Hi everyone! Thank you all so much for checking out my video, but I have a small favour to ask. About 95% of recent viewers aren't actually subscribed to my channel and I will be putting out more similar videos in the future. If you enjoy the videos I'm making, please consider hitting that subscribe button as a show of support. Thank you again!
Man you have done a great job explaining scale length and intonation. I'm serious my friend. This is the best explanation of intonation I've seen anywhere. Nice job brother. ✌️
My goodness, I've watched your neck pitch video and now this one and you've helped demystify the most daunting aspects of guitar building for me. I'm working on my first custom guitar and your guides are perfect. I actually feel like I can do this. Thanks so much for explaining the theory and how-to so well! Subscribed!
"When I first started building, bridge position is something I really stressed out about..." Ok, so it's not just me! Excellent! Happy to know we all go through the same process :D
I know a lot of the theory for installing bridges and I know almost everything about the physics for it but you made me understand how to do it so much better, much more confident doing it after this. That was awesome, thanks
I've been placing guitar bridges for a long time using different specifics or reasoning as to exactly where I would land the bridge. Always had enough saddle adjustability to successfully intonate the instruments. But I think I like your extended high string saddle to scale length placement better. I agree with your point about intonation and the saddle going away from the headstock too. Thank You Sean for a different perspective or approach on bridge placement
Truth in advertising! What caught my eye was the phrase "You're overthinking it!" When it comes to doing new projects I ALWAYS overthink it. You have given me plenty to think about, but even more to apply - right away. Your instructions and examples were so well presented that I am venturing beyond the thinking stage and heading straight for a "bridge to somewhere." This was excellent. Thank you SO much!
Overthinking must be one of the biggest problems I see with people. I myself have been paralysed so many times just because I can't get my head around something. I'm glad I can help demistify some things!
The "overthinking it" thing is what caught my eye too. I'm just getting started on my first guitar and I have a tune-o-matic bridge ready to go once I get there... but the prospect of placing it correctly has had me just terrified. I mean, I'm not even sure where the neck will go yet! I'll be watching more of this channel. This made it far less frightening.
That helped me a lot. It really did. Maybe I am a bit nerdy but I would like to mention one thing though (without any malicious intent) . The main reason for intonation is to compensate for the thickness of the string (not for the bending affect). In theory the total scale length is measured from the end of the nut to the tip of the saddle but in reality, any given string won't vibrate right after these pivot points. There will be some dead spot. The thicker the string gauge the larger this dead spot is. So the actually scale length is reduced. Hence the compensation + of course the bending.
I have heard this one before as well, but I don't believe this is the case. While the displacement of the vibrating string will be lessened as it approaches the fixed point (in this case the bridge, or nut), it isn't until the actual point of fixing that the string no longer vibrates. We can see this if the string slot in the nut is cut incorrectly, or if it has a small burr on the fingerboard edge of the slot. The string will buzz no longer how thick it is. This would not happen if the string was not vibrating right up until the point of fixing, as that "dead spot" would cushion this buzz.
@@AwenLutherieCustomGuitars a good point to think about, and I will. In the meantime, why does classical guitar need less compensation than steel string? Sometime they just place the saddle straight. ( It's because their strings are closer to each other in thickness.) By the way, I am not trying to say that I am an expert in physics but after watching some experiment I was convinced. I can't insert link but feel free to check the video out on TH-cam. 'Guitar Intonation Physics'
Thank you, I'm just at the bridge stage of restoring a brutalised old Cimar jazz bass. Just had to do it but challenging with my rudimentary knowledge. I could wax lyrically but suffice to say it is somewhat of an epiphany to find sites like yours.
Thanks for the video, especially the part in which you explain how you choose to angle tune--o-matic bridges. I think it should come in useful for my GGBO22 build. But I notice that with the post to post distance of 74mm, with the low e side 3mm behind the high e side, you mark 37mm each side of the centre line. Since the post-to-post is now inclined (think of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle), it's the diagonal distance that is 74mm. Each post would then be 36.97mm from the centre line. While that's close enough to 37mm to work perfectly fine when actually marking 37mm and drilling the holes for the posts, anyone who chooses to angle a bridge much more drastically would probably want to work out distance to mark.
