You want to install a capo on the first fret also when measuring neck relief. Then fret and hold at the fret where the body joins the neck. This forms a straight line between the first fret and the body joint fret area. Now measure the neck relief (the distance between the tip of the 7th fret and low E string) using a feeler gage at the 7th fret. Adjust per manufacture specs or to your preference. I set my Fenders at 0.008 to 0.011. Gibsons a bit less. All the measuring is done in the playing position and with the guitar tuned well before all measurements! Also, don't forget to check the condition of the fretboard for dryness on wood that requires moisture (rosewood for instance) after cleaning. Keeping the wood with proper hydration is key a long-life fretboard. I use heavily filtered Linseed oil or Music Nomad F-One Oil is really good also. Maple necks with clear coat over them do not require oil.
The best way I've found is to put your staight edge down the center of the neck and measure the relief at the 7th fret with a feeler gauge. A capo isn't necessary with this. Using a cap and measuring under the top string is a hit and miss as it can be hard to see if the string is moving because of the clearance or because you have the feeler gauge slightly cocked. Using the straight edge removes all doubt as the feeler gauge will pass under the straight edge or it won't. If you don't have a straight edge then maybe you should be paying someone else to do your setups....
@@robertakerman3570 You want the guitar to be perfectly in tune both when you strum it open and when you fret the 12th fret. If they aren't both in tune, that means all of your frets on that string are out of alignment by a small amount, making the tuning of each fret a little bit sharp or flat. When each string has varying intonation, that makes strumming chords sound like ass because each note is either a little bit sharp or flat. You want the 12th fret to be perfectly in the middle of the string when you fret it down, so adjusting the saddle of a string lets you move the center of the string up or down the neck.
Agree completely. It's also nice to be able to fix minor issues without having to find someone that knows what they're doing, have to part with the guitar for a period of time, and pay someone to do it. I'm considering buying a cheap wreck of a guitar and buying a few tools and learning how to replace frets. I do a lot of vibrato but seem to only wear a handful of frets in certain places. It'd be nice to change the worn ones one at a time as issues arise.
@@bobroberts1530 I'm probably middle of the road on frets - don't destroy them too fast, don't baby them either. The idea of having my Novo refretted at some point keeps me up at night.
A useful tip for remembering which way the saddle needs to move when intonating is you need to move the saddle in the direction of your tuner needle. i.e. if the note is sharp and the needle is to the right of centre then the saddle needs to be moved in that direction, to the right. If the note is flat and the needle is to the left of centre then move your saddle to the left.
Hi thanks for the tip but I'm very confused. 1} looking at the saddle from the body end of the guitar. wouldn't the term be move up or down as there's no sideways movement to call it left of right.? 2) If looking down the guitar while in playing position the left and right positions of the saddle would be different from looking from the bottom of the guitar. Meaning left would be right and right would be left. Could you please clarify from what direction you are looking at the bridge. At the moment I see 3 (plausible directional options). Thanks David
The way I've checked my intonation since the 70's has been to play a harmonic on the 12th fret and then play the note at the 12th fret and they should be the same. If the fretted note is sharper you need to lengthen the string and if it's flat then you shorten the string length. (shorter strings create sharper notes)
1) String Change 2:41 2) Truss Rod Adjustment 6:00 3) String Action 9:14 (no title card for this step) 4) Set Bridge Radius 11:18 5) Set Intonation 12:58
The way I remember to adjust saddles for intonation is if you touch something sharp with your finger your reaction is to pull it back. So if the string is sharp, pull the saddle back. I forget where I heard this but I’ve remembered it since. Big fan of your channel!
think of it like a tire, if your tire is flat you'd push/move the air (forward) into the tire. if there is something sharp in the tire you'd pull it out, thats how my middle school band teacher taught us
Two notes: 1. When checking the action/string height, it's not necessary to fret the string at the 1st fret. Just measure the height of the open string, and 2. It's best to loosen the string before raising the saddles, tightening the truss rod or adjusting intonation.
Fretting the strings at the first fret when checking action is a good practice because it takes the nut out of the equation and gives you a more consistent reading. It isn’t strictly necessary, but it is absolutely not a harmful practice. It’s also 100% unnecessary to loosen the strings to make the adjustments you mentioned. Just simply does not matter and is just a waste of time and effort. The only exception being if you are trying to raise the bridge on a Tune O Matic style bridge; it can sometimes be helpful (or even necessary) to loosen the strings before raising the action. Other than that it does not matter.
@@vitreous_luster You are right about checking the action, if the nut is cut right. Most of the time you are fretting an open string, so string height of the open string is of utmost importance for playability. Loosening the string when adjusting the height of the saddle or intonation is also important. It helps prevent stripping the set screws when raising the saddle and allows the set screws to slide easier when intonating. I agree about during truss rod adjustment, unless the truss rod is hard to tighten to begin with.
This honestly was some much needed knowledge for someone who’s been playing guitar for 10+ years and never done a set up myself. Tons of great advice and it’s much appreciated!
Well there was a lot of bad advice in this. Never use a guitar pick under the first fret when checking if the truss rod needs adjusting. Use a capo instead. Also 0.600 feeler gauge is way too slim. He should have been using an 0.010 or 0.110 feeler gauge. This stuff is the basics and he made a video with epic errors.
I love this. I do Repairs at Guitar Center, and this is something everyone should know. It’s all personal preference and everyone doing setups do them a little different. To get a guitar the way you like/need it’s good to know how to fix problems that arise. Also, I wanted to give a trick on polishing frets easier. 0000 steel wool is amazing. Use the same blocker so it doesn’t hit the board, but it seems to work faster and better than the compounds. Plus if your doing a darker wood that isn’t covered with clear coat, you can polish the board with the same steel wool and oil when finished. Literally my favorite process to do to a guitar. And the before and after are super drastic. A fretboard is the first thing that you feel on a guitar and to have it not crusted up with dead skin and dried sweat is a lovely feeling.
First step: Get an electric screwdriver and a winder bit. This greatly speeds up tuning, and allows you to remove screws faster. The hand winder is a backup
@@Burnt_Gerbil locking tuners are nice. As for wear and tear… a tuner is meant to undergo thousands of rotations. Once you are in tune, regardless if it’s locking or not, you only make small adjustments to retune. A regular tuner might be wound a dozen times to remove string slack, but afterwards it is the same small adjustments. Likely you would never live to see the wear and tear difference from turning the pegs. What eats tuners is sitting in one spot, corrosion, and back lash bouncing. How many people oil their tuners? Eventually they lock up. Backlash going back and forward can deform the teeth, creating dead spots. Sometimes bushings get dead spots as well. Also, swapping out locking tuners for many guitars are a non-starter, especially to change the strings on a particular guitar. $30 for an electric driver and bit, or replace every set of tuners on every guitar you restring?
