You can avoid the problem altogether if you use a Scotch Brite pad. Both will get the job done, but I prefer the Scotch Brite because it's a little more tidy.
TIP......never set intonation with the neck propped up on "anything". That amount of pressure against the neck, just laying on that neck prop gadget is enough to make intonation off in the "playing position". Intonation should always be set in the "playing position"......hold it like you are playing it when doing the adjustments. Many guitars are "position sensitive"....especially heavy necked electric basses. You might set the intonation with the guitar flat on a work bench and then when you are actually playing it, it can be off. ALSO,,,,before you do "any" adjustments on a "screw on neck guitar, like Fender" make sure you tighten those 4 neck mounting screws. I have set up "thousands" of Fenders and right from the factory the screws can be quite loose. Don't start a "set-up" till you have checked those screws. "Guitar Tech since 1974"
Just intonated my strat. Then i read your comment. Went back and checked my screws. Needless to say. They were quite loose. Checked the intonation again. Its off. Lol. Thanks so much for the tip. Thats a lesson ill never forget. Thanks for helping out newer guitar techs like me.
@@brycearoni2010able No problem......I have been a guitar tech (and repair other instruments) since 1974. At one time I was doing work for 8 shops. Any questions?....just ask. Don't get discouraged....you have to make some mistakes in order to learn.
@@brycearoni2010able Sorry for the late reply. As for doing a complete refret on your strat. Honestly, in the many years I worked on all kinds of instruments "I never did a "full refret". I have re-crowned existing frets and filed down a high frets or re-seated a loose fret from time to time. It's the one thing I shyed away from. Too many things to go wrong. You might be better off buying a fully fretted replacement neck. As Clint Eastwood said in the movie "Dirty Harry"......."a mans got to know his limits"
If you have a floating bridge (floyd rose, ibanez bridge), tune on the neck pick up with ur tone all the way off. This helps for a better tuning and keeps it pretty well in tune. don't know what steve vai's tech is doing to keep steve's guitars perfectly in tune tho
Tuning is not something you trick into submission. Tune according to how you plan to play. If you play fast and hard tune to the initial response. If you play light and slow find the balance between the initial response and the tune after a second of ringing out.
Thanks for the tuning tip. There is one more: when you do intonation you have to pull the string with the same intensity you intend to play with or you will sound slightly sharp.
I'm a professional tech, I agree with everything here except the steel wool, if you use steel wool, use 0000. Not 000. (000 is a little too rough) As for maple boards, I recommend a guitar polish like music nomad The One.
Nick Kravatz I agree,never use steel wool ,especially on electric guitars that shit sticks to the pickups. I am no professional,learned from mistakes.😉
Concur with the quad O wool. I was a bit perplexed that he suggested triple 0 wool. Too coarse. I actually use quad 0 to clean the finish on my SG. It has a natural finish that glosses up after the hand has been resting on it. The quad 0 wool is the only way to get it to come out. Then, a complete cleaning and waxing for the guitar. Looks amazing.
I use 1000 grit sandpaper after leveling and recrowning to get rid of scratches then 0000 steel wool to shine them back up. Works great. Obviously using gaffers tape to protect the finish and especially pickups. I also use a really soft paintbrush when leveling to get rid of any burrs or hard material often while working on the frets and then to clean off the guitar of any pieces of steel wool before polishing the guitar. Last thing you want is one tiny spec of steel wool on your polishing pad!
Yeah, you agree because you have experience but anyone with experience or a professional like yourself most likely isn't going to benefit from a video like this. It should be aimed at people who have little to no experience.
I have been doing my own intonation on my guitar for years and years yet every time I do it I never can remember the correct direction. Your chasing the needle tip will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thanks, man!
Just to expand the knowledge base a bit the truss rod actually has very little affect on the neck beyond where the neck joins the body. Usually right around the 16th fret. When intonating (always in playing position), tune the string by playing the harmonic at the 12th fret. Don't fret it. Tune the harmonic. The check the intonation by fretting the 12th fret. This will give you perfect intonation every time. When stringing a guitar with a floating tremolo I always do the bend over lock style peg wrap for maximum stability. On a standard tailpiece the "one over and two under" (Joe Bonamassa) method will work just fine. If you use steel wool to polish your fret be sure to tape over your pickups. If you get steel wool dust on your pups you might have some other interesting issues to deal with. Never pour liquid directly on your fret board. The liquid can seep down into the fret grooves and what happens to wood that gets wet? It swells. Swelling can cause frets to lift up out of their slots and you'll have high frets and buzzing all over the place. Dab a cloth in the oil and target the wood between the frets trying to avoid getting liquid near the frets at all.
Fluff, you might want to mention to people that if they're going to use steel wool that they should tape over the pickups to avoid getting loose steel threads stuck to the magnets or in the wiring. It's part of the reason I prefer a liquid metal polish, but they both get the job done. Love the channel, and you've given great advice to young players with these last two videos.
For locking a string on non locking tuners, I use this method: 1) Line up the peg hole to face the bridge 2) Put the string through the peg hole 3) Pull the string back 1 fret for the thick low E string, 1.5 to 2 frets for the thin high E string, and gradually change the distance to pull back between the high and low E strings. 4) Wind the tuning peg, keeping tension on the string while winding around the tuning peg. 5) Wind the string end *under* the string on the first wrap around the tuning peg, then *over* the string on each additional wind around the tuning peg. The tension will squeeze the string and lock it in the tuning peg
Yes. And first wrap over, the rest under. The old school method works fine though. Pull the string tight and do one full wrap around the peg. Then insert the string in the hole above the wrap. Pull up on the string fir a slight bend then tune. Thinner strings need two or three wraps before inserting in the hole.