Thanks for giving me the info I needed I just really wanted to know where to set my high E. Now I know measuring back from the nut set it at which is 25 and a half inches right! And it looks like that will give me a little bit of wiggle room forward towards the nut and a fair amount back towards the bottom of the guitar. And it seems to me that the high E would be the most forward string 😊
Fantastic man! Not only you gave me the exact information I was looking for, but you also explained to me in a clear/straight way something I didn't really wrapped my mind around, that is the whole intonation subject. This is the kind of information that is really useful and gives you the basic knowledge to design something with a sense in it and not only copy some measures not knowing why.
Very helpful, thank you! Positioning the bridge is always one of the most stressful parts of a build for me, hopefully with this information it’ll be easier
I'm about to do this on my first "build", a parts P Bass with fretless neck and Longhorn pickups/electronics. I've drilled and fitted the neckplate and neck. It was a tad low but otherwise accurate. This is an excellent explanation as I had already finished the body and was concerned about messing up the finish.
Thanks Sean! This is an excellent tutorial. Clear, practical, and makes perfect sense.More like this please. How about one for cutting a nut? You could include variants such as cutting for a 12 string.
I’m about to make my first build, so I’ve been watching videos like this for a couple of months now. I just came across this video and it is by far the best and easiest explanation of bridge placement I have found. Like and subscribed well earned. I can’t wait to jump in further.
Thank you for this video. This makes it easier than ever for a builder to install a Tune-O-Matic bridge and other ones, for example. I mean it's so easy to understand the way you explain it. A thousand thanks to you for that
Good morning!!!lovely video most practical. As for TOM, you could say that forget the saddles and just drill for posts 1mm (treble) away from scale length and 4mm for bass and done??others suggest 1/8 inch further scale length for treble and9/32 for bass
Superb video, this has saved me countless headaches and time. Awesome job and I’m going to be digging through your others. Keep up the great work. Nice looking bass too
I just found you and I must say I find the way you explain what you are doing very much to my liking. I watch several tubes like this but you top the lot. I am in the middle of reviving an old Hohner Strat for a friend and was concerned where to place this new bridge a replacement was not available. All the hardware is being bought to make it fit the body and I am hoping it turns out ok. I will ingest your other work over the week and I am sure I will learn a lot faster. Well done.
5:04 It makes sense, but then I wonder... why the D string saddle needs to be adjusted closer to the nut than the G string? It also happens in my bass so it's not because of the wound/unwound strings of the guitar as one might think. Thank you so much for the very good video. It clarifies a lot.
I have had to look into this, but the short answer is that intonation is also accounting for something called "inharmonicity", which is compensated for differently than the bending effect of fretting the instrument. Inharmonicity is basically the fact that harmonics don't line up properly or perfectly across every pitch, and thicker strings need more compensation towards the nut (opposite to tension adjustment, which goes the other way). The D and G strings just happen to line up weirdly like that, effectively. So super short answer - They just don't. Very disappointing.
Thank you very much for this an excellent tutorial. Already for few days I am looking for some clear explanation and finally have found it. Only what I am interested is how to exactly place the wraparound tail piece on les paul junior body. I would appreicate if you can give me some clear instruction for this or I will try to get the point from this video 😊
Loved your video. I'm planning to build an inexpensive headless, weight reduced Les Paul. Any suggestions you have on bridges & necks would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Again
And I thought I knew all about intonation🤣 The more I learn the less I know. I solved my tune-o-matic problems by using Nashville bridges, which has a wider setting range than a standard ABR-1 bridge. Nice grain on the guitar. Is that swamp ash (my favourite)? Thanks for the really useful and well presented info. I will definitely check out the rest of your stuff 𝄢🎶
Very true. This is the reason I always say bring the string forward as far as is comfortable. It should always leave a small amount of adjustment forward just in case. In reality, even 1 gauge strings will not adjust further forward than the scale length.
I'm adding a trem block to a body where the routing is already done for the block, but no mounting holes for the bridge screws...so use the same 'high E saddle all the way forward' system?...find the scale length point using the high E saddle all the way forward, then square and center the bridge, and...voila...correct?...mark where the screw holes shall be drilled and that should be the correct spot for the trem bridge... Also, do you have any videos on how to set the spring/string tension for a Strat-style floating tremolo system that will ultimately stay in tune? Just discovered your channel, you explain it in easy to understand terms...thanks! Subscribed.