@@michaelvarney. I got the winder bit, but after switching my two guitars to locking tuners, I never used it once again lol. Still nice to have just in case tho.
As far as adjusting intonation is concerned, it is a good practice to let some of the tension off the string before you adjust it...also, checking the 5th and 17th frets as well as the open and 12th fret can provide a little more accuracy...
I had a great experience with Music Nomad when I got my full set of nut files I wanted one of the smaller metal containers to keep my most used files in and I contacted Music Nomad and they just asked for proof of purchase and happily shipped me the smaller gold container they use for the smaller file sets... no charge. Good Folks!
My first ~15 years in a working band I had a guitar tech come to my house on Mondays and check/adjust/restring the guitars I was using. In the mid-80's, as my guitar collection grew past 30, I decided to learn and do it myself. Now I don't gig much, and I have a small shop at my home and do work for others. A lot of the setup is subjective. I would recommend getting a book on setups by Dan Erlewine. He has a shop in Ohio and consults for StewMac, you can get the book there. His methods and advice is very good, and the book includes pictures/charts etc. It's a good resource in addition to watching YT videos. JMHO Peace --gary
Yes, please make a separate vid for setting up the different bridge styles. I know there are plenty of vids out there but the way you just went through this made it SUPER easy to follow. I've been playing nearly 35 years and I like you have outsourced my setups and realize it's time to do it myself. Thanks for all you do and all you share, brother!
Two years ago I lived in a hot humid environment with a good tech nearby. Now I live in a cooler dryer environment, no tech for 2 hundred kms. My guitars took 18 months to adapt to my new location. I bought the tools and did the research to do almost the required work.
22 seconds into this video and I love it!!! I have more guitars than I wish to confess, but the change in location/seasons, makes it a requirement to keep them happy! Your video is excellent!!! I have been setting-up my own collection for the past 30 years and you did an excellent job of summing-up the process.
Im a mechanical engineer. I didnt know just how badly I was neglecting my guitars. Thank you so much for this video. Caring for your guitars is fun, technical and feels great. You've changed my life lol.
The Music Nomad nut file kit is a Patented design that makes tackling this sometimes tricky job much easier. Dollar Store nail files may get you by in a pinch, but if your serious about getting it right the first time it's $80 bucks well spent. Some tools are on a different level. This is one such tool. You'll never want to do it any other way, once you've used them.
When I get new or used guitar, I often roughly setup the action using current / old strings. This is when I adjust the truss rod straight, file or change the nut and adjust saddles height. After that I remove the strings, clean and oil up the fretboard and pots. With the new strings I setup the intonation and sometimes the truss rod little bit more. The stratocaster is satisfying to setup and makes you wanna play more often and longer.
A little tip to help remember where the saddle needs to go when setting intonation: if the fretted note on the 12th fret is sharp, you need to move the saddle towards the bridge, the bridge is sharp (you can cut your hand on a sharp surface), if the note is flat, move the saddle towards the headstock which is flat itself. Always helps me to remember in an instant :) Good video dude! Doing your own setups might seem scary at first, once you learn it though you wonder why'd you pay someone else to do it instead :')
I like to put some tape on each side of my fret guard things so that it's a little wider on each side. Helps keep polish off the fretboard and keeps tools from scratching anything depending on what you're doing.
I just bought a Fender Squier Contemporary Telecaster this week. The string gage was too big for me and quite honestly that guitar needed some love. So I took it to the guitar shop for a good setup. Having said that, it is my intention to broaden my knowledge of guitar maintenance so I can learn to do these adjustments on my own. Regards from Ottawa, Canada.
Thanks to the pandemic I got pretty decent at setting up my own guitars. Some hits and misses, but when I'm in the zone I can really dial in the action and vibe like how my favorite guitar tech does it. The only thing I really need practice with is fret levelling which still scares me, but hey I'll get there too lol. It's a very fulfilling process and helpful down the line because who doesn't wanna perfect the feel of their own guitars?
The gauge set alone is great and you can do a lot of the rest with household tools and a string winder/cutter tool. Using the gauges was how I learned that my acoustic needed pro attention and now it plays like a dream
In case you're wondering, the suggestions to capo the 1st fret when measuring neck relief and adjusting the truss rod is to eliminate differences in nut heights. If your nut is fine, you don't necessarily need to capo, but it is the best practice to capo it for uniformity. Either way just make sure your measurements are relative (don't adjust relief once with a capo and the next time without, or mix them up on different guitars).
I learned to do basic setups when I first started playing guitar, and have refined my process over the years. I suggest every to learn how to do it, as you can adjust your guitar over time to get the very best results. On all my guitars with truss rods, adjusting them affects the tone - Something that is rarely mentioned. I was adjusting the truss rod on an Acoustic Electric last night, and though I can adjust the string height to nearly flat, the guitar really sings and plays better when the action is rather high, so that's where it's set. On my Strat, I could never get the truss rod to balance the relief between the treble and bass string - If one side was good, the other side wasn't. Then one day I decided to just flatten the neck so there was no relief without the strings on. After that, I've been able to get a balanced relief across all the strings.
I’ve watched many of these set up videos. This is the first one I’ve seen that made me feel like I can do it well. There’s a difference between a tech instructing on this and a player. Players lean more on common sense.
Great vid Rhett. One comment: the action will change a bit when you change the string length for setting intonation. I always go back and forth: adjust action, then adjust strength length for intonation, then double check the action again to fine tune it, then double check intonation again. It's kind of dance, but you get there eventually.
thanks so much. im stilling learning myself. figured out to just put regular home style oil down in truss rod and after 2 times it started to move. lots of corrosion from living by the beach. that usually works. saved me probably 100 bucks.
Never did a truss rod adjustment like that. Capo at the first fret, depress the low E string at the last fret and check the clearance at the eighth fret. Depending on the neck radius it will be between .009 and .013 inches.
This is the kind of thing I've been needing to learn more about thank you Rhett. All the comments are making everything confusing but I'll figure it out when the time comes
Love this style content. Something every musician needs to learn. How to care for your instrument and keep it playing properly. Makes playing so much more enjoyable. Much love Rhett
Those Music Nomad Fret polish guards work very well. I have them, and use them now. Can't speak to the polish. I'm still using some ultra fine abrasion sheets I have. On unfinished fretboards, (rosewood et al), four 0 steel wool starts the polish on the frets as well as cleaning the fretboard. Handy.