I have back injuries my spine is crippled with pain that limits the amount of time I can play/practice But I'm still playing and that's all that matters .
Thank you for the string winding explanation! I watched a number of other videos that all failed to explain/show it properly so that a beginner could actually learn it. I managed to fix my mangled string windings (from attempting those other vids) and now my new strings are set up great! Great video.
best explanation of this i've seen i think. this is something i can share with friends who need to know this but don't understand what i'm talking about.
I know it's quite late for a response, but I think I have to say this. I recently took up cleaning guitars for a living, and I don't really recommend using steel wool or lemon oil on guitar fretboard for reasons as follows. 1. Steel wool. This is originally designed to clean metal parts, not wood. It does take away the dust, the gunk, but it also takes away the wood. The finest I can find in my country is 00000 and it still does that. To top ot off, it leaves behind tiny flakes of steel on the fretboard, and probably in your fingers, too. That can be quite problematic. the workbench will need cleaning up after the process as well. 2. Lemon oil. Most manufacturers like Dunlop or Planet Waves dub their products lemon oil because of the smell only. the content is around 2%, nowhere near enough to have any effect on the fretboard. The pure lemon oil will do things the other way around. it dries the fretboard, corrode the bindings between the fretboard and the inlays.Given enough time, your fretboard may as well need replacing. ( I had to do this on my cheap chinese made guitars before I started the business) I do have a few suggestions for this. Cleaning the fretboard: any type of wood polish/ conditioner will do the trick. for the century-old gunk, I use a bar of hard plastic and use the sides of it to scrape it off. For the frets, any type of metal cleaning substances will do. apply it, leave it a bit to haze up, then buff it to a mirror-like shine. For my business, I don't want to compromise anything, so this is what I do: for cleaning: I use 3M polishing paper with 6000 grid, the mint color one. Most fretboards are processed with 4000-grid papers so that'll make sure I'll take just the dust and the gunk away. After that, I'll add on the fret-board oil from Music Nomad. For the frets, again, music nomad frine fret. Any type of purpose-specific products will do just fine. I happen to like music nomad because of the pleasant smell. Cheers, mate.
fluff, being a musician is so much fun and believe it or not but setup my guitar for practice or shows has always been my favorite and I am always motivated to learn more about setting up my guitar. thank you for this helpful video
This and the last video are pretty good. The nut height and neck relief make a huge difference in playability. There are not many decent quality RUclips videos explaining this. Thank you Ryan.
-Hey, a cool notion; a 'Hoppe(s)' gun stock wax permeated flannel rag seems to work greatly for wiping down the guitar strings and neck (I make a round over the front of the guitar and the back of the neck also).
@@fatlittleparasite - If the #9 is the barrel bore cleaner I would think it could degrade the wood, and possible dissolve glue (etc.), gun oil wouldn't be good for wood; I do not like the idea of using good furniture polish rather than guitar polish (but I haven't had any problems with the wax cloths). Thanks.
Brother out maybe twenty videos and so many pages reading about setting intonation, that little chase the needle trick made it so easy to understand. I was able to set the intonation like I wanted in about 10 minutes. You can say move the saddle forward if your flat, back if your sharp, but you don't how much. A quarter turn, whole turn, 1/16th of a turn???? So when the gap between a harmonic 12th and fretted 12th is 30 cents, you move the saddle forward and the gap gets smaller. A little more forward, and I'll be dammed if the gap doesn't get bigger. Very frustrating. BUT, hook up the tuner, turn that screw while watching the needle move and gadzooks! I love my guitar again. Thanks again brother.
When using steel wool to polish your frets - remember to also cover your pickups and pots with masking tape. It's not good for the electronics if steel wool particles get in there (and they will be attracted due to magnetism).
Yes! That Joe bonamassa video is the same I stumbled across randomly and now I change my strings the same way, my guitar pretty much tunes itself ever since, and it stays in tune very well
oh my god, thank you so much for the "chase the needle" tip! I have been playing self-learned for about 5-6 years and never really thought about that, thank you
I was glad to see the lemon oil method mentioned; I used lemon oil on my fretboard for the first time about a month and a half ago, it looked amazing and played wonderfully.
That intonation tip is amazing. Thank you. I always forget which way to move the saddle. I don't setup a lot of guitars but when I do, it's because I just bought a new one or haven't messed with it for a while.
strings too grimy or rusted and you cant change them/clean them? rub your fingers on your nose, it will add oil to your fingers to allow you to play much easier. great for teenagers at guitar center
I used to put my strings like you but I prefer the PRS method, its even better!! aaaand.... to tune and intonate a guitar perfectly, the better way is playing position not in the workbench! Trust me!
@@jimster805 hey buddy,ideally you need a work bench the height of a Countertop like in your kitchen. Hold the guitar in the same position you would as if you were playing it stood up,tune the guitar,then check the intonation
@@Allencorgan4951 I think the question was regarding "the PRS method" - just searching here on youtube brings up a few videos like this one: ruclips.net/video/FuoZxBo38kE/видео.html Turns out I've done it the PRS way for some time and I've recently switched to the one shown here and I find it much better all around, especially when taking off the strings.
Dude, because you have a framed Failure gig poster on your wall I just subscribed to your channel. Seen them twice over the past 3 years, love that band
If using steel wool, make sure you tape off your pickups or you'll have a ton of small steel wool filings sticking to them. Also, don't pour that much lemon oil on your fret board. Use sparingly. A light coating will do, wiping off the excess after 5-20 minutes, depending on how dry your board is.