Thank you I’m building my first guitar and got desperate when I realized my neck isn’t perfectly align to m the center lign of the body. Thanks to your méthod it got a new center line, and the bridge is just 1,3mm off the center of the body. I can live with that, especially thanks to your intro when you say it happens to have a center line a bit left or right. I did everything with hand tools. I’ve been recommanded to screw the neck before positioning the bridge, do you recommand it ? My mistake comes from a badly drawn center line at the 24th fret
Always a bit of an enigma placing a bridge. I hate installing Tune-o-matics! I think your Tune-o-matic spacing would be a bit too long, if measured the same distance form the centerline, since it is offset by 3 degrees. I mark the treble side at 37, then use calipers to mark 74 from that point (at whatever angle), for the other post. Essentially, the angle determines where the bass side post goes, not the centerline. Great video though, and thanks for posting!
You're right - I think it would be 74.0608mm between the holes (he's using 3mm rather than 3 degrees). I'd imagine you can get away with it because it's such a small difference. Would marking from the treble post mean that the bridge would be ever-so-slightly offset towards the treble side? Either way, I'd imagine the inaccuracy of measurement when working is greater than each of these numbers anyway😀
@@NickBrown33 Yeah, I meant mm not degrees (oops, measure twice LOL). it would be closer to the treble side, and I guess I might be splitting hairs! Ultimately slotting the saddles will make everything right.
Got some good ideas from your explanation of bridge place, especially Hi E referencing and moving that string to the fret scale reference point. Is the string gauge variation a major factor regarding intonation? For instance a Super Light flat wound .08 in relation to a heavy .11 Hi E? If so, do you move the string holder forward or backward?
I will add that with a 25.5 scale length and a Gotoh 510 FE1 tremolo it gets 8mm from the scale line to the front edge of the tremolo cavity that you need to route out
Great video! I wish you had in hand the original roller bridge of the Red Special by Brian May, cause it’s a bit different from other bridges on the market. And Brian’s guitar has zero fret.
I'd love to get my hands on the actual red special and have a chat with the man himself about it, that would be so cool! In theory at least the placement of the bridge should the same as any other, and the zero fret don't make any difference, it just replaces the nut as the 0 point of the scale length.
Oops, I'm late to watch this video. I just finished my first LP-type guitar; and although the instrument can be calibrated correctly; it would have been better if the bridge had been a little forward. It will come out better in the next project. Thank you very much for your video.
It's a Crimson Guitars one, damn good piece of kit! I used to use a cheap plastic triangular one, but since getting my hands on one of these, I don't know how I managed without it
I appreciate your video. One question I was left with was after getting your measurement for where the TOM bridge goes, how do you figure out where to place the tail piece that a lot of TOM bridges come with?
The maths would say that you want the lowest angle from the tailpiece to the bridge as possible, without hitting the bridge itself. You could draw this all out and measure it like that. Alternatively, measure another guitar with that setup and copy roughly that. Or eyeball it and realise that it doesn't matter all that much. I put it about 45mm from the scale line, but really it doesn't matter all that much so long as you don't put it way too far back and it looks about right.
Hi everyone! Thank you all so much for checking out my video, but I have a small favour to ask. About 95% of recent viewers aren't actually subscribed to my channel and I will be putting out more similar videos in the future. If you enjoy the videos I'm making, please consider hitting that subscribe button as a show of support. Thank you again!
This is the second video of yours I’ve seen. Very clear and concise with no bs. Keep up the good work definitely subscribing!
Man you have done a great job explaining scale length and intonation. I'm serious my friend. This is the best explanation of intonation I've seen anywhere. Nice job brother. ✌️
My goodness, I've watched your neck pitch video and now this one and you've helped demystify the most daunting aspects of guitar building for me. I'm working on my first custom guitar and your guides are perfect. I actually feel like I can do this. Thanks so much for explaining the theory and how-to so well! Subscribed!
"When I first started building, bridge position is something I really stressed out about..."