@@michaelvarney. Which is why I always tape up my pickups with painters tape before using steel wool. :) I tape the sound holes on acoustics, too. Everything I've ever seen on steel wool teaches that right up front, including the fellow at my local guitar store who taught me how to do it. So i was lucky, and got that advice right from the get-go.
The only thing I missed is, when I`m tuning new strings for first time I overbend the strings by pulling them with my right hand. After that they need to be tuned up more than one note. This helps a lot to find the right intonation.
Step 4; if a string is sharp during intonation, turn the screw to make it sharper… after you retune the intonation will be improved. Much simpler than remembering directions. If intonation is flat, turn screw to make it flatter, then retune and test again.
After seeing Rhett's wonderful guitar tech set up in his very dark basement has inspired me to stop waiting for a proper man cave. I will find a corner in my very dark basement and set up myself a guitar tech spot that I have been dreaming of for about 2 years now.
I love the Music Nomad products. I own about 8 of their items, and I've been very-pleased with each-of-them. Great info presented here. oNe LovE from NYC
Great video. I have always wanted to do my own set ups but felt so daunted by the process and did not want to completely mess up my guitar to the point of now being even worse off than when I started.
I recommend a quality straight edge and a notched straight edge for checking neck straightness and relief. I also agree with Mr.Greg Davis as far as setting neck relief. It's quick, easy and accurate. The straight edge will verify the accuracy of those adjustments. Most manufactures have set up specs on their web sites, these are average specs. I would recommend adjusting those to personal preference (ie; higher or lower, etc.). Most adjustments should be made to ones playing style (relief, action, pickup height, etc.) except intonation. As far as tools check StewMac, Philadelphia Luthier, AllParts, Luthiers Mercantile and Solo Guitars (In Canada), just to name a few. I have gotten tools from all of them over the years with no regrets.
Whether to raise or lower the pickups is a handy bit of knowledge, and easy to do. A bridge pin remover on a key ring can be handy. Surprising how many players about to go on stage realise at the last moment that their nails need cutting/filing and have nothing to do that with.
a good acronym I learned to remember the order is T.R.A.I.N. - Tune, Relief, Action, Intonation, Nut/Noodle. it's helped me dial in setups really well, better than I used to achieve
Clark Dolan Thanks for your setup info. I set up compensated Tele saddles by setting one to pitch and the other sharp. I’ve found I can file the sharp side to pitch, checking with the tuner. It takes some time but it’s worth it.
Hey I just wanna thank you for you’re videos. Because of watching you my guitar playing got much better, I learned so much from your videos copied your riffs that you played. This just helped me out with my playing and understand the notes and how to connect everything. I am playing the guitar for 11 years now (I stared with 11 years old) but I didn’t play a lot just go to the lessons and sometimes at home. Now I’m older and it just helps out in my life to get through anything. So I got to thank you to make my guitar playing improve by a lot and to make my life beautiful and amazing. Sorry for my bad grammar ;) Edit: maybe a little of a weird request, would it be possible if I send you a clip of me playing guitar would be a little dream come true.
I've never seen that fret polishing tool before nor have I polished my frets. Will definitely have to do this from now on. Great video Rhett, thank you.
I use a comparison between the 12/24 fret, and the 12/24 harmonic. Seems to work fairly well. It’s on a Steinberger-style bridge with the tray and bridge blocks, which is a little trickier than with the horizontal adjusting screws. A lot of “nudging” is involved, but it has tended to remain pretty stable over the years. “Vintage” only because I’ve had it for a long time. 🤣 Love the content these days. Useful and often timely info along with the entertainment.👍🏼
I always felt my crapy playing , was due to my guitar setup. Well not really, but knowing how to do this all yourself builds more confidence in one's guitar playing. Great advice.
As always, a huge quality content Rhett! Over the last months I've been studying about guitar maintenance, rather than only playing. Maybe a cliché, but doing those setups kinda strengthen the bond with the instrument - the same as working in your car. Music Nomad also helps a lot in the process - F-One conditioner, Polisher and Detailer are now a “must have” in my toolbox!
Its great to see this Aussie company being used around the globe, iI ove my music nomad products :D I am ocd about my setups, the only step im yet to tackle is installing a new nut.
Great idea for a video. Rhett I’ve had my Tele setup for slide playing for years. What I’ve done lately is run baritone strings on it and play it in Open C/F, although lately I’ve been using more Open G/D with these strings as it is for me a better compromise between slide and fretted playing. And as more of an acoustic finger style player it feels more natural under my right hand.
For the intonation part, if you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a Peterson strobe tuner you can use a tuner app like Airyware strobe tuner on Android. It is crucial to use a really accurate tuner because if you don't the guitar will sound out of tune the further you go up on the neck.
If you can find someone who cuts custom bottle necks, they can probably cut you a slide with a built-in radius that will make a better match for that 7.25r neck than what you're using. I have cut myself a couple of wine bottle pinky slides with a curve that fits those old Fender necks better than what's on the market. I use a '63 Duo Sonic for my dedicated open G slide guitar and having the right curve helps keep your contact with the strings light and consistant. Also, sanding the glass can make a better surface interface with the strings for uniform contact and sustain.
Very helpful. Especially like the direct to tutorial approach without a lot of pretext or other senseless babbling that plagues so many other YT-channels (looking at you TPS 😘)
Thanks to the pandemic, I had to learn how to do this to some very well neglected guitars that survived several moves and were stored in cases for years at a time. With all of the extra time I began playing again, spending multiple hours each day practicing and learning new things. I decided that I wanted to bring everything up to speed and was able to revive the playability of some guitars that I hadn't used for years!
Thanks, Rhett, this was very helpful--learned or was reminded clearly about how to use the tools and follow the process. The mnemonic for intonation I learned is "Flat Fret Forward" (i.e. flat at the fret, move the saddle forward.)
intonation will also be affected by your action and truss rod settings and the height of the strings at rest from the nut to 1st fret. certain notes across an octave on each string will be slightly sharp or flat, this can be fixed by shifting the crowning on those frets forward or backward from center.
I have been setting up my guitars and basses myself now for about 5 years, I had a guy that did it for me and when he went from $80 to$100 then he went to $125, plus strings, not bad for guitar but basses the strings I get are expensive. My Guild is a little difficult because it has a Kayhler bridge, but I learned. As long as you don't change gauge of strings once you intonation nothing should change.
The way I've always remembered intonation adjustment is in relation to intonation, deeper notes go with longer scale length while higher notes go with shorter scale length.
This clip was great, Rhett. Your clarity and confidence inspired me to do my first truss rod adjustment on my own Tele today. Glad to report your guidance is very effective.
Learning to setup and repair my guitars allowed me to parlay it into a side gig. With the froth of guitars during the pandemic I actually had to file the income on my taxes I did so many setups and repairs.