Thanks for this vid, I don't play guitar, but the band that I do tech for have no idea how to intonate their guitars, this video will prove very, very useful in instructing them!!
Had no idea I was locking in my tuning by doing that! I used to play quite a bit back in highschool and am getting back into. Using all the tips here and my goodness does my old Ibanez GIO already look 100% better with the steelwool and lemon oil trick! Never knew about the bend (tip 1) nor has Intonating ever been explained to me in "chasing the needle" going to do this all tonight to bass as well as my grandfather's old steel string.
For non graphite nuts, a little pencil lead drawn on the nut slots as well as the bridge saddles can offer a type of lubricant for the string. After applying, just draw the clipped string of the proper guage through the slot a couple of times to work the carbon into the nut. This will help prevent binding at the nut or saddle.
That last tip was the best for me. I'm going to try it next time I set up one of my guitars. Maybe tomorrow? I do love my planet waves locking and cutting tuners though.. they are awesome on my SG!
I usually fret the 17th to do a spot check for relief. I just push the string against the fret and know how much play there needs to be (this is for a situation like I'm about to record or am playing live, when I do proper setups for myself or customers I do it with rulers and feeler gauges). I also find that treated silver/metal polishing cloths work phenomenally well to clean and polish frets. The ones I use are 2 cloths stitched together; 1 is treated the second isn't. If it's gunked up I breathe on it to get a little moisture, then put the treated cloth at the tip of my finger, with the nail where the fret and board meet, and just rub it back and forth. Then do the same with the regular non-treated cloth. The frets will blind you they get so smooth and shiny, and will feel like they're made of glass when bending notes. If they're REALLY bad (like haven't been cleaned in a really long time) I'll use 0000 steel wool first.
thanks for the easy way to adjust the intonation. no one has ever just said, follow the needle. they'd just say if it's flat go this way, sharp go this way. I don't adjust mine very often so by the time I do it it's like...ok which way did that go?? so much easier to just say follow the needle. Thanks again.
I recommend doing intonation adjustments from a playing position for a couple of reasons. 1) If you have a heavy fretting hand and/or tall frets, you can easily push notes out of tune when fretting, so compensating for this is easier if you are holding the guitar in a playing position and fretting your test note with the same finger pressure you normally use when playing. 2) Depending on where you brace the neck, the weight of your guitar, and neck construction, laying on the bench can slightly bend the neck in a way that it won't be bent when holding in a normal playing position. Also, if you have a floating trem it is important to do intonation adjustments with the trem bar in and in its normal rest position for when you are not using it. On a slightly different topic, I find I get better results when setting intonation by comparing 7th fret harmonic to 7th fret fretted note.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but the reason you don't fret at the last fret to check relief isn't (just) because of potential fall-off. It's because from the start of the neck-joint onwards it doesn't curve or change anymore. Think about it; Do you see (or measure) any change in the curvature at the last 4-6 or so frets? Especially imagine it with a bolt-on, because there would be a gap between the neck and the body, which isn't a thing that happens, as it doesn't bend all the way to that point. - So you basically want to fret down at the point where the neck meets the body, even with neck-throughs there's a point where it meets the body and can't actually move anymore. Usually it's around the 17th fret unless there's some extra access created on a particular model.
When using Steel Wool to polish your Frets be sure to tape over your Pickups, what do is use Blue Painters Tape, making sure the tape extends about 3/4" all the way around the Pickup cavity. Then I'll lay some Double Sided Tape on top of the Blue Tape to catch all the tiny Wool Fibres, the before removing the tape wipe down the Whole guitar and area (even used a hairdryer to blow off the fibres) then remove the Tape. You can also lay a few pieces of Blue Tape on top of the Double Sided Tape just to make sure you don't knock any of the fibres free when removing the tape. May sound like a lot to go through but depending on how much you play that guitar you really only need to it once or twice a year and it only takes a minute or two more to apply the tape.
I never use steel wool. Too many metal particles. I use a little template that covers the fret board on both sides with the fret showing through in the middle, and use some metal polishing compound on a rag, to make them shine mirror bright with little effort.
If you have a bolt on neck and the guitar is cheap, loosen each screw connecting the neck and body a 1/4 turn, tune it up to the pitch you want, then tighten each screw and you'll have more resonance and sustain
The method Nick describes makes the bond between neck and body tighter. It's only possible after the guitar is strung. This would mean an extra step in the production process, raising the cost. Something to avoid on a lower priced guitar. This doesn't mean this trick won't work on a more expensive guitar. It's simply an issue that's more likely to appear on cheaper guitars
If you have a floated bridge like on a Gretsch, and you don't want to have it pinned, rub rosin (like you would use on a violin bow) between the bridge base and the guitar top to prevent it from sliding around. Set your intonation, use painters tape to mark the bridge position, then remove it, rosin it, and place it back on the guitar. This solved my many woes of the floating bridge wandering around.
When intonating, make sure your pickups are screwed down low. If they are close to the strings, then they can add harmonics which can effect the frequency of the strings - particularly on the wire-wound strings, which makes the fretted string sound sharp against the 12th-fret harmonic. Usually a problem with high strength pick-up magnets ie single-coil pu's. Once you have the correct intonation, you can then bring your pickup closer to the string so that they are high enough, but not too high, to avoid those "wolf" tones.
For bass restringing (not sure if this is necessary for six-string guitars) before cutting the string to length, bend the string just a bit before the cutting point so the core doesn't slip out. This is to prevent having "dead" strings in a new set, and is more important for b and e strings.