Ok, so it's not just me! Excellent! Happy to know we all go through the same process :D
I just found it was never explained properly! Like anything, if you haven't a clue then it's just so confusing
I know a lot of the theory for installing bridges and I know almost everything about the physics for it but you made me understand how to do it so much better, much more confident doing it after this. That was awesome, thanks
Glad to hear I could help!
That's the greatest explanation of bridge placement I've ever heard. I'd love to hear your process on neck pocket depth.
Neck pocket depth is on the list, don't worry! Unortunately, the list is currently quite long... I'm glad you found this one good!
I've been placing guitar bridges for a long time using different specifics or reasoning as to exactly where I would land the bridge. Always had enough saddle adjustability to successfully intonate the instruments. But I think I like your extended high string saddle to scale length placement better. I agree with your point about intonation and the saddle going away from the headstock too. Thank You Sean for a different perspective or approach on bridge placement
Truth in advertising! What caught my eye was the phrase "You're overthinking it!" When it comes to doing new projects I ALWAYS overthink it. You have given me plenty to think about, but even more to apply - right away. Your instructions and examples were so well presented that I am venturing beyond the thinking stage and heading straight for a "bridge to somewhere." This was excellent. Thank you SO much!
Overthinking must be one of the biggest problems I see with people. I myself have been paralysed so many times just because I can't get my head around something. I'm glad I can help demistify some things!
The "overthinking it" thing is what caught my eye too. I'm just getting started on my first guitar and I have a tune-o-matic bridge ready to go once I get there... but the prospect of placing it correctly has had me just terrified. I mean, I'm not even sure where the neck will go yet!
I'll be watching more of this channel. This made it far less frightening.
That helped me a lot. It really did.
Maybe I am a bit nerdy but I would like to mention one thing though (without any malicious intent) . The main reason for intonation is to compensate for the thickness of the string (not for the bending affect). In theory the total scale length is measured from the end of the nut to the tip of the saddle but in reality, any given string won't vibrate right after these pivot points. There will be some dead spot. The thicker the string gauge the larger this dead spot is. So the actually scale length is reduced. Hence the compensation + of course the bending.
I have heard this one before as well, but I don't believe this is the case. While the displacement of the vibrating string will be lessened as it approaches the fixed point (in this case the bridge, or nut), it isn't until the actual point of fixing that the string no longer vibrates.
We can see this if the string slot in the nut is cut incorrectly, or if it has a small burr on the fingerboard edge of the slot. The string will buzz no longer how thick it is. This would not happen if the string was not vibrating right up until the point of fixing, as that "dead spot" would cushion this buzz.
@@AwenLutherieCustomGuitars a good point to think about, and I will.
In the meantime, why does classical guitar need less compensation than steel string? Sometime they just place the saddle straight. ( It's because their strings are closer to each other in thickness.)
By the way, I am not trying to say that I am an expert in physics but after watching some experiment I was convinced. I can't insert link but feel free to check the video out on TH-cam. 'Guitar Intonation Physics'
Thank you, I'm just at the bridge stage of restoring a brutalised old Cimar jazz bass. Just had to do it but challenging with my rudimentary knowledge. I could wax lyrically but suffice to say it is somewhat of an epiphany to find sites like yours.
You save my day, I'll be install tune o matic, it’s so clear to understand, thanks!!
Thank you first video showing bridge setup fixing in clear English!
Knowledge for life.. thank you!
Simple easy explanation. Now it’s so clear to understand thanks!
Brilliant! A very comprehensive lesson. You've helped me so much thanks.
Agree, this explains all you need to know about a confusing subject.
This is the best video on the subject of bridge placement.
High praise indeed, thank you!
Thanks for the video, especially the part in which you explain how you choose to angle tune--o-matic bridges. I think it should come in useful for my GGBO22 build. But I notice that with the post to post distance of 74mm, with the low e side 3mm behind the high e side, you mark 37mm each side of the centre line. Since the post-to-post is now inclined (think of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle), it's the diagonal distance that is 74mm. Each post would then be 36.97mm from the centre line. While that's close enough to 37mm to work perfectly fine when actually marking 37mm and drilling the holes for the posts, anyone who chooses to angle a bridge much more drastically would probably want to work out distance to mark.
Thank you, ya beat me to it with better math than I could have said!
