Adjusting The Nut | How To Setup Your Electric Guitar [5/10] with Charlie Chandler
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ย. 2024
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Learn how to adjust the nut to lower your action and will probably make your guitar much easier to play!
In this ten part series we look at all the steps you need to take to setup your electric guitar with Master Guitar Technician, Charlie Chandler. In this first video we look at doing a basic condition report and assessing what might be done. We use 'the cheapest electric guitar on amazon' and we end up with something pretty cool!
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![Adjusting Saddle Height | How To Setup Your Electric Guitar [4/10] with Charlie Chandler](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9ILFo9oUsl8/mqdefault.jpg)
![Adjusting Saddle Height | How To Setup Your Electric Guitar [4/10] with Charlie Chandler](/img/tr.png)
![Adjusting The Intonation | How To Setup Your Electric Guitar [6/10] with Charlie Chandler](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RB28OvzhybQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Adjusting The Truss Rod | How To Setup Your Electric Guitar [2/10] with Charlie Chandler](/img/n.gif)
Now here's a guy that knows what he's doing. None of my guitar so called technicians where I live know anything about nut slot filing, so I bought my own files and did it myself, what a difference.
Charlie has a serious reputation in this field, it’s a bit special to see the man himself in action, thanks Justin & Charlie.
I had no idea there was so much to a guitar. This is a fascinating series. I appreciate the easy-going pace, too.
some new acoustics are going for $20K. There IS indeed a reason they cost that much.
Talk about fine tuning. This guy is a perfectionist. Knows exactly how adjusting one thing affects another and how to get the balance.
I use a cheap set of torch tip cleaners. They can be purchased at your local hardware store. I just got my second set for $6.99 Canadian. They have all the thickness's needed. The ones for the E,A,D and G strings work very well but the B and high E aren't as abrasive but they do work. My guitar now sounds and plays like it should. When the nut is not right my guitars never sound in tune and that is intolerable.
Thanks for the vid.
You can clamp a set of feeler gauges together, and use a triangular file to create a set of saw teeth all along one side. Then, when you separate out the gauges, you can use combinations of gauges as saw blades to fit each slot. The gauges will saw down through the nut if you do it carefully, although the bottom of the slot will be square, not rounded as it will be with a proper nut file. However, this will also happen when using craft tools as an alternative to nut files.
I did that too, but I cut the teeth with a skinny disk on my dremel, and I rounded them over so they cut a rounded slot. Works like a charm, but one day I'll add handles on them. It's easy for my hand to cramp up on fiddly precision work.
I've had good luck using tip cleaners for actelye torch as there numbered
Ah, the highlight of my Monday. This series is great.
Absolutely fascinating... I'm glued to this series. I'm just learning to play, (currently on an acoustic) Hoping to pick up my first Electric in a week or so. This series is actually giving me the confidence to try this myself so I get the action I want.
Congrats! whatever you do just be careful with the nut slot. I damaged mine when I tried to remove the glue residue from its bottom when I decided to replace the nut, I used the file while that should be done with a scalpel of something like that, and very gently. It took a lot of effort to fix that, because the bottom of the nut slot should be precisely and evenly flat. Those nut slots are the most precise and delicate parts of the guitar and are very difficult to make without a jigsaw rig. There are professional luthier files, too, but those cost a fortune.
Man, this guy was totally into his work.
Well i was having a no nut November, but i'll watch this video.
I would advise anyone trying to file the slots for the first time go very slow to avoid making them too low. All it takes is a couple too many passes with the file. It’s very easy to screw this up and trying to repair them with super glue and a filler is a temporary fix. You might end up paying someone to fix your mistake.
A microphone in the hat! Very clever. Turns to right direction with your head.
Can't wait for Charlie's Workbench Cam!
Why are u adjusting the nut on #NoNutNovember ? Are u crazy Justin, tempting people like this🤔
:)
I tinker with setups and keeping ups lol on all my guitars for years now as i am a lefty and most luthiers are righty and don't want to mess with lefty guitars so i learned fast when i started playing. StewMac got about $800 from me.
You should offer up your services online if you're good at it. I'm sure there are others that have the same problem.
Well done! Anyway beyond to be lefty, I thing a good guitarist (lefty or not) should know pritty well about any adjustment of his instrument, not only the matter concerning to playing it.
