martin and other higher end acoustics and they were not playable. Actually got turned off to them. Go to a local shop, we’re they’d probably need the extra income the set ups would bring, and the martins and other acoustics more closely represented playable set ups. I took 1 guitar center for a set up and a week later they called saying it was ready. When I got there a different tech pulled my guitar out and asked why I liked my action so high. I said I didn’t. He looked at me and said this guitar hasn’t been set up at all then. So 1 tech didn’t want to do the work, but signed off on it anyway guessing no one would look or notice. Luckily the second tech was honest and set it up without charging me. So. With that said I know people who gave up because their hands got too sore. Most likely a shitty set up.
Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people get turned off of great guitars just because of a bad setup. A lot of people who don't do their own work never realize just how important a good setup is in making a guitar really shine. People like Dave are the ones that initially made me start tinkering around and actually getting my guitar playing good a few years back, and since then I've realized that in many cases, it's not the guitar's fault that it doesn't sound right--it's the player's fault for not maintaining it.
@@MisterSwagify I only tend to buy cheap or 2nd hand and used some basic guitars to learn guitar butchery - I am OK at getting what I want from my guitars and basses now thanks to Dave, Sam Deeks and Darrell Braun. At the moment I am hacking some guitar pickups onto a bass - making the router templates then going in for the cut. These Warman Warblades on my Steinberger (copy of course) sound cool.
Twist while you apply slight pull. I pulled mine so hard when I first got it....pulled the trem off the guitar...lol Ther is a second grub screw on the tip end for the tension thingy.
Dave, I'm not saying it is, but... I have one of those pop in arms on my strat and it has a tiny grub screw to adjust tightness, if you press the tremolo down and look behind the block, it'll be there if it is the same as mine :)
How or what was the base of tremolo like, added big brass one to mine though big titanium blocks good too adding tusk nut brass tremolo block roller saddles, roller tees and locking tuners, I decided I dont need expensive pickup set she a fine now
Hey Dave, why do 5/6 string basses need the strings to follow the radius of the neck unlike a 4 string? Couldn’t you set them all to a common height of the neck and therefore follow the radius?
They *all* need to follow the radius 4, 5, 6, the only difference is on 5 and 6 you set the low B a bit higher than the rest cause it's floppy and fat.
@@dickr9345 True for best effect with most players. Less so with multi-scale basses or players that hate fret buzz and play with high actions with a good bit of neck relief. I don't know from experience but I've also heard of players that use light EADG (85 to 35/40) and a heavy B (130/135) or thereabouts for super low action at concert pitch with 34/35 inch scales.
Hello Dave! I recently bought a 2002 Japanese Jackson KE3 in eerie dess swirl, it's got some dings and chips, any idea how to fix them without ruining the awesome finish?
Nice guitar, looks just like my 2017 Players Strat. So, is that an American Professional Strat? It’s probably the same guitar basically, except for pickups, a few other hardware bits, and more finish work done on the frets, etc.
It’s gotta be an American Professional because of the two point trem and “Pre-CBS” headstock. The American Performer has a 70s headstock and six screw trem with a screw in arm. It’s essentially identical to your Players but I think the frets are the “narrow tall” frets instead of jumbos and it has v-mod pickups instead of Yosemite pickups.
Love these setup videos! What would make them more satisfying? Play the damned guitars a minute or two! How did lowering the pickups and fixing the relief help the tone? Etc.
This is tricky, working with metal. It's possible to sink the nut further into the neck in some cases, but removing neck material from under the nut may compromise skinner or weaker necks (depends on grain & wood species).
@@MrCheesywaffles my ibanez s520 has some rosewood from the fretboard under it I think if I remove that thatll solve my issue but I really don't have the tools and no one has a tutorial
@@rezolt7272 I seem to recall most Ibanez necks are on the thin side (front to back). But they also tend to use good pieces of wood so you might get away with it. I'd look at getting a replacement locking nut and working on that, or if that's not possible - taking a tiny bit of material off the bottom of the locking nut. Avoid messing with the radius by touching the nut slots. You might end up with an issue with the nut attachment screws - they may need to be shortened or the holes deepened, either could lead to disaster!
It all depends on how high we are talking about! A few thousandths...take a triangular file to the v in the nut slots! Several thousandths ...flat file underneath the nut till height is good! A quarter inch...go for a good steady bonfire!!!