I have been playing guitar for 22 years. I believe I maintain tuning better when the string wraps the tuner post at least 4 times. I realize milage may vary. My method: I gauge that by placing my thumb on the fretboard and use my pinky finger to put tension on the string at max distance from the frets initially.
I use a specially made fret rubber (like an eraser but contains abrasive) to polish frets in between string changes. Also, mineral oil is better for timber than lemon oil. Lemon oil contains solvents, it's good for cleaning a dirty board but if you just oil it a little every string change use plain old oil.
Awesome video, Fluff, but it would have been great if you could have spent a little more time on HOW to take care of the neck relief and showing beginners how to actually move the saddle pieces back and forth. It's simple enough, but if they don't know or can't figure out that they need to use the screws to do so, they may have to go to another video source. They SHOULD be able to figure it out, but it would have been nice for them to see in the video. As always, thanks for sharing your knowledge with others! ☺
Tip: In tuning a floyd rose or a floating bridge, after you play with the floating bridge, tune it oppositely. For example, if your guitar is a half step down, tune up 2 steps.
I have one small thing to add. As far as tuning your strings and locking them in. I find that if I'm tuning my high E( mind you I use 11s, I'm a blues player and find that get more tone out of heavier strings just a personal taste). I lock at the same way Bonamassa's guy does, except I would add one thing to that." Once I get my high E string on there and I tune it up to pitch, and then it slides a little bit and goes flat, and then I have to tug the string a little bit and then it goes flat, and then I repeat that and then the high E string snaps and wacks me in the cheek... I find it very satisfying to pick the guitar up and throw it across the room". Just some more cheap advice that might help.
On bolt-on neck guitars, removing the paint from the neck socket (if there's any) helps with the tuning stability and the sustain. It's a bit risky, but a very good improvement. And, of course, blocking the tremolo is a must on cheap guitars. mine barely had any sustain before, and otherwise the trem was pretty much unusable.
Thank you for the informative videos, no long diatribe, love the humor as well. And i have learned quite a bit, I appreciate it and am pushing subscribe 👍👍👍
The way I personally restring is..wrap string around the post 3 times stick through hole out the other side, but through one of the wraps..been doing it for years and tuning stability is out of this world. I can play a 3 hours gig without returning once
I use coins to gauge string action. A quarter is 1.75mm thick and that equals roughly 4/64th. I measure action at the 12th fret and shoot for just a tad more than a quarter. Plays perfectly for me on many different styles of guitars.
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Tape the pickups when using the wire wool otherwise the magnets will attract all the tiny bits of wire that come off
James Franklin Thanks, those filings are a pain in the arse
Tape over the tape to remove the tape without risk of spilling steel hairs everywhere.
You can avoid the problem altogether if you use a Scotch Brite pad. Both will get the job done, but I prefer the Scotch Brite because it's a little more tidy.
and if that doesn't work.....you are not using enough tape! :D
Yep and there's also synthetic steel wool.
TIP......never set intonation with the neck propped up on "anything". That amount of pressure against the neck, just laying on that neck prop gadget is enough to make intonation off in the "playing position". Intonation should always be set in the "playing position"......hold it like you are playing it when doing the adjustments. Many guitars are "position sensitive"....especially heavy necked electric basses. You might set the intonation with the guitar flat on a work bench and then when you are actually playing it, it can be off. ALSO,,,,before you do "any" adjustments on a "screw on neck guitar, like Fender" make sure you tighten those 4 neck mounting screws. I have set up "thousands" of Fenders and right from the factory the screws can be quite loose. Don't start a "set-up" till you have checked those screws.
"Guitar Tech since 1974"
Just intonated my strat.
Then i read your comment.
Went back and checked my screws.
Needless to say.
They were quite loose. Checked the intonation again. Its off. Lol.
Thanks so much for the tip. Thats a lesson ill never forget. Thanks for helping out newer guitar techs like me.
@@brycearoni2010able No problem......I have been a guitar tech (and repair other instruments) since 1974. At one time I was doing work for 8 shops. Any questions?....just ask. Don't get discouraged....you have to make some mistakes in order to learn.
@@inkey2 thanks man.
I actually do have a question.
Im wanting to do a complete refret on my strat. Any tips?
@@brycearoni2010able Sorry for the late reply. As for doing a complete refret on your strat. Honestly, in the many years I worked on all kinds of instruments "I never did a "full refret". I have re-crowned existing frets and filed down a high frets or re-seated a loose fret from time to time. It's the one thing I shyed away from. Too many things to go wrong. You might be better off buying a fully fretted replacement neck. As Clint Eastwood said in the movie "Dirty Harry"......."a mans got to know his limits"
You are correct!
If you have a floating bridge (floyd rose, ibanez bridge), tune on the neck pick up with ur tone all the way off. This helps for a better tuning and keeps it pretty well in tune. don't know what steve vai's tech is doing to keep steve's guitars perfectly in tune tho
Tuning is not something you trick into submission. Tune according to how you plan to play. If you play fast and hard tune to the initial response. If you play light and slow find the balance between the initial response and the tune after a second of ringing out.
I have a vintage tremolo bridge for my Teisco ET-200 Del Ray guitar. Still works! It has original vintage gold foil pickups. Peace, Flood!
Thanks for the tuning tip. There is one more: when you do intonation you have to pull the string with the same intensity you intend to play with or you will sound slightly sharp.
monno2600 change the guitar after every song. That's how to keep a Guitar in tune like Steve Vai.