Appreciate this video very much. I've been playing for 20+ years and been trying to do more and more as far as knowing everything about guitars and just very recently I got access to a cnc router, so I've been trying to learn just everything from building to maintaining etc.
I have just done the setup of my guitar some weeks ago. Might need to look into truss rod adjustment a bit more but good to know I've pretty much covered all the steps.
Rhett, just like setting up the truss was done with the guitar in playing position and tuned because of slight pressure on the neck in the bench rest position, after adjusting the action on any string(s), you should check the tuning again (for your chosen "playing pitch") before checking the results of the action height adjustment since adjusting the action up or down will change the tuning and the tuned pitch affects the total pressure pull of the strings. Good stuff, nice video.
Never seen the idea, to do the adjustments holding the guitar in playing position, instead of lying on its back and headrest, but it seems to be convincing. I will do it like this. What i missed here, is somthing even more important: When you put a new string, the string has to be regarded as a steel pole, but a thin one. Imagine you have a 5mm round steel pole, lying on the table and bending it over the edge of the table. The pole gets a smooth curve over the edge, not matching the edge. Same, when you put that steal pole (string) over the saddle and over the bridge, it gets a bend there, which never is as sharp as the bridge and the saddle itself, and it remains after the whole stringing process. That also happens at that point where it is leaving the tuning machines. It remains a little bit as a curve with a certain amount of stretched curve, and that disturbes the tuning. Two things are necessary to avoid that. First, each string has to be stretched a few times before clipping to size and winding. Then, the wounded up string needs a few times getting a stretch by pressing down with a fingertip just before its bending points and sideways before the tuning machine. Do it a few times listening to the string tone rising. Afterwords the bending curves are shortened and match the bending point and is no more a stretched out curve. Then, the whole string needs a few more stretches by tuning sharp a few half steps, and loosening . After that whole process, the guitar will stand much longer and better in tune . Especially when often bended or using whammy bar or other vibrato. Good idea, to polish the frets and lubricate the mechanics. I wouldn't have thought about that, but now i will do. Thanks!!!
If you live in the SF Bay Area, Music Nomad teamed up with SF Guitar Works (Hey Geoff!) to develop their setup method. SF Guitar Works also has a great “Setup” class to teach you all the ins and outs, as well as a being a fantastic repair shop.
Great set-up overview Rhett. I’ve watched several and you made it simple. In the future it would be great to see a setup on your pickup heights relative to the strings for your different models. TY
A tremolo video would be GREAT! It’s never a bad idea to see it done right again, as I can always see or find ‘something’ in another method that I hadn’t caught before. Thx
For the intonation bit, a good approach is to think... since it's sharp, to lower the note you need to make it more like a bass (longer) and obviously the reverse is true.
Your video was great. I am very new to setting up guitars and actually have an old Yamaha I am going to practice on. I got to get some money because the tools are not cheap but your instructions were great. I have to learn how to setup that tremolo first I think though. The guitar was taken apart and painted for me so it is completely resetting up everything.
As a budding luthier, the more videos on setups the better. So, please, cover the other instruments that have significant differences (trem vs. tune-o-matic, decked vs. floating, etc)
This will save you so much money . It cost about $60 for a basic setup now . I can get the buddy price of $25 but I I take 4 guitars to a gig . 2 Main , 2 backups . Here in Ohio the weather goes from Dry to Humid twice a year . So if you are playing gigs it is even harder on your guitars . Guitars in all honesty need checked after every gig . Not that they need a whole setup BUT they need tweaked back into shape .
The radius check is good, but if you have a hybrid (or compound) radius (meaning that the radius isn't the same at both ends of the neck) you might want to check in more than one place.... hybrid (compound) can be tricky to calculate the height at the saddles...
Some recommend using a capo at the first fret to eliminate the nut from the equation. Dan Erlewine of stewmac recommends it. There are no hard and fast rules as long as you are consistent in how you do your setup while finding the best height for optimal playability (lowest action without string buzz)
Rhett brother o haven’t Even watched this yet n want to say thank you ma man . It’s important that I learn how to look after my own guitars I love the things so that’s awesome of you to help us all out One love ma man 💜☮️🔥🙏🏼🎸🏴
You want to install a capo on the first fret also when measuring neck relief. Then fret and hold at the fret where the body joins the neck. This forms a straight line between the first fret and the body joint fret area. Now measure the neck relief (the distance between the tip of the 7th fret and low E string) using a feeler gage at the 7th fret. Adjust per manufacture specs or to your preference. I set my Fenders at 0.008 to 0.011. Gibsons a bit less. All the measuring is done in the playing position and with the guitar tuned well before all measurements! Also, don't forget to check the condition of the fretboard for dryness on wood that requires moisture (rosewood for instance) after cleaning. Keeping the wood with proper hydration is key a long-life fretboard. I use heavily filtered Linseed oil or Music Nomad F-One Oil is really good also. Maple necks with clear coat over them do not require oil.
100% agree I do exactly that with using a feeler gauge !Takes all the guess work out of the equation
@@mcburney74 Sean Hi. I got lost w/intonation. If the machine head is perfectly tuned, not sure what's happening @ the bridge.
Agreed. Evaluate current set-up before the strings come off.
The best way I've found is to put your staight edge down the center of the neck and measure the relief at the 7th fret with a feeler gauge. A capo isn't necessary with this. Using a cap and measuring under the top string is a hit and miss as it can be hard to see if the string is moving because of the clearance or because you have the feeler gauge slightly cocked. Using the straight edge removes all doubt as the feeler gauge will pass under the straight edge or it won't. If you don't have a straight edge then maybe you should be paying someone else to do your setups....
@@robertakerman3570 You want the guitar to be perfectly in tune both when you strum it open and when you fret the 12th fret. If they aren't both in tune, that means all of your frets on that string are out of alignment by a small amount, making the tuning of each fret a little bit sharp or flat. When each string has varying intonation, that makes strumming chords sound like ass because each note is either a little bit sharp or flat. You want the 12th fret to be perfectly in the middle of the string when you fret it down, so adjusting the saddle of a string lets you move the center of the string up or down the neck.
I started doing my own setups about 5 years ago. There's something about setting up your own guitar that just makes it feel even better
There's something awesome in getting your instrument to play the way you envision it in your head.
Some days your ears just pick up a dissonance that you can’t ignore. Just love being able to flatten a “wave”, even if I’m the only one who notices.😇
Agree completely. It's also nice to be able to fix minor issues without having to find someone that knows what they're doing, have to part with the guitar for a period of time, and pay someone to do it. I'm considering buying a cheap wreck of a guitar and buying a few tools and learning how to replace frets. I do a lot of vibrato but seem to only wear a handful of frets in certain places. It'd be nice to change the worn ones one at a time as issues arise.