Hey Bob, I copied one of their (StewMac) radius tools and made it out of a 8 swg manganese arc welding rod with a spot of Tig fusing in the right place. They have their uses but I couldn't afford to pay that kind of money to have work done. I've just bought a new (Chinese LA electric guitar) here in England and it's a tidy bit of kit but only cost me £119.99. Following the maintenance series on You Tube with Justin Sandercoe (Justinguitar) I was able to do it all myself. You Tube is a brilliant place to learn to do anything. I am a Lefty too, my wife calls me 'Cack handed' but the Irish term for a left hander is 'Kiteog'!
Great ASMR effect too.
I always use feelers gauge to set nut action but everyone has their own ways. enjoying thsese videos Justin!
Randy Schartiger am i right in saying when filing or taking so much off the nut, best way if your doing it right, by putting your finger on the 3rd fret and tapping the 1st fret with a tiny bounce. Is that correct if anyone doesn’t have feller gauges.
@@markellis8621use feeler gauges
Wet & dry sandpaper wrapped around the right sized drill bits is a possible fix for the nut. Apply masking tape on the fret board/nut and mark a reference line across the nut before filing.
Anothter outstanding Instructing video Justin! Much appreciate for making this video.
You can also use the string to file down the slot.
Agreed and probably least problematic method
How about making a set of string files out of feeler gauges? Those are made of steel and are of suitable sizes. If you make them serrated with a regular file or a Dremel, they'll be suitable for cutting string grooves. Also, a less precise but a working method is using a box cutter knife blade which you can make serrated with a Dremel. Of course, there is a downside to this method: the grooves will not be properly profiled as a "U", but for the thicker strings we can use either exacto knife of folded sand paper, and the thinner strings are likely to be fine as is if the groove is sloped backwards and there is a single point of contact with a string in the very front one the nut. The proper nut files do cost a fortune and that just doesn't make sense. Of course you can take your guitar to a professional shop but sometimes you may want to use different nuts with different groove depth for different styles of music you play, and it'll save you time and money if you are able to do this yourself. And also it's a lot of fun:)
Love woodworking as well. Been tempted to build my own Tele lately. There are some wonderful companies making necks. Somehow I think there's more to it than a table, dest or cabinet :-)
I bought cheap feeler gauges and used a small file to create teeth on the gauges. It´s a bodge, but it works and cost me like 5 quid.
So what kind of gap/measurement should we be looking for with and or without fretting the 3rd feet? I thought we just take a free, no tension type measurement at the back of the first fret and the nut.
General consensus is 20 thousandths +/- 4thousandths (.020, .004). It stands to reason if you put a capo on 1 and measure the gap on 2. That's the minimum you can have before buzz. I wouldn't go that far, but it'll probably be close to .020. Also, use the angle of the headstock to get a good angle on how to file. Check the Stewmac videos on their tools. Good tips.
Thanks for this series. It's been very helpful.
Use can use a wound string to file a nut slot. I have used gas welding tips with success.
A set of Torch files may do the trick
Very instructive! Thanks Justin!
And when the frets are cut they are kind of cut for certain gauge strings right ? So you don't really want to go a couple of guages larger, it might wear/cut the fret slots then if you go back to a smaller guage, they may not hold tune proper and stuff right ?
A friend of mine wraps sandpaper around feeler gauges to adjust the slots in guitar nuts. Feeler gauges can be bought for under ten pounds. He's got one set for measuring and a second for nuts.
I went to try this approach and very quickly realized that I was potentially going to ruin the nut and decided not to do it. While seemed like it would be easier for the larger strings, it’s extremely hard to be exact. And lets say you use 10 gauge strings. The high E is therefore only 10/1000 of an inch. That’s narrow enough that even just the sandpaper folded might be about that width or perhaps more. To then fold around a feeler gauge would require using one so thin that it would be about as strong as tin foil, so won’t help much. I figured that I’d be left with a buzzy crap nut in the end.
Charlie is so awesome!
Jewelry saws can sometimes be thin enough for the thinner strings. Buy a new nut from Graphtech. Or a bone nut and replicate your cheap plastic nut.
Great series! Thanks guys!
I bought a ibanez grx40 a week ago. Cheap guitar, Great guitar and well made. Except for how it was set up. The action was too high so adjusted all the saddles, and truss rod. And then I saw the same problem with the nut,that's been described in the video. That's the biggest difference between cheap guitar and a mid range one.
Exactly. I had a squier Strat once..and the nut was so high you could get a bus under it. I had to carefully remove it. And replaced it with bone nut. And gently sanded the bottom down first. Until I had perfect action.fretting a chord down at the first 2 frets then became so much easier.
String too high at nut is not necessarily associated with cheap products. I just bought an original Fender neck, about 300 euro, and the nut is very poorly slotted so I need to spend time and money for tuning it
Will there be any nut adjusting on the Captain's Privates?