Vai uses lo pro edge bridge's and on some guitar's he have used edge bridge not only great quality machine head tuners but that bridge is awesome
I'm a professional tech, I agree with everything here except the steel wool, if you use steel wool, use 0000. Not 000. (000 is a little too rough) As for maple boards, I recommend a guitar polish like music nomad The One.
Nick Kravatz I agree,never use steel wool ,especially on electric guitars that shit sticks to the pickups. I am no professional,learned from mistakes.😉
Concur with the quad O wool. I was a bit perplexed that he suggested triple 0 wool. Too coarse. I actually use quad 0 to clean the finish on my SG. It has a natural finish that glosses up after the hand has been resting on it. The quad 0 wool is the only way to get it to come out. Then, a complete cleaning and waxing for the guitar. Looks amazing.
I use 1000 grit sandpaper after leveling and recrowning to get rid of scratches then 0000 steel wool to shine them back up. Works great. Obviously using gaffers tape to protect the finish and especially pickups. I also use a really soft paintbrush when leveling to get rid of any burrs or hard material often while working on the frets and then to clean off the guitar of any pieces of steel wool before polishing the guitar. Last thing you want is one tiny spec of steel wool on your polishing pad!
Yeah, you agree because you have experience but anyone with experience or a professional like yourself most likely isn't going to benefit from a video like this. It should be aimed at people who have little to no experience.
"Chasing the needle" is really cool to remember the direction to move the saddles. Thank you for this idea!
I have been doing my own intonation on my guitar for years and years yet every time I do it I never can remember the correct direction. Your chasing the needle tip will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thanks, man!
Flat=forward
"Chasing The Needle" Best tip ever. I always keep mixing up which way to move the saddle. Thank you Ryan
You should do a video on replacing pick ups
Braden Holmes i second this
Yes, that would be great!
Braden Holmes he did that a few years ago for seymour duncan actually, just look up fluff pickup change or something
Germs no
Just to expand the knowledge base a bit the truss rod actually has very little affect on the neck beyond where the neck joins the body. Usually right around the 16th fret.
When intonating (always in playing position), tune the string by playing the harmonic at the 12th fret. Don't fret it. Tune the harmonic. The check the intonation by fretting the 12th fret. This will give you perfect intonation every time.
When stringing a guitar with a floating tremolo I always do the bend over lock style peg wrap for maximum stability. On a standard tailpiece the "one over and two under" (Joe Bonamassa) method will work just fine.
If you use steel wool to polish your fret be sure to tape over your pickups. If you get steel wool dust on your pups you might have some other interesting issues to deal with.
Never pour liquid directly on your fret board. The liquid can seep down into the fret grooves and what happens to wood that gets wet? It swells. Swelling can cause frets to lift up out of their slots and you'll have high frets and buzzing all over the place. Dab a cloth in the oil and target the wood between the frets trying to avoid getting liquid near the frets at all.
Fluff, you might want to mention to people that if they're going to use steel wool that they should tape over the pickups to avoid getting loose steel threads stuck to the magnets or in the wiring. It's part of the reason I prefer a liquid metal polish, but they both get the job done.
Love the channel, and you've given great advice to young players with these last two videos.
Great tip on the intonation, thank you.
For locking a string on non locking tuners, I use this method:
1) Line up the peg hole to face the bridge
2) Put the string through the peg hole
3) Pull the string back 1 fret for the thick low E string, 1.5 to 2 frets for the thin high E string, and gradually change the distance to pull back between the high and low E strings.
4) Wind the tuning peg, keeping tension on the string while winding around the tuning peg.
5) Wind the string end *under* the string on the first wrap around the tuning peg, then *over* the string on each additional wind around the tuning peg. The tension will squeeze the string and lock it in the tuning peg
I do the same thing. Works perfectly.
@@tarunkumaar625 There was a video of someone's guitar tech doing it. I think it was Angus Young's. Try searching for that in RUclips.
isn´t that exactly what was shown in the video, except for the "over the string" wind is done by looping around instead of turning the tuning peg?
Yes. And first wrap over, the rest under. The old school method works fine though. Pull the string tight and do one full wrap around the peg. Then insert the string in the hole above the wrap. Pull up on the string fir a slight bend then tune. Thinner strings need two or three wraps before inserting in the hole.
I need neck relief. I have scoliosis
get this man a beer for that awesome dad joke
I have back injuries my spine is crippled with pain that limits the amount of time I can play/practice But I'm still playing and that's all that matters .
Bro I have scoliosis and I died laughing. You made my day
Sounds like a nirvana lyrics
😂
Thank you for the string winding explanation! I watched a number of other videos that all failed to explain/show it properly so that a beginner could actually learn it. I managed to fix my mangled string windings (from attempting those other vids) and now my new strings are set up great! Great video.
Thank you so much for “chasing the needle”. Brilliant way to remember. Cheers
steel wool makes a huge mess and since its steel it sticks to the pickups.
White scotch brite pads are are great, mess-free option
best explanation of this i've seen i think. this is something i can share with friends who need to know this but don't understand what i'm talking about.
I know it's quite late for a response, but I think I have to say this. I recently took up cleaning guitars for a living, and I don't really recommend using steel wool or lemon oil on guitar fretboard for reasons as follows.
1. Steel wool. This is originally designed to clean metal parts, not wood. It does take away the dust, the gunk, but it also takes away the wood. The finest I can find in my country is 00000 and it still does that. To top ot off, it leaves behind tiny flakes of steel on the fretboard, and probably in your fingers, too. That can be quite problematic. the workbench will need cleaning up after the process as well.