It's a 12 thousandths at seventh fret (capo on 1st, 17th held down). Four string bass is same. Five string bass 14 thou. That's the usual. Some manufacturers have slightly different guidelines on neck relief.
well dave, that's about how my fender strat was set up from the factory too. mines just like that one except rosewood fingerboard. I hat maple ones. my pickups too high, string heights all over the place and neck straight as a rope. you would think fender would do a better job on setups than that hell the over charge for these pine tree guitars to start with but they never have and those custom shop bozos, they just stick everyone with a big bill. thanks to you and your tutorials I fixed mine myself. but, dive bombing the guitar is still like chalk on a blackboard to me. great job dave. your the man!!
Playin my Les Paul melody maker this afternoon...guy walking by on the street smiles & slows down... Now I cant find my wallet...Seriously???? Ya stole my wallet outta my car while I was playin guitar for my kids??? Special place in hell for you bud. I know you're reading this.
Dave, I think you've been shadow banned. I NEVER receive your videos anymore. Honestly, I forgot about you until someone else mentioned a video you just did. It's been months since I've seen a video from you.
Just wondering when a Gibson comes in badly setup from the factory all hell breaks loose in the comments about how crap Gibson are. Yet when a Fender comes in like this one no ones says Fender are crap...
Angle of the springs and claw angle doesn't matter, the overall tension will balance. I had an engineer tell me this once when we were talking about Carl Verheyen's setup with the angle claw thingy. For those reading this, it's hearsay, but, meh. I've never noticed a difference myself. Great vid as always, Dave! Teaching us degens how to do stuff right, ferda.
As someone who recently started to learn to do their own set up, your channel has saved me every time at this point. Thank you man your saving me thousands!
You are so welcome!
The 3rd spring may not kick in but it's sitting there rattling around adding to your tone if you like that
Word ;-)
Can't help but think of all the potential players that were put off by a bad initial set up....cheers Davy..
Could it have been ok at factory. It change on journey or depending on climate difference? My Pringles always went all domed when travelling up mountains :-)
@@stephenhookings1985 I think so. A lot of acoustics and electrics made with green or unseasoned or not fully seasoned woods will shift a lot depending on temperature, humidity, and time.
I believe places like guitar center take the guitars they get in and make them a bit unplayable so you have to “buy” a set up. I’ve gone in looking at Martin and other higher end acoustics and they were not playable. Actually got turned off to them. Go to a local shop, we’re they’d probably need the extra income the set ups would bring, and the martins and other acoustics more closely represented playable set ups. I took 1 guitar center for a set up and a week later they called saying it was ready. When I got there a different tech pulled my guitar out and asked why I liked my action so high. I said I didn’t. He looked at me and said this guitar hasn’t been set up at all then. So 1 tech didn’t want to do the work, but signed off on it anyway guessing no one would look or notice. Luckily the second tech was honest and set it up without charging me. So. With that said I know people who gave up because their hands got too sore. Most likely a shitty set up.
Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people get turned off of great guitars just because of a bad setup. A lot of people who don't do their own work never realize just how important a good setup is in making a guitar really shine. People like Dave are the ones that initially made me start tinkering around and actually getting my guitar playing good a few years back, and since then I've realized that in many cases, it's not the guitar's fault that it doesn't sound right--it's the player's fault for not maintaining it.
@@MisterSwagify I only tend to buy cheap or 2nd hand and used some basic guitars to learn guitar butchery - I am OK at getting what I want from my guitars and basses now thanks to Dave, Sam Deeks and Darrell Braun. At the moment I am hacking some guitar pickups onto a bass - making the router templates then going in for the cut. These Warman Warblades on my Steinberger (copy of course) sound cool.
I hear the Mission Impossible bass line was played by Carol Kaye.
She also claims some of Jamerson’s bass lines!! Really?
"The gstring is slighty high... like my viewers" lol
"It's uh tighter than a tight thing." lol!
You know it's tight when it's tighter than a tight thing.
What else would you expect? It's a virgin hole!
@@guygordon2780 I could almost feel Dave jerk the steering wheel to avoid Inappropriate Content ahead.
Tighter than the bull's arse at fly time.
A nun's...
The 3 Spring Actions suddenly made my Childhood make sense...WOW...thx Dave
if i don't use the whammy bar, should i deck the bridge?
DAVE Im back,, I being NZ Maori, docs blitzed a called in heart attack so you are it.. I was a patron Now I'm IN DUDE.
I also bought a new mim Strat from a well known online dealer and it had that angled spring thing.