I started doing it myself 30 years ago because I never got one back the way I want it.
@@bobroberts1530 I'm probably middle of the road on frets - don't destroy them too fast, don't baby them either. The idea of having my Novo refretted at some point keeps me up at night.
A useful tip for remembering which way the saddle needs to move when intonating is you need to move the saddle in the direction of your tuner needle. i.e. if the note is sharp and the needle is to the right of centre then the saddle needs to be moved in that direction, to the right. If the note is flat and the needle is to the left of centre then move your saddle to the left.
Hi thanks for the tip but I'm very confused. 1} looking at the saddle from the body end of the guitar. wouldn't the term be move up or down as there's no sideways movement to call it left of right.?
2) If looking down the guitar while in playing position the left and right positions of the saddle would be different from looking from the bottom of the guitar. Meaning left would be right and right would be left. Could you please clarify from what direction you are looking at the bridge. At the moment I see 3 (plausible directional options).
Thanks David
@@Kingofrestrrooms666 yes the guitar is in the playing position for this tip to make sense, and from a right handed guitarists perspective.
@@Kingofrestrrooms666 left would shorten scale length, right would lengthen it. Up and down saddle movement would adjust string height.
i mean like yea depending on which way you're facing? lmao
🙄@@kylezo
The way I've checked my intonation since the 70's has been to play a harmonic on the 12th fret and then play the note at the 12th fret and they should be the same. If the fretted note is sharper you need to lengthen the string and if it's flat then you shorten the string length. (shorter strings create sharper notes)
Got that right!!!
Noob question - how do you play a harmonic?
@@mydearriley Instead of pressing the string against the fingerboard you just touch the string with your fingertip.
1) String Change 2:41
2) Truss Rod Adjustment 6:00
3) String Action 9:14 (no title card for this step)
4) Set Bridge Radius 11:18
5) Set Intonation 12:58
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The way I remember to adjust saddles for intonation is if you touch something sharp with your finger your reaction is to pull it back. So if the string is sharp, pull the saddle back. I forget where I heard this but I’ve remembered it since. Big fan of your channel!
think of it like a tire, if your tire is flat you'd push/move the air (forward) into the tire. if there is something sharp in the tire you'd pull it out, thats how my middle school band teacher taught us
iF the Fretted note is Flat, move the saddle Forward ;)
If it’s flat, force it forward. If it’s sharp, shove it back. My instructor at Epiphone quality inspection taught me that one.
Two notes: 1. When checking the action/string height, it's not necessary to fret the string at the 1st fret. Just measure the height of the open string, and 2. It's best to loosen the string before raising the saddles, tightening the truss rod or adjusting intonation.
Absolutely agree.
Fretting the strings at the first fret when checking action is a good practice because it takes the nut out of the equation and gives you a more consistent reading. It isn’t strictly necessary, but it is absolutely not a harmful practice.
It’s also 100% unnecessary to loosen the strings to make the adjustments you mentioned. Just simply does not matter and is just a waste of time and effort. The only exception being if you are trying to raise the bridge on a Tune O Matic style bridge; it can sometimes be helpful (or even necessary) to loosen the strings before raising the action. Other than that it does not matter.
@@vitreous_luster You are right about checking the action, if the nut is cut right. Most of the time you are fretting an open string, so string height of the open string is of utmost importance for playability.
Loosening the string when adjusting the height of the saddle or intonation is also important. It helps prevent stripping the set screws when raising the saddle and allows the set screws to slide easier when intonating. I agree about during truss rod adjustment, unless the truss rod is hard to tighten to begin with.
This honestly was some much needed knowledge for someone who’s been playing guitar for 10+ years and never done a set up myself. Tons of great advice and it’s much appreciated!
Well there was a lot of bad advice in this. Never use a guitar pick under the first fret when checking if the truss rod needs adjusting. Use a capo instead. Also 0.600 feeler gauge is way too slim. He should have been using an 0.010 or 0.110 feeler gauge. This stuff is the basics and he made a video with epic errors.
I love the set up lessons. It would be great to see it on other types of guitars, including acoustic and tremolo guitars. Thanks!
And basses!
I love this. I do Repairs at Guitar Center, and this is something everyone should know. It’s all personal preference and everyone doing setups do them a little different. To get a guitar the way you like/need it’s good to know how to fix problems that arise.
Also, I wanted to give a trick on polishing frets easier. 0000 steel wool is amazing. Use the same blocker so it doesn’t hit the board, but it seems to work faster and better than the compounds. Plus if your doing a darker wood that isn’t covered with clear coat, you can polish the board with the same steel wool and oil when finished. Literally my favorite process to do to a guitar. And the before and after are super drastic. A fretboard is the first thing that you feel on a guitar and to have it not crusted up with dead skin and dried sweat is a lovely feeling.
First step: Get an electric screwdriver and a winder bit. This greatly speeds up tuning, and allows you to remove screws faster. The hand winder is a backup
Totally agree just ordered more winders to fit my e-driver.
Have a string stretcher that speeds the process by light years as well
@@Burnt_Gerbil locking tuners are nice.
As for wear and tear… a tuner is meant to undergo thousands of rotations.
Once you are in tune, regardless if it’s locking or not, you only make small adjustments to retune. A regular tuner might be wound a dozen times to remove string slack, but afterwards it is the same small adjustments.
Likely you would never live to see the wear and tear difference from turning the pegs.
What eats tuners is sitting in one spot, corrosion, and back lash bouncing. How many people oil their tuners? Eventually they lock up.
Backlash going back and forward can deform the teeth, creating dead spots.
Sometimes bushings get dead spots as well.
Also, swapping out locking tuners for many guitars are a non-starter, especially to change the strings on a particular guitar.
$30 for an electric driver and bit, or replace every set of tuners on every guitar you restring?
@@michaelvarney. I got the winder bit, but after switching my two guitars to locking tuners, I never used it once again lol. Still nice to have just in case tho.
@@popogejo7245 r
You’re totally right. If you can swing em, get locking tuners.
As far as adjusting intonation is concerned, it is a good practice to let some of the tension off the string before you adjust it...also, checking the 5th and 17th frets as well as the open and 12th fret can provide a little more accuracy...
I had a great experience with Music Nomad when I got my full set of nut files I wanted one of the smaller metal containers to keep my most used files in and I contacted Music Nomad and they just asked for proof of purchase and happily shipped me the smaller gold container they use for the smaller file sets... no charge. Good Folks!
Did exactly this after switching parts on the guitar. It not only sounds better, it also plays way better due to the action beeing set properly.