2. Lemon oil. Most manufacturers like Dunlop or Planet Waves dub their products lemon oil because of the smell only. the content is around 2%, nowhere near enough to have any effect on the fretboard. The pure lemon oil will do things the other way around. it dries the fretboard, corrode the bindings between the fretboard and the inlays.Given enough time, your fretboard may as well need replacing. ( I had to do this on my cheap chinese made guitars before I started the business)
I do have a few suggestions for this.
Cleaning the fretboard: any type of wood polish/ conditioner will do the trick. for the century-old gunk, I use a bar of hard plastic and use the sides of it to scrape it off.
For the frets, any type of metal cleaning substances will do. apply it, leave it a bit to haze up, then buff it to a mirror-like shine.
For my business, I don't want to compromise anything, so this is what I do:
for cleaning: I use 3M polishing paper with 6000 grid, the mint color one. Most fretboards are processed with 4000-grid papers so that'll make sure I'll take just the dust and the gunk away. After that, I'll add on the fret-board oil from Music Nomad.
For the frets, again, music nomad frine fret.
Any type of purpose-specific products will do just fine. I happen to like music nomad because of the pleasant smell.
Cheers, mate.
Love the arts and crafts back ground music. It feels soft and warming to the Zen touch.
fluff, being a musician is so much fun and believe it or not but setup my guitar for practice or shows has always been my favorite and I am always motivated to learn more about setting up my guitar. thank you for this helpful video
Same day. Jared comes out with a metal memes video (reaction). Fluff comes out with an informational video.
So, at what time will Ragnarok start? Any sign of the valkyries?
This and the last video are pretty good. The nut height and neck relief make a huge difference in playability. There are not many decent quality RUclips videos explaining this.
Thank you Ryan.
Chase the needle is a very valuable tip!
-Hey, a cool notion; a 'Hoppe(s)' gun stock wax permeated flannel rag seems to work greatly for wiping down the guitar strings and neck (I make a round over the front of the guitar and the back of the neck also).
Larry Chance love the smell of hoppes #9 wonder if it would make a good fretboard oil
@@fatlittleparasite - If the #9 is the barrel bore cleaner I would think it could degrade the wood, and possible dissolve glue (etc.), gun oil wouldn't be good for wood; I do not like the idea of using good furniture polish rather than guitar polish (but I haven't had any problems with the wax cloths). Thanks.
Chase that needle! I never heard that before. very cool.
Brother out maybe twenty videos and so many pages reading about setting intonation, that little chase the needle trick made it so easy to understand. I was able to set the intonation like I wanted in about 10 minutes. You can say move the saddle forward if your flat, back if your sharp, but you don't how much. A quarter turn, whole turn, 1/16th of a turn???? So when the gap between a harmonic 12th and fretted 12th is 30 cents, you move the saddle forward and the gap gets smaller. A little more forward, and I'll be dammed if the gap doesn't get bigger. Very frustrating. BUT, hook up the tuner, turn that screw while watching the needle move and gadzooks! I love my guitar again. Thanks again brother.
When using steel wool to polish your frets - remember to also cover your pickups and pots with masking tape. It's not good for the electronics if steel wool particles get in there (and they will be attracted due to magnetism).
Yes! That Joe bonamassa video is the same I stumbled across randomly and now I change my strings the same way, my guitar pretty much tunes itself ever since, and it stays in tune very well
Thanks for the intonation tip.....I was always unsure as to whether to move the saddle forward or back....very easy to remember, thanks again!
this is the best direction you could have gone with your channel Fluff. Keep it up!
oh my god, thank you so much for the "chase the needle" tip! I have been playing self-learned for about 5-6 years and never really thought about that, thank you
Loved "chase the needle", always had trouble with memorizing which way to go.
I was glad to see the lemon oil method mentioned; I used lemon oil on my fretboard for the first time about a month and a half ago, it looked amazing and played wonderfully.
That intonation tip is amazing. Thank you. I always forget which way to move the saddle. I don't setup a lot of guitars but when I do, it's because I just bought a new one or haven't messed with it for a while.
The way you communicate and explain everything is pro dude
strings too grimy or rusted and you cant change them/clean them? rub your fingers on your nose, it will add oil to your fingers to allow you to play much easier. great for teenagers at guitar center
Immolation Liquidation lol
*HURL*
Immolation Liquidation ewww
Ah! So THAT'S how to correctly play sweet child of mine. 😁
works strangely well...
More videos like this please! They help alot
I used to put my strings like you but I prefer the PRS method, its even better!!
aaaand.... to tune and intonate a guitar perfectly, the better way is playing position not in the workbench! Trust me!
Javi Altonaga is there a vidbto this method?
@@jimster805 hey buddy,ideally you need a work bench the height of a Countertop like in your kitchen.
Hold the guitar in the same position you would as if you were playing it stood up,tune the guitar,then check the intonation
@@Allencorgan4951 I think the question was regarding "the PRS method" - just searching here on youtube brings up a few videos like this one: ruclips.net/video/FuoZxBo38kE/видео.html
Turns out I've done it the PRS way for some time and I've recently switched to the one shown here and I find it much better all around, especially when taking off the strings.
Dude, because you have a framed Failure gig poster on your wall I just subscribed to your channel. Seen them twice over the past 3 years, love that band
"Chase the needle" is an awesome tip! I can never remember which way to go. Thank you!
That Failure poster in the background is awesome. One of my favorite bands
very helpful Fluff. Just upgraded bridge on my tele. exactly what i was looking for. chasing the needle
This is one of the most useful videos I have watched all year. Thank you!!