Thanks for giving me the info I needed I just really wanted to know where to set my high E. Now I know measuring back from the nut set it at which is 25 and a half inches right! And it looks like that will give me a little bit of wiggle room forward towards the nut and a fair amount back towards the bottom of the guitar. And it seems to me that the high E would be the most forward string 😊
Fantastic man! Not only you gave me the exact information I was looking for, but you also explained to me in a clear/straight way something I didn't really wrapped my mind around, that is the whole intonation subject. This is the kind of information that is really useful and gives you the basic knowledge to design something with a sense in it and not only copy some measures not knowing why.
this makes things so much clearer, thanks.
Awesome explanation
Very helpful, thank you! Positioning the bridge is always one of the most stressful parts of a build for me, hopefully with this information it’ll be easier
Nice tips and that guitar hanging in the background is gorgeous!
Great video. Btw the way I love the guitar on the wall.
What a great tutorial. You explain yourself very well and are very thorough Extremely easy to follow. I've learned a lot just watching this one video.
Awesome. I resetted all my saddles to 25" from the back of nut (PRS) to the centre of saddle. Then i intonate each string accordingly.
Far and away the best explanation across bridge types. Thank you.
My pleaseure, I'm glad it helps
I'm about to do this on my first "build", a parts P Bass with fretless neck and Longhorn pickups/electronics. I've drilled and fitted the neckplate and neck. It was a tad low but otherwise accurate.
This is an excellent explanation as I had already finished the body and was concerned about messing up the finish.
Thanks Sean - just fitted my first bridge on my first build tonight. Easy tutorial to follow, and explains the concepts perfectly.
Great tips for us kit builders. Many thanks.
Fantastic video exceptionally clear and simple and actually the best instructions with no waffle ,straight to the point,thank you
Thanks, glad to hear that it helped!
Thanks Sean! This is an excellent tutorial. Clear, practical, and makes perfect sense.More like this please. How about one for cutting a nut? You could include variants such as cutting for a 12 string.
Indeed, i was stressed about placing my tune o matic. Thanks for the relief mate 🤌
Just subbed after watching 2 of your videos, just to make sure...
Seriously, there should be way many more watching your stuff!
Thanks for the sub, I appreciate it! Spread the word, hopefully we can get more people watching!
I really wish I could afford to go and learn from you in person. This is great. Thank you.
Hopefully one day! For now, I'm glad my videos can help
I’m about to make my first build, so I’ve been watching videos like this for a couple of months now. I just came across this video and it is by far the best and easiest explanation of bridge placement I have found. Like and subscribed well earned. I can’t wait to jump in further.
Thanks so much, I'm glad it helped you! Thanks for the sub, appreciated
Thank you for this video.
This makes it easier than ever for a builder to install a Tune-O-Matic bridge and other ones, for example.
I mean it's so easy to understand the way you explain it.
A thousand thanks to you for that
Good morning!!!lovely video most practical. As for TOM, you could say that forget the saddles and just drill for posts 1mm (treble) away from scale length and 4mm for bass and done??others suggest 1/8 inch further scale length for treble and9/32 for bass
Thanks so much. I'll be back to watch this when I get to my bass bridge.
Superb video, this has saved me countless headaches and time. Awesome job and I’m going to be digging through your others.
Keep up the great work.
Nice looking bass too
So many of my questions answered in this great video. Thanks alot!!!
cheers man, best bridge placement explanation. thanks, that solve me a problem. 😉
Thank you for that explanation. It makes everything far easier to understand.
Brilliant stuff Seán ! As a beginner Luthier this was ALL very relevant for me. Thanks. (..now back to my 2nd guitar build...)
Thank you, Sean! I think I got lucky building my first bass. Thanks to this video, the next one might actually involve some skill!
I'm glad you found it helpful! My first couple were pure luck as well, but I'm glad to have gotten my head around things finally
Hi Awen, thanks for the video!! finally sir someone who explains in detail what I was searching for, Nicely done!!
My pleasure! Thank you for watching
Great help. Thanks and greetings from Germany 🇩🇪 😊
Glad it helped!
Very good! The information is priceless, I'm try to start making a few
A great explanation for bridge installation. Great information for installing a bridge for a new build.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank You, that was concise and easy to understand.
thanks so much for this. I want to build my own bass but this was worrying me. explained really well.