You can use "GAS WELDING TIP FILES" for the nut slots as well with the Baking Soda and Super Glue Trick :)
That's what I've used since I've started doing my own work. They work great as long as you take your time and watch your angle.
Yep, good call. They are great for plastic nuts, but require more patience for bone nuts. The lower 5 strings work fine. I've found the high E string to be a bit of a pig because the thinnest files bend a lot when you're using them. That said, it does seem to be the best budget solution.
@@meadish yeah they can get a little wobbly on the thinner strings. I found it's easier to hold on to both ends and kind of keep tension in it like you're trying to pull it in two and take it a stroke or two at a time, especially on bone nuts.
Junk
@@johng2880 its not a permanent solution. It's great to get your guitar up and running again and playing it since that's what a guitar is for.
This is a find. Thanks for sharing. Bought a guitar. July. It was big deal. The poor action is all the nut. X
I’ll fix it now ehm
? B4 Xmas!
I will not make childish jokes
I will not make childish jokes
I will not make childish jokes
stop it!
JustinGuitar Thank you. ⚓️
incredible.
Would've been nice to get an idea as to how high at the nut the strings should be.
Thank you as I posted this before I scrolled down to see your comment "I removed my nut and I am replacing it with a TusQ XL but I don't know where to set it from the bottom of the slots to the fret. I need to do this then I can set everything else up including messing with the truss rod." I can't find that info so I am stuck in a pit.
@@generalawareness101 You can shape the bottom of the but to fit the bottom of the nut slot, if it's curved and not flat, but taping sand paper to the first fret and rubbing the bottom of the nut across it. See TDPRI depot on how to set the nut slot heights. Really, you need feeler guages and a capo to measure the height of the string from the first fret.
@@Lucretia9000 No, the bottom of my nut slot is dead flat and the original nut is dead flat as well.
@@generalawareness101 In that case you don't need to shape the bottom of the nut slot, just need to file the slots and then take off the excess on top of the nut.
@@Lucretia9000 What Graphtech told me is to leave the slots alone as they are pre set and I should not have to just file the sides and the bottom. One thing I am unsure about is from the edge of the neck how far over should the low E be or high E be so the nut is centred?
A welding tip cleaner set is $5 shipped and could probably do a nut or two, with frustration. Not a whole new nut, but an adjustment.
And one more question is 10mm string height with 14 gauge strings too less or should I raise action, im a metal head and wanna improve my strumming to get the action really high
I just came across this video and was intrigued as with most of Justin's videos...but scanning through the comments to see if anybody asked if this his the mans workbench or Justin's living room or what??? Seems a bit odd to me but I don't know maybe that's the way to work comfortably...
already way ahead of you on that one . Aussie - with Matons - why would I not
Is it up side down ? which one is the first one in the playlist? Watching all of them at a stretch. I am a complete beginner. Waiting to get my first electric someday. Whole lot a information. Thanks Justin.
I wanted to make a nut joke, but was checking the comments beforehand. They are all nuts #nonutnovember 😂🤣
U can get cheap nut files on aliexpress or even ebay, but I have no idea how well they work. I assume it's better than sandpaper.
CHEAP Nut files. I made a couple of files that have worked just fine for next to nothing. I have 2 mini hacksaw blades witch are quite fine tooth and blade wise. One I use as-is for the bass end slots and the other one i've simply filed/sanded the sides/teeth to make the blade very thin. I use this for the treble strings. Finish off with some fine sandpaper if needed. Works great and all for about a dollar!
Jeweler files, painter tape, and patience will do the job. Build the tape up just in front of first fret til even with the fret, move the tape layers and butt them up against the nut on the first fret. File down to the top of the layered tape for each string using the correct size of file for the string's channel. VOILA! No need to completely remove the nut, well, unless you screw up the depth (chuckles). Don't laugh ... it works.
I removed my nut and I am replacing it with a TusQ XL but I don't know where to set it from the bottom of the slots to the fret. I need to do this then I can set everything else up including messing with the truss rod.
When pressing down on the 3rd fret, how much gap shall there be on the 1st fret? Or shall the string just barely touch the first fret then?
Use the end of a high e string, thats about what you are aiming for.
Charlie was saying about zero frets about them jumping out when bending how would you go about fix that issues with a vintage guitar
so what if the nut setting is too low? how to fix that?