I ALWAYS forget which way to move the saddle when setting intonation. The needle tuner trick is a great tip. Thanks
"Chase the needle'. Thanks for that tip. I can never remember which way to move the saddle. I won't forget it now!
If using steel wool, make sure you tape off your pickups or you'll have a ton of small steel wool filings sticking to them. Also, don't pour that much lemon oil on your fret board. Use sparingly. A light coating will do, wiping off the excess after 5-20 minutes, depending on how dry your board is.
Thanks for this vid, I don't play guitar, but the band that I do tech for have no idea how to intonate their guitars, this video will prove very, very useful in instructing them!!
Definitely needed these tips. Awesome as always; thanks, Fluff!
Can you do a video on changing valves in amps?
Had no idea I was locking in my tuning by doing that! I used to play quite a bit back in highschool and am getting back into. Using all the tips here and my goodness does my old Ibanez GIO already look 100% better with the steelwool and lemon oil trick! Never knew about the bend (tip 1) nor has Intonating ever been explained to me in "chasing the needle" going to do this all tonight to bass as well as my grandfather's old steel string.
Chasing the needle, now thats a good tip, I do a lot of set ups, this is a great rule of thumb, thanks, Guitar Dave.
Chase the needle. I wish i knew this when i did mine. It took me forever!! Thanks Fluff!
For non graphite nuts, a little pencil lead drawn on the nut slots as well as the bridge saddles can offer a type of lubricant for the string. After applying, just draw the clipped string of the proper guage through the slot a couple of times to work the carbon into the nut. This will help prevent binding at the nut or saddle.
That last tip was the best for me. I'm going to try it next time I set up one of my guitars. Maybe tomorrow? I do love my planet waves locking and cutting tuners though.. they are awesome on my SG!
Good info.....I like to change out the all the screws for stainless ones....
Love the string winding tip
For oiling the fretboard, I use Kyser Klassics Dr. Stringfellow to give some conditioning and cleaning.
One video id love to see is fluff sit down and go through all his guitars. Talking about pros and cons for each one.
I usually fret the 17th to do a spot check for relief. I just push the string against the fret and know how much play there needs to be (this is for a situation like I'm about to record or am playing live, when I do proper setups for myself or customers I do it with rulers and feeler gauges).
I also find that treated silver/metal polishing cloths work phenomenally well to clean and polish frets. The ones I use are 2 cloths stitched together; 1 is treated the second isn't. If it's gunked up I breathe on it to get a little moisture, then put the treated cloth at the tip of my finger, with the nail where the fret and board meet, and just rub it back and forth. Then do the same with the regular non-treated cloth. The frets will blind you they get so smooth and shiny, and will feel like they're made of glass when bending notes.
If they're REALLY bad (like haven't been cleaned in a really long time) I'll use 0000 steel wool first.
Just bought two guitars and this is literaly the video ice been looking for ! Good job on this it's the most useful video I've seen!!!
thanks for the easy way to adjust the intonation. no one has ever just said, follow the needle. they'd just say if it's flat go this way, sharp go this way. I don't adjust mine very often so by the time I do it it's like...ok which way did that go?? so much easier to just say follow the needle. Thanks again.
Thanks dude. I will start to use that string method.
Great vid Fluff! Better than all the other setup vids I've seen! No wonder you have so many subscribers! Love all your vids!
I recommend doing intonation adjustments from a playing position for a couple of reasons. 1) If you have a heavy fretting hand and/or tall frets, you can easily push notes out of tune when fretting, so compensating for this is easier if you are holding the guitar in a playing position and fretting your test note with the same finger pressure you normally use when playing. 2) Depending on where you brace the neck, the weight of your guitar, and neck construction, laying on the bench can slightly bend the neck in a way that it won't be bent when holding in a normal playing position. Also, if you have a floating trem it is important to do intonation adjustments with the trem bar in and in its normal rest position for when you are not using it. On a slightly different topic, I find I get better results when setting intonation by comparing 7th fret harmonic to 7th fret fretted note.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but the reason you don't fret at the last fret to check relief isn't (just) because of potential fall-off. It's because from the start of the neck-joint onwards it doesn't curve or change anymore. Think about it; Do you see (or measure) any change in the curvature at the last 4-6 or so frets? Especially imagine it with a bolt-on, because there would be a gap between the neck and the body, which isn't a thing that happens, as it doesn't bend all the way to that point. - So you basically want to fret down at the point where the neck meets the body, even with neck-throughs there's a point where it meets the body and can't actually move anymore. Usually it's around the 17th fret unless there's some extra access created on a particular model.
For intonation I always remember it like this, if its sharp (S) the saddle (S) goes south (S) as in toward the bottom of the guitar. The three "S's.
Or even simpler:
Flat = forward
When using Steel Wool to polish your Frets be sure to tape over your Pickups, what do is use Blue Painters Tape, making sure the tape extends about 3/4" all the way around the Pickup cavity. Then I'll lay some Double Sided Tape on top of the Blue Tape to catch all the tiny Wool Fibres, the before removing the tape wipe down the Whole guitar and area (even used a hairdryer to blow off the fibres) then remove the Tape. You can also lay a few pieces of Blue Tape on top of the Double Sided Tape just to make sure you don't knock any of the fibres free when removing the tape. May sound like a lot to go through but depending on how much you play that guitar you really only need to it once or twice a year and it only takes a minute or two more to apply the tape.
These are some really nice tips. There are often easier and more simple ways to accomplish things.
I never use steel wool. Too many metal particles. I use a little template that covers the fret board on both sides with the fret showing through in the middle, and use some metal polishing compound on a rag, to make them shine mirror bright with little effort.