My first ~15 years in a working band I had a guitar tech come to my house on Mondays and check/adjust/restring the guitars I was using. In the mid-80's, as my guitar collection grew past 30, I decided to learn and do it myself. Now I don't gig much, and I have a small shop at my home and do work for others. A lot of the setup is subjective. I would recommend getting a book on setups by Dan Erlewine. He has a shop in Ohio and consults for StewMac, you can get the book there. His methods and advice is very good, and the book includes pictures/charts etc. It's a good resource in addition to watching YT videos. JMHO Peace --gary
Yes, please make a separate vid for setting up the different bridge styles. I know there are plenty of vids out there but the way you just went through this made it SUPER easy to follow. I've been playing nearly 35 years and I like you have outsourced my setups and realize it's time to do it myself.
Thanks for all you do and all you share, brother!
I would definitely like a part 2 with guitar type differences and trems. Thanks for uploading this
Two years ago I lived in a hot humid environment with a good tech nearby. Now I live in a cooler dryer environment, no tech for 2 hundred kms. My guitars took 18 months to adapt to my new location. I bought the tools and did the research to do almost the required work.
22 seconds into this video and I love it!!! I have more guitars than I wish to confess, but the change in location/seasons, makes it a requirement to keep them happy! Your video is excellent!!! I have been setting-up my own collection for the past 30 years and you did an excellent job of summing-up the process.
Im a mechanical engineer. I didnt know just how badly I was neglecting my guitars. Thank you so much for this video. Caring for your guitars is fun, technical and feels great. You've changed my life lol.
The Music Nomad nut file kit is a Patented design that makes tackling this sometimes tricky job much easier. Dollar Store nail files may get you by in a pinch, but if your serious about getting it right the first time it's $80 bucks well spent. Some tools are on a different level. This is one such tool. You'll never want to do it any other way, once you've used them.
When I get new or used guitar, I often roughly setup the action using current / old strings. This is when I adjust the truss rod straight, file or change the nut and adjust saddles height. After that I remove the strings, clean and oil up the fretboard and pots. With the new strings I setup the intonation and sometimes the truss rod little bit more. The stratocaster is satisfying to setup and makes you wanna play more often and longer.
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A little tip to help remember where the saddle needs to go when setting intonation:
if the fretted note on the 12th fret is sharp, you need to move the saddle towards the bridge, the bridge is sharp (you can cut your hand on a sharp surface), if the note is flat, move the saddle towards the headstock which is flat itself.
Always helps me to remember in an instant :)
Good video dude! Doing your own setups might seem scary at first, once you learn it though you wonder why'd you pay someone else to do it instead :')
What if the saddle is already at its max against the bridge, but still sharp?
Set up videos by someone who is kinda just getting into it are the best! Rhett, you nailed it with the thorough explanation of the various steps!
I like to put some tape on each side of my fret guard things so that it's a little wider on each side. Helps keep polish off the fretboard and keeps tools from scratching anything depending on what you're doing.
I just bought a Fender Squier Contemporary Telecaster this week. The string gage was too big for me and quite honestly that guitar needed some love. So I took it to the guitar shop for a good setup. Having said that, it is my intention to broaden my knowledge of guitar maintenance so I can learn to do these adjustments on my own. Regards from Ottawa, Canada.
Thanks to the pandemic I got pretty decent at setting up my own guitars. Some hits and misses, but when I'm in the zone I can really dial in the action and vibe like how my favorite guitar tech does it. The only thing I really need practice with is fret levelling which still scares me, but hey I'll get there too lol. It's a very fulfilling process and helpful down the line because who doesn't wanna perfect the feel of their own guitars?
The gauge set alone is great and you can do a lot of the rest with household tools and a string winder/cutter tool. Using the gauges was how I learned that my acoustic needed pro attention and now it plays like a dream
In case you're wondering, the suggestions to capo the 1st fret when measuring neck relief and adjusting the truss rod is to eliminate differences in nut heights. If your nut is fine, you don't necessarily need to capo, but it is the best practice to capo it for uniformity. Either way just make sure your measurements are relative (don't adjust relief once with a capo and the next time without, or mix them up on different guitars).
I learned to do basic setups when I first started playing guitar, and have refined my process over the years. I suggest every to learn how to do it, as you can adjust your guitar over time to get the very best results. On all my guitars with truss rods, adjusting them affects the tone - Something that is rarely mentioned. I was adjusting the truss rod on an Acoustic Electric last night, and though I can adjust the string height to nearly flat, the guitar really sings and plays better when the action is rather high, so that's where it's set. On my Strat, I could never get the truss rod to balance the relief between the treble and bass string - If one side was good, the other side wasn't. Then one day I decided to just flatten the neck so there was no relief without the strings on. After that, I've been able to get a balanced relief across all the strings.
I’ve watched many of these set up videos. This is the first one I’ve seen that made me feel like I can do it well. There’s a difference between a tech instructing on this and a player. Players lean more on common sense.
Great vid Rhett. One comment: the action will change a bit when you change the string length for setting intonation. I always go back and forth: adjust action, then adjust strength length for intonation, then double check the action again to fine tune it, then double check intonation again. It's kind of dance, but you get there eventually.
thanks so much. im stilling learning myself. figured out to just put regular home style oil down in truss rod and after 2 times it started to move. lots of corrosion from living by the beach. that usually works. saved me probably 100 bucks.
Never did a truss rod adjustment like that. Capo at the first fret, depress the low E string at the last fret and check the clearance at the eighth fret. Depending on the neck radius it will be between .009 and .013 inches.
That's how I do it as well.
This is the kind of thing I've been needing to learn more about thank you Rhett. All the comments are making everything confusing but I'll figure it out when the time comes
Love this style content. Something every musician needs to learn. How to care for your instrument and keep it playing properly. Makes playing so much more enjoyable. Much love Rhett
Those Music Nomad Fret polish guards work very well. I have them, and use them now. Can't speak to the polish. I'm still using some ultra fine abrasion sheets I have. On unfinished fretboards, (rosewood et al), four 0 steel wool starts the polish on the frets as well as cleaning the fretboard. Handy.
Steel wool kills pups… it will always shed ferrous material…
@@michaelvarney. Which is why I always tape up my pickups with painters tape before using steel wool. :) I tape the sound holes on acoustics, too. Everything I've ever seen on steel wool teaches that right up front, including the fellow at my local guitar store who taught me how to do it. So i was lucky, and got that advice right from the get-go.
The only thing I missed is, when I`m tuning new strings for first time I overbend the strings by pulling them with my right hand. After that they need to be tuned up more than one note. This helps a lot to find the right intonation.
Im so excited for the second part of the studio builld! Awesome vids Rhett!