Torch cleaning kit
$8 on Amazon
Hmm. Back in the 1970s, because of my work designing high-power outdoor sound systems, I learned some basic "luthiering" from rockers, guitar techs, and roadies. This has served me well as I approach guitar myself now. (I'm a retired engineer.) I have my guitar set up beautifully. Action lowered to .045" at the 7th fret. A couple of frets needed grinding and polishing so there are no buzzes anywhere. Saddle height, intonation, everything's fine, it plays great, except for one thing, and I don't know what to do. The distance between the nut and the first fret is slightly too large. If I tune the open strings, then every fretted note on the guitar is slightly sharp. I don't know how to fix this.
Phillip - Unless I've misunderstood what you're saying, if you've tuned the open strings then the two statements "intonation [is] fine" and "every fretted note on the guitar is slightly sharp" are mutually exclusive. Are you sure it's properly intonated?
If the guitar is not intonated, i.e. it's to pitch but *every* fretted note is sharp:
1) Try intonating the guitar, does that fix it?
Let's assume you have intonated it (and it's to pitch) but when you fret the strings on the first fret it plays sharp:
1) The problem could be in your hands - i.e. you're holding the strings down too hard when fretting them.
2) It could be that the string height is too high at the nut. This means when you fret the string you have to push it down so far that it introduces so much tension to the string it plays sharp (like playing a bend). The nut slots need filing to lower the string height.
3) It could be that some/all of the frets need to be recrowned. You may have worn (i.e. flattened) some of frets. This tends to happen most often around the 1st, 2nd, 3rd frets and will lead to slight intonation issues, but if this is the case you'd probably also be noticing some fret buzz. This might need a full level and fret dress to fix it.
The following could also be problems (but not if it's in pitch and intonated)....
1) It could be that the nut slots are not filed properly - i.e. the slots have no back angle so that the strings are not touching the front edge of the nut as they leave it. The nut slots need filing to introduce a back angle.
2) It could be that the nut is not seated correctly or at an angle against the end of the fretboard. The nut needs to be removed and seated properly.
If it's none of the above, the frets are in the wrong place and you need to buy a new guitar (from a different shop than you bought this one from)...
@@chrisdann8937 need a compensated nut, Google it and it will explain. Earvana makes them. You can find them on Ebay.
Hey Justin, Im getting my first guitar for Christmas and I'm super excited. I have checked out your begginner and intermediate course and I was wondering if you'll ever make an advanced guitar course? I'm worried that I wont know where to go after I complete the course
Craig Swart go for it. By the time you have finished intermediate lessons you’ll probably know more than most of us who are usually self taught prior to TH-cam and had to figure it all out simply from a book and what sounded good to our ears. By that point you’ll also know what style of guitar you like eg. Blues, metal, rock, jazz and you’ll have enough theory knowledge to figure out more advanced stuff yourself. And at the end of the day you’ll want to be a advanced player that sounds like you and your spin on the music! Good luck with your learning!
@@StringsOfCrossroads I love this reply! Thank you so much for the inspiration! :) I really appreciate it
@@StringsOfCrossroads And I can play the piano (Self-Taught), so I feel even more ready!
Craig Swart you are streets ahead then as you’ll know most of the theory about how chords are composed etc. I play multiple instruments now all self taught and you just keep applying the same music theory and principles to that instrument so I find it easier to start learning a new instrument each time. I don’t think you ever reach a point where you know everything as part of music is to break the “rules” and make it your own! You never know you could be the next Hendrix or Buddy Holly and I’m not sure how much “theory” those guys actually knew they just played how and what they wanted and we now all copy them for the inspiration! Justin is a great teacher so I’m sure you’ll be playing guitar in no time!
Sometimes the theory is a little more difficult to apply to guitar than piano simply because you can play the exact same note in multiple places where as middle c on the piano is only in one place and everything is linear. So I’d suggest taking each string at a time and you’ll see the linear patterns that will be familiar to you from piano. Which will start to make sense of everything. Just learn the top (E and A strings to start) learn a barre chord shape in major and minor and you’ll know every chord up the neck in at least two places !
18.50 made me laugh. Trying to not sound like an old man, you are old with that cap :) Seriously though, spot on with the way the pace of the world statement.
Used old nut with 20 thou shim as truss rod turning wouldn't take away the fret buzzing....sounds better with hardly any fret buzz but High E when OPEN sounds very loud? Shim is like a plastic material.....any idea why?.
Save money learning from my mistakes.
Those 3 PC "nut file set"
For like 12$ on Amazon
Total CRAP lol.
They aren't rounded on their edge, didn't even have teeth on the edge lol
It's just as cheap to get a full set of diamond coated files as a full setup done by a pro.
I got an 8 piece set of Japanese made files for $80.