Came here because of the Ghost shirt. Stayed for the tips. Cool video man!
Great video and I was really happy to see the "Sponsored by" disclosure up front. Good job.
If you have a bolt on neck and the guitar is cheap, loosen each screw connecting the neck and body a 1/4 turn, tune it up to the pitch you want, then tighten each screw and you'll have more resonance and sustain
Nick Schmidt okay... but why'd you say it needs to be cheap? is it gonna risk hurting the guitar?
hossein nazeran pour no it's not going to hurt the guitar,but most good guitars have the neck fitted right from the factory
The method Nick describes makes the bond between neck and body tighter. It's only possible after the guitar is strung. This would mean an extra step in the production process, raising the cost. Something to avoid on a lower priced guitar.
This doesn't mean this trick won't work on a more expensive guitar. It's simply an issue that's more likely to appear on cheaper guitars
thanks for the explanation! :)
Wait does this actually work ?
Great video Ryan! Greetings from Portugal!
Chasing the needle. Brings back bad memories. 11 months clean thanks to detox, will power and my guitars!
Hey man, this is the best comment I've read in a while, stay strong 😊
Diversify. Remember, reliance on one outlet, is how it happened in the first place.
If you have a floated bridge like on a Gretsch, and you don't want to have it pinned, rub rosin (like you would use on a violin bow) between the bridge base and the guitar top to prevent it from sliding around. Set your intonation, use painters tape to mark the bridge position, then remove it, rosin it, and place it back on the guitar. This solved my many woes of the floating bridge wandering around.
When intonating, make sure your pickups are screwed down low. If they are close to the strings, then they can add harmonics which can effect the frequency of the strings - particularly on the wire-wound strings, which makes the fretted string sound sharp against the 12th-fret harmonic. Usually a problem with high strength pick-up magnets ie single-coil pu's. Once you have the correct intonation, you can then bring your pickup closer to the string so that they are high enough, but not too high, to avoid those "wolf" tones.
For bass restringing (not sure if this is necessary for six-string guitars) before cutting the string to length, bend the string just a bit before the cutting point so the core doesn't slip out. This is to prevent having "dead" strings in a new set, and is more important for b and e strings.
I have been playing guitar for 22 years. I believe I maintain tuning better when the string wraps the tuner post at least 4 times. I realize milage may vary.
My method: I gauge that by placing my thumb on the fretboard and use my pinky finger to put tension on the string at max distance from the frets initially.
I use a specially made fret rubber (like an eraser but contains abrasive) to polish frets in between string changes. Also, mineral oil is better for timber than lemon oil. Lemon oil contains solvents, it's good for cleaning a dirty board but if you just oil it a little every string change use plain old oil.
Chasing the needle...man I'd have loved that explanation in 1986. Hell, I love it now.
Thank you fluf! really love those tips!
I love this! First time, I see Fluff, being real. \m/
Well I´ve to try this String tip, I used always a trick where you make a kind of a hook out of the string to lock it.
Awesome video, Fluff, but it would have been great if you could have spent a little more time on HOW to take care of the neck relief and showing beginners how to actually move the saddle pieces back and forth.
It's simple enough, but if they don't know or can't figure out that they need to use the screws to do so, they may have to go to another video source. They SHOULD be able to figure it out, but it would have been nice for them to see in the video.
As always, thanks for sharing your knowledge with others! ☺
Tip:
In tuning a floyd rose or a floating bridge, after you play with the floating bridge, tune it oppositely. For example, if your guitar is a half step down, tune up 2 steps.
A video on Floyd rose setups and any tips for adjusting the truss rod would be sweet. I know there's others out there but I dig your examples.
Do you only have Ghost shirts?
Great explanation to check and fix intonation. Thanks. 👍
I have one small thing to add. As far as tuning your strings and locking them in. I find that if I'm tuning my high E( mind you I use 11s, I'm a blues player and find that get more tone out of heavier strings just a personal taste). I lock at the same way Bonamassa's guy does, except I would add one thing to that." Once I get my high E string on there and I tune it up to pitch, and then it slides a little bit and goes flat, and then I have to tug the string a little bit and then it goes flat, and then I repeat that and then the high E string snaps and wacks me in the cheek... I find it very satisfying to pick the guitar up and throw it across the room". Just some more cheap advice that might help.
Love the tuning tip at the end!! Great vid man.
On bolt-on neck guitars, removing the paint from the neck socket (if there's any) helps with the tuning stability and the sustain. It's a bit risky, but a very good improvement.
And, of course, blocking the tremolo is a must on cheap guitars. mine barely had any sustain before, and otherwise the trem was pretty much unusable.
Thank you for the informative videos, no long diatribe, love the humor as well. And i have learned quite a bit, I appreciate it and am pushing subscribe 👍👍👍
Did not expect to see some love for Failure from Fluff, such an underrated band, I absolutely love them
Never heard of that string winding technique, I'll give it a try!
Saw the Ghost shirt, automatic "like" from this guy!
The way I personally restring is..wrap string around the post 3 times stick through hole out the other side, but through one of the wraps..been doing it for years and tuning stability is out of this world. I can play a 3 hours gig without returning once
This mans saved my life with the intonation top
I use coins to gauge string action. A quarter is 1.75mm thick and that equals roughly 4/64th. I measure action at the 12th fret and shoot for just a tad more than a quarter. Plays perfectly for me on many different styles of guitars.
that last time really helped me ive been tuning it every 3 or 4 days now i know why
Thanks man. Your lesson is amazing. I am learning.