Great video Dave.
The trem arm hole has a literal grub screw to control the tension.
My pop in has 2
Twist while you apply slight pull.
I pulled mine so hard when I first got it....pulled the trem off the guitar...lol
Ther is a second grub screw on the tip end for the tension thingy.
Thanks Dave
Hey! That's the exact same guitar I have! Best guitar I own
"slightly high... kinda like my viewers"
Nice!
"we check anyway, the guy might've went for a sandwich" ... instant classic !!!
Dave, I'm not saying it is, but... I have one of those pop in arms on my strat and it has a tiny grub screw to adjust tightness, if you press the tremolo down and look behind the block, it'll be there if it is the same as mine :)
Drew Rivers Yup mine has the grub screw for adjustment too
Love those strats!
Dave your intro’s have become epic! It’s good to be back!
Hey Dave have you ever done a set up on one of the Brian may guitars? I'd like to see that
Same
Beautiful instrument.
hi Dave - where did you get that handy little double-ended gauge for checking pickup heights?
@@hpblack1953 thanks for the tip!
Got one of those Strats. Really nice guitars I think.
I have this guitar in the deluxe model and I love it.
A spring a spring a marvelous thing, everyone knows it’s Slinky
Dave I would like to make a tremolo block , what are the measurements
they are all different buy the the set from skyscraper guitars
How or what was the base of tremolo like, added big brass one to mine though big titanium blocks good too adding tusk nut brass tremolo block roller saddles, roller tees and locking tuners, I decided I dont need expensive pickup set she a fine now
Whaaa?
Gotta wonder why you didn't check the nut slot specs? Ouch.
you make it look so easy Dave.
Top show Dave!!
The sound at 12:12 is pure Looney Tunes and it never fails to crack me up
What filler gage did you use for this model?
My favourite!
Hey Dave, why do 5/6 string basses need the strings to follow the radius of the neck unlike a 4 string? Couldn’t you set them all to a common height of the neck and therefore follow the radius?
They *all* need to follow the radius 4, 5, 6, the only difference is on 5 and 6 you set the low B a bit higher than the rest cause it's floppy and fat.
@@dickr9345 True for best effect with most players. Less so with multi-scale basses or players that hate fret buzz and play with high actions with a good bit of neck relief. I don't know from experience but I've also heard of players that use light EADG (85 to 35/40) and a heavy B (130/135) or thereabouts for super low action at concert pitch with 34/35 inch scales.
Hello Dave! I recently bought a 2002 Japanese Jackson KE3 in eerie dess swirl, it's got some dings and chips, any idea how to fix them without ruining the awesome finish?
Nice guitar, looks just like my 2017 Players Strat. So, is that an American Professional Strat? It’s probably the same guitar basically, except for pickups, a few other hardware bits, and more finish work done on the frets, etc.
It’s gotta be an American Professional because of the two point trem and “Pre-CBS” headstock. The American Performer has a 70s headstock and six screw trem with a screw in arm. It’s essentially identical to your Players but I think the frets are the “narrow tall” frets instead of jumbos and it has v-mod pickups instead of Yosemite pickups.
It looks like every other SB strat with a maple neck....
All of the newer Fenders that I have seen no longer have the neck-tilt feature. Is that something new?
Can't comment on newer than 80s Fenders, but my 80s MIJ Stat has neck tilt.
@Malchik Blue No. Elites have neck tilt, Ultras do not.
@Malchik Blue Glad to hear that. Using shims is a first-class drag!
@@eupraxis1 Ultras don't have the neck tilt feature.
Love these setup videos! What would make them more satisfying? Play the damned guitars a minute or two! How did lowering the pickups and fixing the relief help the tone? Etc.
Heres a good question mr dave. Of iwere to have high action on my locking nut at the first fret how would I solve that?
This is tricky, working with metal. It's possible to sink the nut further into the neck in some cases, but removing neck material from under the nut may compromise skinner or weaker necks (depends on grain & wood species).
@@MrCheesywaffles my ibanez s520 has some rosewood from the fretboard under it I think if I remove that thatll solve my issue but I really don't have the tools and no one has a tutorial
@@rezolt7272 I seem to recall most Ibanez necks are on the thin side (front to back). But they also tend to use good pieces of wood so you might get away with it. I'd look at getting a replacement locking nut and working on that, or if that's not possible - taking a tiny bit of material off the bottom of the locking nut. Avoid messing with the radius by touching the nut slots. You might end up with an issue with the nut attachment screws - they may need to be shortened or the holes deepened, either could lead to disaster!