Step 4; if a string is sharp during intonation, turn the screw to make it sharper… after you retune the intonation will be improved. Much simpler than remembering directions.
If intonation is flat, turn screw to make it flatter, then retune and test again.
Ohhhhh, that's definitely the opposite of what I did the first time I tried. I ended up taking it to the shop to fix whatever I had done.
After seeing Rhett's wonderful guitar tech set up in his very dark basement has inspired me to stop waiting for a proper man cave.
I will find a corner in my very dark basement and set up myself a guitar tech spot that I have been dreaming of for about 2 years now.
I love the Music Nomad products. I own about 8 of their items, and I've been very-pleased with each-of-them. Great info presented here. oNe LovE from NYC
Great video. I have always wanted to do my own set ups but felt so daunted by the process and did not want to completely mess up my guitar to the point of now being even worse off than when I started.
I recommend a quality straight edge and a notched straight edge for checking neck straightness and relief. I also agree with Mr.Greg Davis as far as setting neck relief. It's quick, easy and accurate. The straight edge will verify the accuracy of those adjustments. Most manufactures have set up specs on their web sites, these are average specs. I would recommend adjusting those to personal preference (ie; higher or lower, etc.). Most adjustments should be made to ones playing style (relief, action, pickup height, etc.) except intonation. As far as tools check StewMac, Philadelphia Luthier, AllParts, Luthiers Mercantile and Solo Guitars (In Canada), just to name a few. I have gotten tools from all of them over the years with no regrets.
Whether to raise or lower the pickups is a handy bit of knowledge, and easy to do. A bridge pin remover on a key ring can be handy. Surprising how many players about to go on stage realise at the last moment that their nails need cutting/filing and have nothing to do that with.
A lot of people have bought and sold guitars when adjusting the pickup height would have solved the problem
a good acronym I learned to remember the order is T.R.A.I.N. - Tune, Relief, Action, Intonation, Nut/Noodle. it's helped me dial in setups really well, better than I used to achieve
Chase the needle! (On the tuner) That’s something I was told when learning how you intonate a guitar in regards whether to make I shorter or longer
Clark Dolan
Thanks for your setup info.
I set up compensated Tele saddles by setting one to pitch and the other sharp. I’ve found I can file the sharp side to pitch, checking with the tuner.
It takes some time but it’s worth it.
Hey I just wanna thank you for you’re videos.
Because of watching you my guitar playing got much better, I learned so much from your videos copied your riffs that you played. This just helped me out with my playing and understand the notes and how to connect everything. I am playing the guitar for 11 years now (I stared with 11 years old) but I didn’t play a lot just go to the lessons and sometimes at home. Now I’m older and it just helps out in my life to get through anything. So I got to thank you to make my guitar playing improve by a lot and to make my life beautiful and amazing.
Sorry for my bad grammar ;)
Edit: maybe a little of a weird request, would it be possible if I send you a clip of me playing guitar would be a little dream come true.
I've never seen that fret polishing tool before nor have I polished my frets. Will definitely have to do this from now on. Great video Rhett, thank you.
I use a comparison between the 12/24 fret, and the 12/24 harmonic. Seems to work fairly well. It’s on a Steinberger-style bridge with the tray and bridge blocks, which is a little trickier than with the horizontal adjusting screws. A lot of “nudging” is involved, but it has tended to remain pretty stable over the years. “Vintage” only because I’ve had it for a long time. 🤣
Love the content these days. Useful and often timely info along with the entertainment.👍🏼
I always felt my crapy playing , was due to my guitar setup. Well not really, but knowing how to do this all yourself builds more confidence in one's guitar playing. Great advice.
Music Nomad tools are the best(I've purchased them all!) Took me a couple years to get the perfect flow of a setup. I finally have it down.
As always, a huge quality content Rhett!
Over the last months I've been studying about guitar maintenance, rather than only playing. Maybe a cliché, but doing those setups kinda strengthen the bond with the instrument - the same as working in your car.
Music Nomad also helps a lot in the process - F-One conditioner, Polisher and Detailer are now a “must have” in my toolbox!
Its great to see this Aussie company being used around the globe, iI ove my music nomad products :D
I am ocd about my setups, the only step im yet to tackle is installing a new nut.
Great idea for a video.
Rhett I’ve had my Tele setup for slide playing for years. What I’ve done lately is run baritone strings on it and play it in Open C/F, although lately I’ve been using more Open G/D with these strings as it is for me a better compromise between slide and fretted playing. And as more of an acoustic finger style player it feels more natural under my right hand.
For the intonation part, if you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a Peterson strobe tuner you can use a tuner app like Airyware strobe tuner on Android. It is crucial to use a really accurate tuner because if you don't the guitar will sound out of tune the further you go up on the neck.
Love the Music Nomad products. Have a handful of their products and they're all so well thought out.
If you can find someone who cuts custom bottle necks, they can probably cut you a slide with a built-in radius that will make a better match for that 7.25r neck than what you're using. I have cut myself a couple of wine bottle pinky slides with a curve that fits those old Fender necks better than what's on the market. I use a '63 Duo Sonic for my dedicated open G slide guitar and having the right curve helps keep your contact with the strings light and consistant. Also, sanding the glass can make a better surface interface with the strings for uniform contact and sustain.
can never have enough "how to do basic setup stuff" videos. Each one reminds me it's been too long since I've spruced up my guitars.
Very helpful. Especially like the direct to tutorial approach without a lot of pretext or other senseless babbling that plagues so many other YT-channels (looking at you TPS 😘)
if you measure and adjust each string it will follow what ever radius the fret wire is.
Thanks to the pandemic, I had to learn how to do this to some very well neglected guitars that survived several moves and were stored in cases for years at a time. With all of the extra time I began playing again, spending multiple hours each day practicing and learning new things. I decided that I wanted to bring everything up to speed and was able to revive the playability of some guitars that I hadn't used for years!
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Thanks, Rhett, this was very helpful--learned or was reminded clearly about how to use the tools and follow the process. The mnemonic for intonation I learned is "Flat Fret Forward" (i.e. flat at the fret, move the saddle forward.)
Great help on maintenance issues. I'm not consistent when it comes to treating my guitars well. Thanks for another excellent video, Rhett.
intonation will also be affected by your action and truss rod settings and the height of the strings at rest from the nut to 1st fret. certain notes across an octave on each string will be slightly sharp or flat, this can be fixed by shifting the crowning on those frets forward or backward from center.
I have been setting up my guitars and basses myself now for about 5 years, I had a guy that did it for me and when he went from $80 to$100 then he went to $125, plus strings, not bad for guitar but basses the strings I get are expensive. My Guild is a little difficult because it has a Kayhler bridge, but I learned. As long as you don't change gauge of strings once you intonation nothing should change.