Glad it was helpful! Best of luck on your build
I just found you and I must say I find the way you explain what you are doing very much to my liking. I watch several tubes like this but you top the lot. I am in the middle of reviving an old Hohner Strat for a friend and was concerned where to place this new bridge a replacement was not available. All the hardware is being bought to make it fit the body and I am hoping it turns out ok. I will ingest your other work over the week and I am sure I will learn a lot faster. Well done.
Thanks for watching and I'm glad I could help! Best of luck with your projects, rebuilds can be so much fun
2 things I stress about is the neck pocket and the bridge position. Thanks for clearing up one of these. Enjoying your videos. Thanks 👍🏻
5:04 It makes sense, but then I wonder... why the D string saddle needs to be adjusted closer to the nut than the G string? It also happens in my bass so it's not because of the wound/unwound strings of the guitar as one might think.
Thank you so much for the very good video. It clarifies a lot.
I have had to look into this, but the short answer is that intonation is also accounting for something called "inharmonicity", which is compensated for differently than the bending effect of fretting the instrument. Inharmonicity is basically the fact that harmonics don't line up properly or perfectly across every pitch, and thicker strings need more compensation towards the nut (opposite to tension adjustment, which goes the other way). The D and G strings just happen to line up weirdly like that, effectively.
So super short answer - They just don't. Very disappointing.
@@AwenLutherieCustomGuitars Thanks a lot. Very interesting.
Holy cow. This was amazingly helpful! Thank you so much!
Glad it helped, you're very welcome!
excellent explanation, glad to say I now understand the concept a lot better than I did
Right On ! Very Nice Job.....Thanx !
Thanks for swinging by!
Irish luthier content. Nice one!
Nicely done.
A good amount of information about bridge placement, intonation concerns, and reasons for specific positioning.
Very good explanation, thank you.
Still wondering if this applies to multiscale bridges... 8 string.
Thank you , you made it simple... ruler and a pencil never fails
I'm a big fan of the KISS methodology. Keep It Simple, Stupid!
Great video, thanks for posting clear simple instructions, cheers
Of course, thanks for watching. I hope it helped
Thank you very much for this an excellent tutorial. Already for few days I am looking for some clear explanation and finally have found it. Only what I am interested is how to exactly place the wraparound tail piece on les paul junior body. I would appreicate if you can give me some clear instruction for this or I will try to get the point from this video 😊
I wish I had watched this a couple days ago... time to fill those holes and start that part over.
Loved your video.
I'm planning to build an inexpensive headless, weight reduced Les Paul.
Any suggestions you have on bridges & necks would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Again
Amazing tutorial dude. Thanks for putting the time in to make this. Really helpful.
My pleasure, I'm delighted I could be of help
Great explanation 👍 Thank you very much .
This is great man. Thanks for making this.
Amazing video, really love it. Will help me a lot on my GGBO build (tuno-o-matic)! Thanks!!
Peace and Long Life! 🖖
And I thought I knew all about intonation🤣
The more I learn the less I know.
I solved my tune-o-matic problems by using Nashville bridges,
which has a wider setting range than a standard ABR-1 bridge.
Nice grain on the guitar.
Is that swamp ash (my favourite)?
Thanks for the really useful and well presented info.
I will definitely check out the rest of your stuff 𝄢🎶
This was incredibly helpful! Thank you!
You're welcome, glad I could help!
StewMac's Fret Position Calculator , put in the numbers... Done!!
Great explanation man, will be using your advice for my build, thanks
Exactly what i needed! Thanks!
Thanks for this 🤩
My pleasure!
Brilliant! Thanks for the education!
nice explanation, in case you use lighter strings than usual, you have to consider a litlle extra room of adjustment in the first saddle
Very true. This is the reason I always say bring the string forward as far as is comfortable. It should always leave a small amount of adjustment forward just in case. In reality, even 1 gauge strings will not adjust further forward than the scale length.
Top tier info, subbed
I'm adding a trem block to a body where the routing is already done for the block, but no mounting holes for the bridge screws...so use the same 'high E saddle all the way forward' system?...find the scale length point using the high E saddle all the way forward, then square and center the bridge, and...voila...correct?...mark where the screw holes shall be drilled and that should be the correct spot for the trem bridge...