It all depends on how high we are talking about! A few thousandths...take a triangular file to the v in the nut slots! Several thousandths ...flat file underneath the nut till height is good! A quarter inch...go for a good steady bonfire!!!
Haha love the content Dave
Fender should take note and examine their final adjustments procedures
What feeler gauge does dave use?
It's a 12 thousandths at seventh fret (capo on 1st, 17th held down). Four string bass is same. Five string bass 14 thou. That's the usual. Some manufacturers have slightly different guidelines on neck relief.
DAVE: It's tighter than a...
ME: Oh boy, a new Dave-ism!!!
DAVE: ...tight thing.
ME: Well played, Dave!
tighter than a wingnut
Love your content!
beautiful strat
Slightly high....just like some of my viewers, lol I'm taking my "meds" as he states that. 🎶🤘👽
No power tools?
Tusk nut and roller trees. You should dona little more playing
Surprising that Fender don't flush mount that spring cover...................
Does anyone put it back on?
That's a nice looking neck and body.
I’m not slightly high Dave. I’m really fucking high
Tighter than the bull's arse at fly time Dave.
"A tight thing".
I like the top down video much better
More than slightly Dave
nice work
Busted!
Tighter than a tight thing... Is that Canadian slang I don't understand ;)
Yer funny Dave!
I'm not a fan of those trem arms. I'm fine with screwin' mine in LOL!
😁👍🐉💀👽🎸🎶🎵
Time for some yellow perch sandwiches
Lube!
High as a kite.
I'm deeply in lust with that guitar.
G’day mates
Yo.
🍻 🇨🇦
Guitars, guitars, guitars,... bass, bass ,bass bass,......yeah - yeah - yeah,..... when ya doin' some grillin' ???????
The g string is a little high, kind of like my viewers
Does that neck feel raw? Never had a neck like that on a guitar.
Smooth as silk.... Schmoooooth!!!
Oiled or satin finished necks all the way. The difference between those and glossy for playability are light years apart.
I put 2-3 light coats of wax on my guitar necks and it keeps them feeling smooth. Reapply every 3-6 months depending on how much you play it ✌
"Kinda high, like my viewers."
You're dammmmmn riiiiight.
Yo Dave!
well dave, that's about how my fender strat was set up from the factory too. mines just like that one except rosewood fingerboard. I hat maple ones. my pickups too high, string heights all over the place and neck straight as a rope. you would think fender would do a better job on setups than that hell the over charge for these pine tree guitars to start with but they never have and those custom shop bozos, they just stick everyone with a big bill. thanks to you and your tutorials I fixed mine myself. but, dive bombing the guitar is still like chalk on a blackboard to me. great job dave. your the man!!
Is it just me, or has TH-cam gone back to 2015 algorithms? Weird, man, really weird.😨
Playin my Les Paul melody maker this afternoon...guy walking by on the street smiles & slows down...
Now I cant find my wallet...Seriously???? Ya stole my wallet outta my car while I was playin guitar for my kids???
Special place in hell for you bud.
I know you're reading this.
G STRING IS SLIGHTLY HIGH....KINDA LIKE MY VIEWERS!!!!
Dave, I think you've been shadow banned. I NEVER receive your videos anymore. Honestly, I forgot about you until someone else mentioned a video you just did. It's been months since I've seen a video from you.
whatever
Just wondering when a Gibson comes in badly setup from the factory all hell breaks loose in the comments about how crap Gibson are. Yet when a Fender comes in like this one no ones says Fender are crap...
It's the predictability factor.
Angle of the springs and claw angle doesn't matter, the overall tension will balance. I had an engineer tell me this once when we were talking about Carl Verheyen's setup with the angle claw thingy.
For those reading this, it's hearsay, but, meh. I've never noticed a difference myself.
Great vid as always, Dave! Teaching us degens how to do stuff right, ferda.
th-cam.com/video/9CkrKdQR6_g/w-d-xo.html Fender Custom Shop master builder setup
I've gotta give ya a thumbs up just for your name dude! 😂
👍🏻
Pretty lousy setup coming out of California.
"Slightly high..."?!! Who the hell does "slightly"?!! hahaha...Is that a new thing?...hehehe
I was in the middle of taking a hit off my pen when he said that
... what the hell does slightly mean ?