I had the same problem remembering which way to go for intonation. A simple note taped to my tool board solved that problem. No more looking it up!
The way I've always remembered intonation adjustment is in relation to intonation, deeper notes go with longer scale length while higher notes go with shorter scale length.
This clip was great, Rhett. Your clarity and confidence inspired me to do my first truss rod adjustment on my own Tele today. Glad to report your guidance is very effective.
I am buying a HB and you posting this. Perfect timing. Time to get that intonation perfect. (Action is amazing already, the guitar plays fantastic)
Learning to setup and repair my guitars allowed me to parlay it into a side gig. With the froth of guitars during the pandemic I actually had to file the income on my taxes I did so many setups and repairs.
Great example to demonstrate the compromise sometimes necessary to do a setup that suits your needs!
Appreciate this video very much.
I've been playing for 20+ years and been trying to do more and more as far as knowing everything about guitars and just very recently I got access to a cnc router, so I've been trying to learn just everything from building to maintaining etc.
That nomad lube kit is the business! I use it on my acoustic bone parts as well as my ibanez tremelo titanium equipment.
I have just done the setup of my guitar some weeks ago. Might need to look into truss rod adjustment a bit more but good to know I've pretty much covered all the steps.
Rhett, just like setting up the truss was done with the guitar in playing position and tuned because of slight pressure on the neck in the bench rest position, after adjusting the action on any string(s), you should check the tuning again (for your chosen "playing pitch") before checking the results of the action height adjustment since adjusting the action up or down will change the tuning and the tuned pitch affects the total pressure pull of the strings. Good stuff, nice video.
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Never seen the idea, to do the adjustments holding the guitar in playing position, instead of lying on its back and headrest, but it seems to be convincing. I will do it like this. What i missed here, is somthing even more important:
When you put a new string, the string has to be regarded as a steel pole, but a thin one. Imagine you have a 5mm round steel pole, lying on the table and bending it over the edge of the table. The pole gets a smooth curve over the edge, not matching the edge. Same, when you put that steal pole (string) over the saddle and over the bridge, it gets a bend there, which never is as sharp as the bridge and the saddle itself, and it remains after the whole stringing process. That also happens at that point where it is leaving the tuning machines. It remains a little bit as a curve with a certain amount of stretched curve, and that disturbes the tuning. Two things are necessary to avoid that. First, each string has to be stretched a few times before clipping to size and winding. Then, the wounded up string needs a few times getting a stretch by pressing down with a fingertip just before its bending points and sideways before the tuning machine. Do it a few times listening to the string tone rising. Afterwords the bending curves are shortened and match the bending point and is no more a stretched out curve. Then, the whole string needs a few more stretches by tuning sharp a few half steps, and loosening . After that whole process, the guitar will stand much longer and better in tune . Especially when often bended or using whammy bar or other vibrato.
Good idea, to polish the frets and lubricate the mechanics. I wouldn't have thought about that, but now i will do. Thanks!!!
Perfect timing. New guitarist and bought a new 50’s Vibe and want to try and set it up myself. Thanks!
Great lesson Rhett! Thanks. Very useful. Please do one for floating a tremolo bridge and the reverse!
Best tuner for tuning, intonation: Peterson strobostomp HD. Love it
Hi Rhett. I noticed at 8:51 you measured the neck relief at the 4th fret instead of the 6th fret.
Knowing the manufacturer model Specs are will help you do set ups to most are available on the Manufacturer's web sight. Good video 👍
If you live in the SF Bay Area, Music Nomad teamed up with SF Guitar Works (Hey Geoff!) to develop their setup method. SF Guitar Works also has a great “Setup” class to teach you all the ins and outs, as well as a being a fantastic repair shop.
Great set-up overview Rhett. I’ve watched several and you made it simple. In the future it would be great to see a setup on your pickup heights relative to the strings for your different models. TY
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A tremolo video would be GREAT! It’s never a bad idea to see it done right again, as I can always see or find ‘something’ in another method that I hadn’t caught before. Thx
Good information. Would suggest that you want to detune the string when adjusting intonation and string height.
Tip; check relief on both 1st and 6th string. Some necks are not straight and then you need to adjust accordingly.
For the intonation bit, a good approach is to think... since it's sharp, to lower the note you need to make it more like a bass (longer) and obviously the reverse is true.
Your video was great. I am very new to setting up guitars and actually have an old Yamaha I am going to practice on. I got to get some money because the tools are not cheap but your instructions were great. I have to learn how to setup that tremolo first I think though. The guitar was taken apart and painted for me so it is completely resetting up everything.
As a budding luthier, the more videos on setups the better. So, please, cover the other instruments that have significant differences (trem vs. tune-o-matic, decked vs. floating, etc)
Getting brave and diving into all aspects of your guitar setup is what differentiates you from a piano player!
Wait, I can play piano?
@@shankrl1 just a light hearted jab at how most piano players can't tune, perform maintenance on or move the instrument.
This will save you so much money . It cost about $60 for a basic setup now . I can get the buddy price of $25 but I I take 4 guitars to a gig . 2 Main , 2 backups . Here in Ohio the weather goes from Dry to Humid twice a year . So if you are playing gigs it is even harder on your guitars . Guitars in all honesty need checked after every gig . Not that they need a whole setup BUT they need tweaked back into shape .
Rhett, please do make a video on setting up tremolos. Also, during your wrap-up, I almost needed some Dramamine! ;)
The radius check is good, but if you have a hybrid (or compound) radius (meaning that the radius isn't the same at both ends of the neck) you might want to check in more than one place.... hybrid (compound) can be tricky to calculate the height at the saddles...
The Guitar Player Repair Guide is a very helpful book to have.
Thank you Rhett. Great video and yes would love to see a video for tremelo guitars and even a Les Paul or PRS.
Thanks again 👍
I never heard of using a capo or pick to hold down the string when measuring action. Neck relief yes but with action the nut should be used.
Same here. I measure the action by checking the string height above the 12th fret without needing to do anything in addition.
Some recommend using a capo at the first fret to eliminate the nut from the equation. Dan Erlewine of stewmac recommends it. There are no hard and fast rules as long as you are consistent in how you do your setup while finding the best height for optimal playability (lowest action without string buzz)
Rhett brother o haven’t Even watched this yet n want to say thank you ma man .
It’s important that I learn how to look after my own guitars I love the things so that’s awesome of you to help us all out
One love ma man 💜☮️🔥🙏🏼🎸🏴
I always check the string height over the pickups when I do a setup. Changes to the neck and string height change the height over the pickups.