Also, do you have any videos on how to set the spring/string tension for a Strat-style floating tremolo system that will ultimately stay in tune? Just discovered your channel, you explain it in easy to understand terms...thanks! Subscribed.
Very good information. Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
this is incredibly helpful. Thank you!
Absolutely, glad to hear it's helpful
Many thanks for this Sean, really helpful and very much appreciated. Added to my build playlist
Thanks man!
Thank you for watching
Thank you
I’m building my first guitar and got desperate when I realized my neck isn’t perfectly align to m the center lign of the body.
Thanks to your méthod it got a new center line, and the bridge is just 1,3mm off the center of the body.
I can live with that, especially thanks to your intro when you say it happens to have a center line a bit left or right. I did everything with hand tools.
I’ve been recommanded to screw the neck before positioning the bridge, do you recommand it ?
My mistake comes from a badly drawn center line at the 24th fret
Always a bit of an enigma placing a bridge. I hate installing Tune-o-matics!
I think your Tune-o-matic spacing would be a bit too long, if measured the same distance form the centerline, since it is offset by 3 degrees. I mark the treble side at 37, then use calipers to mark 74 from that point (at whatever angle), for the other post. Essentially, the angle determines where the bass side post goes, not the centerline.
Great video though, and thanks for posting!
You're right - I think it would be 74.0608mm between the holes (he's using 3mm rather than 3 degrees). I'd imagine you can get away with it because it's such a small difference. Would marking from the treble post mean that the bridge would be ever-so-slightly offset towards the treble side? Either way, I'd imagine the inaccuracy of measurement when working is greater than each of these numbers anyway😀
@@NickBrown33 Yeah, I meant mm not degrees (oops, measure twice LOL). it would be closer to the treble side, and I guess I might be splitting hairs! Ultimately slotting the saddles will make everything right.
Got some good ideas from your explanation of bridge place, especially Hi E referencing and moving that string to the fret scale reference point. Is the string gauge variation a major factor regarding intonation? For instance a Super Light flat wound .08 in relation to a heavy .11 Hi E? If so, do you move the string holder forward or backward?
I subscribed Awen.😅
I will add that with a 25.5 scale length and a Gotoh 510 FE1 tremolo it gets 8mm from the scale line to the front edge of the tremolo cavity that you need to route out
Awesome, awesome explanations, thank you for this video... but, now I just want to know what trem bridge you were using as the demo???
Glad I can be of some help! That bridge is a Gotoh EV510TS - BS. A very very nice trem!
Great video!
I wish you had in hand the original roller bridge of the Red Special by Brian May, cause it’s a bit different from other bridges on the market.
And Brian’s guitar has zero fret.
I'd love to get my hands on the actual red special and have a chat with the man himself about it, that would be so cool!
In theory at least the placement of the bridge should the same as any other, and the zero fret don't make any difference, it just replaces the nut as the 0 point of the scale length.
Perfect!
Thanks!
thanks
Oops, I'm late to watch this video. I just finished my first LP-type guitar; and although the instrument can be calibrated correctly; it would have been better if the bridge had been a little forward. It will come out better in the next project. Thank you very much for your video.
What brand is that tremolo bridge?
That helped a lot, thank you!
Is it the same printable for a telecaster 3 saddle ?
I want to know where you got that awesome protractor!
It's a Crimson Guitars one, damn good piece of kit! I used to use a cheap plastic triangular one, but since getting my hands on one of these, I don't know how I managed without it
@@AwenLutherieCustomGuitars thanks
How do i measure if i am doing a fretless?
I appreciate your video. One question I was left with was after getting your measurement for where the TOM bridge goes, how do you figure out where to place the tail piece that a lot of TOM bridges come with?
The maths would say that you want the lowest angle from the tailpiece to the bridge as possible, without hitting the bridge itself. You could draw this all out and measure it like that.
Alternatively, measure another guitar with that setup and copy roughly that. Or eyeball it and realise that it doesn't matter all that much.
I put it about 45mm from the scale line, but really it doesn't matter all that much so long as you don't put it way too far back and it looks about right.