It seems high, but to me they're cheap bc I have a lot of guitars, so in the long run I'm money ahead.
My set goes from. 010" to .056" 8 files
That's the light set.
They come in smaller and larger sets
Btw, I've tried the notching offeeler gages, acetylene torch tip cleaners.
I even superglue a piece of low E sring to the edge of a gift card.
It sorta worked but it was always a pita.
Do yourself a favor
Get a good set.
Like I said $80
And that's cheap compared to some that are a few hundred
what the name of tools do you use to lower the nut.sorry my English bad
Come on guys you expect us to go through another week of no nut November with this tempting us?!?!
How to play carry on my wayward by kansas?
setup is a noun, fyi. set up is the verb you want.
Thanks a lot guys I can't tell you how much I am indebted, now i'm off to buy some pyramid guitar strings =)
Hi all, can anyone help? On my guitar the open B string rings out horribly, i cannot work out what's causing it, all the other strings are fine! It is much worse when the string goes through the string tree, when it doesn't it just sounds a bit dead. My only guess is something must be up with the nut slot for the B string, but, that's just a guess. Anyone had a similar issue and found a solution??
Watch Doug Wilkes vids on youtube for slow videos.
Anyone had any experience of ebay nut files?
Comment Section:
99% No Nut November
1% Hat
Honestly just clicked to make a no nut joke but I see I've been beaten to the...nuts.
Storing expensive files banging around in a cardboard tube - causes damage to the files. Use electrical/vinyl tape to protect drill bits & files.
You can get cheep nut files that do work (not as easy as the ones in this video) £3:41 on eBay.
Ay ay ay, u cant b doing that in No Nit November
Pyramid strings are what the Beatles used in 1960's
What in the blazes is "fretting out"? Why use jargon that beginners don't know on a setup course for beginners???
When people say fretting out it usually refers to when bending a string (usually on higher frets) enough so that the string makes contact with a higher fret and it no longer vibrates/rings freely. It basically bottoms out. This tends to happen on guitars with a neck that has a vintage radius and when it’s a pretty large bend, like a Hendrix 1.5 - 2 step bend. A good setup and higher string action can help mitigate this, as he obviously had no issues.
@@VintageRadius Thanks James. I'm trying to learn to play, having nearly finished my new guitar - but this term has had me stumped for ages. Now I know, yeah!
Sure thing. Also, highly recommend checking out the Justin Guitar website. Its a great free resource with proper structure to start learning technique, theory and songs. I really wish i didn’t skimp on the theory when i started!! It will help you so much later.
Isnt the correct name for the nut , called a weed nut ?
That kind of string-trees aren't good at all!
*Nut*
For a video about Nut adjustment this is a pretty dry video
What do you do if the slot in the nut is too low? I normally change my strings one by one but as the maple fretboard on my 2002 MIM Strat was getting grubby, I took all the strings off and cleaned the fretboard with normal guitar polish and cleaned out the slots on the nut. The slot for the fourth string had some gunk in it which I thought was just dirt, but of course when I restrung the guitar I discovered the gunk was there for a reason. The slot was too low and my fourth string now sounds like a banjo when played in the open position! I've seen a video where the guy uses baking soda and superglue to fill in the slot but that seems like a botched job to me. Is there an alternative repair or should I just take advantage of the situation to upgrade the nut?
Superglue (generic name cyanoacrylate or CA) is the common binder. The baking soda is just a powder to build up structure. You could use bone powder that you made for the job to match color. But those are the two ingredients, a powder that looks like nut material or is made of nut material and cyanoacrylate glue to bind it together. Many of today's super glues are made more like a gel than a fluid, so that might be something to be conscious of if you are having problems.
RC model flyers use a lot of the stuff so hobby stores are a source of information on different grades of CA glues that are available.
@@Steve-fk1jg Thanks for your reply, in the end I took advantage of the problem to replace the nut with a Graph Tech Labs TUSQ nut. Not only did it solve the problem but it improved the overall sound of the guitar. Thinking of changing the nuts on all my guitars!
A young farmer and his grandad fixing a guitar…
I wonder if he knows about no nut november
Caution. Guitars contain nuts. If you are allergic to nuts, please do not try this at home or any place else for that matter. You have been warned. LOL
hard to watch...
Do you wear your hat in bed? 😀
He puts microfon in his hat,that's why he wears it in every video
That's the better way to avoid to arrange your hair when wake up! ☝😋👌
He hasn't any hair he's total bald
@@adrianwarren9137 And that's sad! 😭😭
I told him not to use that hair wash and go
oh this is boring